First a sign with a spelling mistake, now bronze pigeons to promote Wellington

One of the new bronze pigeons. Photo / Supplied

After the success of a giant sign on the waterfront with an intentional spelling mistake in it, Wellington has moved on to using bronze pigeons to promote the city.

As part of its "Only in Wellington" campaign, the region's economic development agency is putting bronze pigeons around the capital to represent the stories of local businesses.

WellingtonNZ chief executive John Allen said the "humble but genius" sculptures were about recognising the city as a place where talented people have started remarkable businesses.

"We wanted to mark the places around the city where the creators of these businesses first had the idea for them, so in parks, at cafes, and outside office buildings."

For example, the idea for Fix & Fogg was first thought of in Te Aro Park, so there's a pigeon there with its head in a jar of peanut butter.

Spot the bronze pigeon. Photo / Supplied

Allen said the pigeon was a ubiquitous bird.

"If you've ever been in the middle of Wellington, you'll know the pigeons are everywhere."

So local artist Jonathan Campbell designed the sculptures to feature pigeons engaging with a symbol of each business.

The Sharesies pigeon is sitting on a pile of money and there's also a pigeon for Garage Project.

The sculptures are temporary installations and will be gifted to the owners of the business they represent.

"It is that spark and that talent pool that's really a feature of this city in which we want to celebrate and recognise," Allen said.

"Frankly, we want everyone to understand if you want to build a great creative business, you need to build it in Wellington

Andy Foster being the 'I' in Wellington. Photo / Georgina Campbell

The pigeons come after Wellington's new giant sculptural sign on the waterfront, which has an intentional spelling mistake in it, proved a hit.

The WELL_NGTON sculpture is missing the letter "I" so that one person at a time can stand in the middle of the sign to become the "I" and get their photo snapped.

It arrived on the waterfront near Te Papa in January and was designed to foster a feeling of belonging in Wellington, while showcasing the capital to the world via social media.

WellingtonNZ pitched the sign as being one of the city's Instagram-able moments of the year.

As of early June, the sign had reached about 500,000 people on social media platforms.