New name proposed for council

Councillors will tonight decide whether to go ahead and adopt Rotorua Lakes Council as its operating name

Rotorua's district council could soon be known as the Rotorua Lakes Council as it moves to "refresh" its branding in line with its new direction.

Councillors will tonight formally decide whether to go ahead and adopt Rotorua Lakes Council as its operating name, as well as confirming a staged rollout of the revised brand.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said the proposed new name fitted well with the new direction and vision of the council over the past year.

Mrs Chadwick said the lakes defined the district, so it seemed a perfect fit to include them.

"I love the idea of the new name. It's a new council with a new direction and a new vision.

"I like the simplicity and actually I like that it is uncluttered."

She said there were so many different logos in use at the moment for different areas that there was "logo confusion".

The cost of the refresh would be minimal, she said.

"It's a staged approach and I love the way it was done in-house."

A report to councillors said so far just over $7000 had been spent on the updated designs and logo concepts. It said to keep costs as low as possible, there would be a staged approach by introducing the new concepts as and when required, such as when cars or business cards needed replacing.

There would be just under $5000 of immediate investment required for things such as changing the council's domain name for website and email.

Mrs Chadwick said they were aware of doing the refresh on a budget and being sensible about the cost.

She did not expect the public to be surprised by the change and said there had been plenty of discussion around the new vision and direction of the council, and this was just a reflection of that.

Deputy mayor Dave Donaldson supported the proposed rebranding and hoped the public would too.

Mr Donaldson said he had been involved in work done by the tourism committee in researching branding for Rotorua and the lakes was a significant driver.

"The lakes are a key asset and something that sets us apart and gives us a great lifestyle."

While supportive of the general concept of a brand refresh, councillor Mike McVicker said he didn't believe the right process had been followed.

"I think it is innovative but nonetheless we do have a process and that process is being ignored."

Mr McVicker said councillors discussed the idea of a rebranding at an informal meeting and the general consensus was it was a good idea, however it had not been "debated and discussed" at a formal level like committee stage.

-The full report can be viewed at target='_blank'>www.rdc.govt.nz