RE-BRANDING THE IMMIGRATION SERVICE

New Symbol

The image of a fern is the new positive logo of the New Zealand Immigration Service (NZIS) and the result of thorough brand methodology and design work carried out by graphic design and branding consultants Cluster Creative.

“We needed to refresh our brand and align with other New Zealand agencies that work offshore to promote New Zealand,” said Strategic Planning Manager for NZIS Kate Hodgetts.

“Our rebranding project posed a range of challenges – how to reflect that as the New Zealand Immigration Service we are part of the Department of Labour and at the same time show that NZIS represents New Zealand overseas and needs to be part of combined marketing efforts offshore.”

Brand Understanding

To find out what really made NZIS tick, Cluster worked closely with NZIS to develop an identity blue print and a comprehensive brandkit.

A series of identity workshops were held with staff to reveal the many different roles within the organisation, which Cluster distilled into a new positioning statement ‘Come Forward, Welcome, Belong’.

Cluster used this statement to develop the new Fern logo. A mixture of the old and new, the fern is an internationally recognised icon that links in with Brand NZ. The Fern also represents people growing together and forming a strong backbone that is also symbolic of the waka (ancestral canoe) that carried the first Maori voyagers to Aotearoa.

Marketing Communications

Cluster has gone on to manage the design and production of NZIS’s external literature and forms including brochures, guides, signage, stationery and newsletters.

“Cluster was a very cost effective option for us and provided high quality analysis, design and communications advice. They were excellent to work with as they really worked hard to get to understand our people, our organisation and the challenges we face,” Ms Hodgetts says.

“The methodology they used and the brandkit they produced reflects the people and culture of our organisation. They spent time to understand how our brand should convey the right messages for New Zealand.”