Brand Sydney Project to lift Sydney’s global profile

NSW Minister for Tourism Jodi McKay told a seminar at the 9th World Congress of Metropolis that the development of Brand Sydney will define the harbour city as a global leader in business, culture, tourism, events and education.

Ms McKay welcomed delegates and guests to the international Congress of Metropolis which will highlight the importance of building city brands.

“Whether it’s via events, creative promotional strategies, or innovative policymaking, cities have big decisions to make if they are to effectively position themselves as successful global brands,” Ms McKay told the ‘Branding Global Cities’ seminar.

“Given the world events of the past couple of weeks, these issues are even more relevant as cities find themselves competing for tourism, for investment and for headquarters of global businesses.”

Ms McKay said the Congress is perfectly timed for Sydney and its tourism industry, particularly with the recent launch of the Brand Sydney Project.

“Our new brand will build on our reputation as a destination for visitors and for hosting world-class events,” Ms McKay said.

“Brand Sydney will deliver consistent messaging across industry that will define Sydney as a hub for business, education, culture, tourism and events.”

In March Sydney was voted the number one city brand in the world in the annual Anholt City Brands Index for the second year in a row.

Last week Sydney was named the number one city in the world for the 13th time at the prestigious US Condé Nast Traveler Awards.

The Brand Sydney Project was established by the NSW Government to develop a contemporary city brand with John O’Neill AO appointed as independent Chair of the Brand Sydney Steering Committee.

The Brand Sydney Project is a partnership between Government and key stakeholders including the Arts, Sport and Recreation (Dept), Business Events Sydney, City of Sydney, Committee for Sydney, Events New South Wales, NSW Vice Chancellors’ Committee, State and Regional Development, Sydney Chamber of Commerce, Tourism and Transport Forum and Tourism NSW.

It is expected that the project will be completed by mid-2009.

Tourism NSW’s advertising agency Singleton Ogilvy & Mather has flown in the newly appointed Global CEO of The Ogilvy Group, Mr Miles Young to provide the keynote address at the Congress, after which he will be joined by an expert panel for a discussion on key branding principles every city needs to adopt if they are have sustained growth in today’s competitive global environment.

The Branding Global Cities seminar included representatives from Indian NGO Bombay First, Events NSW, Tourism NSW, the Department of Planning and the Brand Sydney Project.

The 9th World Congress of Metropolis Congress officially opens tomorrow and will bring together more than 600 delegates from over 80 cities including mayors, senior government officials, academics and industry leaders to share their experience and expertise around key issues facing cities today.

The Metropolis Congress is held every four years, and was secured for Sydney in a joint bid by the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau and the NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources. The Congress was awarded to Sydney at Metropolis 2005 in Berlin and will be worth an estimated $2.5 million to the local economy.

A Report by The Mole