Dunedin’s eye-catching billboard campaign in downtown Wellington

AUCKLAND, Today: The Dunedin Works Better campaign showcases the city as a perfect place if you’re looking to spend more time outdoors and less time in traffic. It captures the essence of the saying, work to live, don’t live to work.

Cr Andrew Whiley, Chair of the Dunedin City Council Economic Development Committee, highlights, “Exciting things are happening in the fields of technology, health, game development, manufacturing, engineering, and design.

“We are looking to attract the next generation of talent in these areas and beyond. On top of this, Dunedin’s stunning natural beauty, amazing food scene, and outdoor activities offer a perfect work-life balance,” he says.

He further notes, “Ōtepoti is known for its high quality of life and the compact nature of the city means you have everything you need in terms of facilities for a place to live, without any of the hassles that come with living in a metropolitan city.

“Exciting things are happening in the fields of technology, health, game development, manufacturing, engineering, and design.” – Andrew Whiley

“Life’s too short to be stuck in traffic, spending more time commuting than with the family, and paying for the privilege.”

The campaign points out the benefits of living in Dunedin, suggesting it might cost less in many ways than expected. It invites people to rethink their priorities and consider reclaiming time lost to commuting or waiting on uncertain job prospects.

Strategy Creative, recognised for their award-winning place branding work, was chosen to lead the campaign. Fraser Callaway, Strategy Creative’s Managing Partner, explains, “For me, this was a brief that played to our strength in the place branding and campaign space. We have a proven track record and knack for finding insights that help the work stand out in a cluttered market.”

Sian Sutton, Enterprise Dunedin Destination Manager, comments, “We tasked Strategy Creative to come up with a memorable, snappy and succinct campaign to encourage people to move to Dunedin to live and work.”

“As a born and bred Dunedin man, I couldn’t wait to get into this brief. The key for us was getting the Dunedin tone of voice bang on.” – Chris Flack

“Dunedin Works Better captures the tongue-in-cheek Dunedin tone of voice that is unique to our city brand, while developing new eye-catching assets with memorable messaging.

“We also wanted to make sure this could be an enduring and evergreen concept that has the flexibility to be adapted and built on in the future, this collaboration with Strategy has achieved just that.”

Chris Flack, Design Director, shares his excitement: “As a born and bred Dunedin man, I couldn’t wait to get into this brief. The key for us was getting the Dunedin tone of voice bang on.

“It’s easy to motivate people to move when you know the place inside and out and are super passionate about the city.”

The campaign humorously targets urban centres like Auckland, Wellington, and Queenstown, pointing out the cost and time pressures of living in those areas.

Advertisements will run on bus backs, a digital billboard at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, and through a digital campaign.