Karl du Fresne: Wellington Airport's rebranding exercise - And the point is?

I’m not a shareholder in Wellington Airport but if I was, I’d be getting up on my hind legs at the next annual meeting to object to an extravagant promotional charade that demonstrates how completely the corporate sector has been captured (or should I say conned?) by the twin forces of marketing hucksterism and feel-good wokery.The online platform Stop Press, which uncritically chronicles all the absurdities perpetrated by the bullshit artists of the PR and advertising industries, reports that the airport company is undertaking a rebranding exercise in which it will become “WLG – a portal to the future”.

There’s nothing in the Stop Press item to indicate why it was deemed necessary to change the brand. “Wellington Airport” describes perfectly well what the company does and I confidently predict that that’s how it will continue to be known long into the future. But the PR and advertising industries derive a lot of their income by suckering gullible corporate clients into pointless rebranding exercises and this seems a classic example.

But it goes far beyond that, because the rebranding incorporates an element of fashionable virtue-signalling that crosses into the realms of pure make-believe. I’ll let Stop Press take up the story – but be warned: it’s a textbook piece of flatulent PR puffery.

Two decades ago, the airport in the capital rebranded with a new positioning, “Wild at Heart,” which captured the spirit of the place and land where it stands.

Alongside brand storyteller Everyone and Kura Moeahu (Te Atiawa, Nga Ruahine, Taranaki-tuturu, Ngati Mutunga, Ngati Tama & Ngati Toa), Wellington Airport has continued the narrative by delving into the ancestry of the harbour and the forces and guardians that shaped it.

The aim is to capture Wellington Airport Rangitatau as WLG, a portal to the future.

“The best stories start with listening,” says Cameron Sanders, Managing Director, Everyone. “We were introduced to the story of the legendary bird Te Manu Muramura and the rich narratives and graphic forms that are etched into the land, water and sky here.

“And we also heard the passion and commitment of airport staff, Wellingtonians, local government and local artists when they told us what the airport means to them and how it relates to the city.”

Matt Clarke, CEO, Wellington Airport adds that the airport has always been filled with stories.

“But we really haven’t had any Mana Whenua stories, stories of the land beneath the airport, and that’s something we’re really looking to introduce to the terminal and the welcome to the city.”

Another revelation was the proximity between Rangitatau, the ancient portal the bird spirit took to the beyond, and the Airport’s place. The design team looked to draw a direct parallel between the power of this legendary portal and the role of the Airport as the region’s portal, a gateway to central New Zealand.

“Collaborating closely with local artist Manu Winata (Ngāti Raukawa, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), we explored the concept of imagining the gateway of Rangitatau – our portal to the universe,” says Everyone Creative Director Andrew Treder.

“We created a suite of dimensional light portals that illustrated the entirety of the origin story, passing through the realms of sea, land and sky. Through this, we have looked to position Rangitatau as a portal to the universe for manuhiri returning home, a gateway to central New Zealand and a launch pad for those setting off to explore new horizons.”

As air technology continues to evolve, the team wanted to acknowledge that the future is aerial, and that WLG is very much part of that.

“We hope that our Airport, Wellingtonians, and manuhiri can reflect on, share and contribute to this living narrative,” says Everyone Producer Nathan Blundell. “The launch video re-tells the origins of Wellington Harbour while inspiring its next chapter, reflecting a wish from mana whenua that these stories don’t remain as once-upon-a-time tales, but are shared in a present context and continue to evolve.”

“The new brand identity, the many touchpoints and of course the beautiful broader visual language have all been designed to honour everything that got the Airport to this point, and all that is yet to come,” explains Cam Sanders.

“The new telling of this airport’s story is exciting, confident and vibrant. We’ve built on the emotion of Wild at Heart, but with the insights of all involved, we’ve expressed WLG as an Airport of Tomorrow and a place of unparalleled aerial activation. Our two-decade partnership with WLG has been one of passion, innovation, and collaboration. We can’t wait to see where the journey leads next.”

Let’s try to unpick some of this preposterous gibberish. “The ancestry of the harbour and the forces and guardians that shaped it”, for instance. The harbour is not a person, therefore has no ancestors. The forces that shaped it were geological. The idea that it was shaped by “guardians” is romantic tosh, deployed here to satisfy Wellington Airport’s desperate desire to be seen as culturally sensitive.

In any case, how does the harbour come into it? Wellington Airport was the creation of engineers and contractors who flattened Rongotai Hill, demolished or relocated 180 houses and shifted enormous amounts of earth to create a flat space for planes to land on. The harbour just happens to be adjacent. Was this a case of the rebranding team deciding the construction of the airport provided no suitably inspiring cultural narrative and focusing on the harbour instead, even though it’s not integral to the airport story?

“We were introduced to the story of the legendary bird Te Manu Muramura and the rich narratives and graphic forms that are etched into the land, water and sky here.” Yes, but what does this actually mean? Exactly what “rich narratives” are etched into the land, water and sky, and how do they relate to a company whose function is simply to run a safe, efficient and profitable airport? Who has heard of Te Manu Muramura (I hadn’t) and what relevance does he/she have to a 21st century aviation business? (I’m not knocking or demeaning Maori myths and legends here; they are a valued and unique part of our heritage. I’m just tired of them being opportunistically exploited for spurious purposes.)

Another revelation was the proximity between Rangitatau, the ancient portal the bird spirit took to the beyond, and the Airport’s place. The design team looked to draw a direct parallel between the power of this legendary portal and the role of the Airport as the region’s portal, a gateway to central New Zealand.

I had to look up Rangitatau. It was the name of a pa that once overlooked Tarakena Bay, which is tucked around the headland immediately east of the airport. Here we go again – straining to find a connection with Maori mythology where there is none. It may have suited the “design team” to convince themselves of such a connection, but no one else (with the exception, perhaps, of credulous Wellington Airport executives such as Matt Clarke) is going to buy it.

“We created a suite of dimensional light portals that illustrated the entirety of the origin story, passing through the realms of sea, land and sky. Through this, we have looked to position Rangitatau as a portal to the universe for manuhiri returning home, a gateway to central New Zealand and a launch pad for those setting off to explore new horizons.”

This poetic piece of spin relates to the 5-minute video produced – no doubt at great expense – to accompany the “rebranding”. Again, the video draws heavily on Maori mythology relating to the creation of Wellington Harbour – or Te Whanganui-a-Tara, if you prefer – and goes so far as to imply the creation of the airport was inspired by events in Maori legend. I’m sure that would have come as a revelation to the engineers and contractors who built it.

As for the rest of the comically pretentious launch material reproduced in the Stop Press report, I marvel that whoever wrote it managed to do so with a straight face. But the tragedy is that they probably believe their own bullsh*t.

Here’s my prediction. The “rebranding” will serve no purpose beyond gratifying the egos of the people who commissioned and produced it. Given that no industry celebrates itself more enthusiastically than the advertising business, the video will almost certainly win a prize (and in the process, reinforce my contention that “award-winning” are the two most meaningless words in the English language). But the entire grandiose exercise will pass unnoticed by the rest of the world, including the countless thousands of people who use Wellington Airport. In which case, can someone please explain what the point is?

Footnote: It occurred to me after publishing this post that Wellington International Airport Ltd is not a listed company, being jointly owned by Infratil and Wellington City Council. There would therefore presumably be no annual meeting at which shareholders could air their gripes. Nonetheless, my points stand.

Karl du Fresne, a freelance journalist, is the former editor of The Dominion newspaper. His blog can be found at karldufresne.blogspot.co.nz.