Northpower, born in 1920 in Northland, New Zealand, has been the guardian of the electrical network and community in the region for over 100 years. As times have changed, Northpower has evolved to meet the challenges along the way. However, one thing always remains the same: their values and people.
Through their teamwork, innovation and a drive to create excellence, Northpower has secured the Northland’s power and communications fibre infrastructure, while also investing deeply in their community and has forged a reputation across New Zealand as the contracting partner of choice.
In 2018, Northpower marked a significant milestone with its brand transformation, a testament to its success and a clear indication of its readiness for a more connected future.
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Northpower
Brand Transformation | Designworks Wellington
Designworks collaborated with Northpower for nearly three years to orchestrate a substantial brand transformation. This endeavour involved thoroughly examining the business and its market positioning, resulting in a revitalised strategic vision, implementing change management initiatives, and introducing a dynamic new brand identity.
This initiative marked a strategic pivot for Northpower, steering them away from a commoditised stance solely centred on their core services (“What they do”) towards a leadership position emphasising Northpower as a purpose-driven entity (“Who they are”).
This repositioning represents Northpower as a collective of individuals whose expertise, close connections, and trustworthiness create positive outcomes in the daily lives of their people, communities, and contracting partners.
As a Design Director I picked up responsibility for Northpower shortly after joining Designworks while the Creative Director turned their attention to other agency priorities. When the project came to me, our initial strategic response was still being tuned, and it was my responsibility to work with the head of strategy and management to finalise the way forward.
Being the project lead and key client contact, I was on call to support our client for nearly three years, while leading the project internally as it developed strategically and creatively. I contributed my skills and experience across all aspects of the work while leading, mentoring and collaborating with a team of fellow creative professionals and subject matter experts.
Scope of works:
- Market positioning audit.
- Strategic business case consulting.
- Brand strategy development.
- Core brand development.
- Digital / Website UX / UI development.
- Signage / Wayfinding development.
- Brand livery design & rollout.
- Product sub-brand development.
- Northpower App UX / UI development.
- Brand image library creation.
- Marketing strategy & assets.
- Design thinking workshops.
- Launch campaigns & events.
- Creation of brand story movie.
- Cultural & community collaborations.
- Work safety programme.
- Corporate reporting & communications.
- PR & social strategy consulting.
Transformation:
Core creative team:
Design Director: Elliot Ramsay
Core design team: Tamsin Fraser, Rhiannon Josland, Dan Mercer.