Fresh From The Field — Raise the Standard - By Strategy Creative

Fresh From The Field — Raise the Standard – By Strategy Creative

Fresh from the Field is a weekly article series sharing the fresh and inspiring work of our Aotearoa Design Assembly community.

Borrowing the wit, rhyme and cultural relevance found in protest signs, Strategy Creative partnered with MBIE and Tenancy Services to create ‘Raise the Standard’, a brand that challenges the “tough-it-out” mentality Kiwis have about housing.

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The brief

A healthy home is crucial to social progress. Yet, over half-a-million Kiwis live in cold, damp and under-insulated rentals that impact their livelihood and health.

In 2019, the government introduced new laws around heating, insulation, ventilation, drainage and draughts to ensure all Kiwis live in warm, dry and healthy homes.

We partnered with MBIE and Tenancy Services to give tenants a voice and landlords a desire to act. We needed to create an empathetic brand. One that elevates the customer, not the government. One that has personality, cut-through and focus. One that stimulates the conversation between tenants and landlords.

The Design Response

To achieve this we created the Raise the Standard brand to challenge the “tough-it-out” mentality Kiwis have about housing. Through research and audience testing, we defined our purpose as the voice of reason. An unbiased brand that empowers tenants to look for more and motivates landlords to act.

We took the action-oriented language of protest and softened it with the language found on the kitchen fridge to create a friendly, non-confrontational call to arms.

We borrowed the wit, rhyme and cultural relevance found in protest signs. We combined it with short, action orientated language, like reminders or to-do lists on your fridge.

We created a suite of magnets to enhance our messaging by either reinforcing a point or adding relevant information.

We created a series of illustrations depicting homes with features like a heat-pumps and range-hoods alongside tenants doing their bit to stay healthy.

To support the implementation of the brand, we created guidance on how to apply the identity, tone of voice and graphic elements across key collateral

We want to show landlords we exist to support and motivate them. To help them understand that operating a healthy home is a healthy investment.

We want tenants to understand that we exist to empower them and see that they shouldn’t compromise any longer. We exist to open their eyes to what’s possible.

To help mediate landlord/tenant relationships with an unbiased voice, we developed a ‘Two to tango’ mechanic that tells the story from both perspectives.