Corporate branding: The power in associating your brand with iconic architecture

What’s in a name? Quite a lot if it is on an iconic structure. Marketers know that putting a brand on a prominent building can make millions of positive impressions in the minds of potential customers.

Brands choosing to align themselves with iconic buildings and harnessing their intrinsic attributes has a long and well-proven history. Citroën famously daubed its name with tens of thousands of lights on the Eiffel Tower in 1925 and for nine years the Citroen in lights continued to shine in tribute to a man dubbed Europe’s answer to Henry Ford, catapulting the brand ahead of competitor Renault. The tower, built as an expression of industrial grandeur and a demarcation of the centennial celebration of the French Revolution for the 1889 world’s fair, became an artistic icon for Paris and France itself, and by association so did the Citroën brand for years to come.

The right association can significantly benefit both the brand and the building, raising not only awareness but actually helping to grow the brand and enhance its story. In the case of the Petronas Twin Towers, this iconic building became a landmark of Kuala Lumpur, enhancing Petronas’ reputation, acting as a visual reminder of their commitment to progress and promoting their brand and brand values to a massive audience.

But, do opportunities like these exist in Brisbane? With the commencement of Jubilee Place, the Blight Rayner designed state-of-the-art workplace soon to be breathtakingly cantilevered over the adjacent and fully renovated heritage-listed Jubilee Hotel, the answer is a resounding yes. This masterpiece of collaborative enterprise and engineering wrapped in a truly iconic design sits right at the gateway of the rapidly growing mixed-use King Street precinct in Fortitude Valley.

With signage rights still available, a dramatic opportunity exists for an astute company to lease the remaining space and take brand ownership of Jubilee Place’s impressive exoskeleton structure via digital and programmable signage available at both the rooftop and podium levels. What’s more, as a consequence of this digital and programmable signage approach, this company will not bear the typical costs associated with signage design, fabrication, installation or make good. In contrast, the signage backbone will be installed at the building owner’s cost and the key tenant will have access to a unique programmable capability, facilitating their branding and other communication priorities over the term of their lease and providing rare potential to stand out from the crowd.

Iconic buildings that amplify their urban context, with innovative design that re-evaluates a precinct’s historical or cultural heritage are few and far between. They are often seen as a symbol of cities that are racing on the global platform and are perceived as enhancing their attractiveness. Jubilee Place harnesses all the attributes of a future-forward iconic design that will reshape the Brisbane landscape. It now remains to be seen which company will choose to align themselves with this iconic, statement building, taking ownership of naming rights and harnessing its unique attributes to amplify their own brand story.