Kiwi Trademark Quick Start Guide for Marketers
The New Zealand Kiwi trademark is a label, a sticker, a logo and a brand.
New Zealand Made says something about the product or service it is added to, and as a marketer, there is more than one way to go about adding it to what you do.
Branding should go beyond what looks right and share a deeper message.
A branded product or service consists of two parts. The first is required and the second desired. Without both, there is no brand… it’s just a logo.
The first is that someone who isn’t even using the product, can tell from a distance that it was made in New Zealand. It appears that it could only be made by that manufacturer.
If we (the user or the observer) can’t tell who made it, then there’s no brand. That’s the distinction between a generic logo and a specific brand.
The second is the desire to be noticed. Successfully branded items succeed because the owner enjoys that the brand is noticed in daily use, either by others or even by themselves.
6 ways of adopting the Kiwi trademark
Below are six ways of integrating the Kiwi trademark with your own brand in a way that speaks to where you’re going, so that those who want to follow can pick up your signal.
1. Factual Product Branding (recommended)
2. Product Certification Branding (optional)
3. Embedded Product Branding (optional)
4. Watermark Branding (recommended)
5. Signage Branding (recommended)
6. Team Branding (optional)
Quick Start Summary For New NZ Made Licence Holders
If you have recently joined the Buy New Zealand Made Campaign, get started with the recommended options 1, 4, and 5 above first.
Let’s now explore different ways of adding the Kiwi trademark to what you do with examples and links to download artwork and purchase labelling.
1. Factual Product Branding with the Kiwi trademark
Factual branding says nothing more than it needs to. It’s straight forward. It’s direct. It displays the Kiwi trademark to tell the audience that this product is New Zealand Made and that is worth something.
It assumes the audience already recognises the Kiwi trademark or values what New Zealand Made means and the brand association helps the consumer with their purchasing decision.
The Kiwi trademark is usually found on the front of the product, near the price tag or in a place likely to be seen while the consumer is evaluating whether this is the one they want to own.
Primary Recommended Branding Option
The Modern Black & White Triangle is the primary recommended branding option.
Stickers available in 10mm tiny, 25mm regular, 40mm large and 60mm extra large.
Swing tags available in 50mm size.
Alternative Branding Option
The Classic Blue & Red Triangle is the secondary recommended branding option. This is a popular choice in food and beverage categories, particularly where the product is destined for export to Asia. It is also a popular choice on products that evoke nostalgia for New Zealand’s history.
Stickers available in 10mm tiny, 25mm regular, 40mm large and 60mm extra large.
Swing tags available in 50mm size.
2. Product Certification Branding with the Kiwi trademark
A certification mark on a commercial product indicates the existence of an accepted product standard or regulation and a claim that the manufacturer has verified compliance with those standards or regulations. The Kiwi trademark validates the claim of ‘New Zealand Made’ in a way that is recognisable with consumers. It is a shorthand way to communicate that what you’re offering to the market has undergone some assessment and passed a the tests on attributes that buyers value.
When the Kiwi trademark is displayed on a product, it means that a business has been successful in making an application to the Buy New Zealand Made Campaign for a Certificate of Licence. This means that they have provided information about how and where their product is made and what the essential character of that product is.
Where a Certification Branding approach is taken, the Kiwi trademark is usually found on the rear of the product, sometimes alongside other certification marks that make claims about sustainability, safety, durability, popularity and so on. Educated consumers know how to read the labels and will filter out products that don’t meet there certification criteria.
Primary Recommended Branding Option
The Modern Black & White Triangle is the primary recommended branding option for product certification branding. On black backgrounds the Modern Black and White Triangle may also be reversed into a white logo to increase visibility.
Download Modern Black & White Triangle artwork and integrate with your packaging design.
Modern Black & White Triangle stickers are available in the 10mm tiny size can also be applied to the rear of a product as Certification Branding.
3. Embedded Product Branding with the Kiwi trademark
Embedded branding takes the essence of the Kiwi trademark and etches it into the product making a physical mark on the product. It is the most integrated way of inter-twining the expectations of your product with the story consumers tell themselves about what New Zealand Made means.
In this format, the Kiwi trademark isn’t a tag or a sticker and may not adhere the modern black and white or classic red and blue colour palette. It probably doesn’t adhere to the standard 25mm size because it’s meant to stand out or be almost completely hidden
Embedded branding says to the consumer that being New Zealand Made is right at the heart of what the business does. It has a permanence that communicates that we can’t separate what we make from where we make it.
Primary Recommended Branding Option
Start with the Kiwi trademark design and then vary the size to work for what you want the branding to communicate. You may also use any colour or colour combination in relation to the elements of the Kiwi trademark.
The relative proportions of the Kiwi, the New Zealand Made text and the triangle. Anything outside of this must be approved by the Buy New Zealand Made Campaign.
Example of an Approved Branding Exception
Jens Hansen Jewellers stamps every piece of jewellery with the Kiwi trademark after making a metallic moulding just 1.8mm wide.
Product Branding Summary
The previous three choices assumes that your audience is standing in front of your product, can pick it up, see the label or turn it around and read what it says on the back. The Kiwi trademark with the triangle is the recommended option because of it’s mass recognition and suitability for product branding.
What happens when your audience hasn’t decided to visit your business yet?
What happens when your business doesn’t have a location?
What happens when you’re selling a service with nowhere to affix a label?
Let’s take a look at three ways of adopting the Kiwi trademark as part of your business branding.
4. Watermark Branding with the Kiwi trademark
Watermark branding takes the Kiwi trademark and overlays it on the message you are sharing with your audience. It is a marketing layer that sits alongside your primary message and helps reinforce the authenticity of what you’re saying.
Watermark branding can take the form of an overlay on an Instagram or Facebook post. It might be found in the bottom right hand corner of the new ‘how-to’ video series you’re posting on YouTube. It may be the backdrop on the frosted glass on the entry to your office. It could be on your business card, your invoices or the flagpole at the front of your production plant. It is often seen at the bottom of the homepage of your business linking back to the your licensed products on buynz.org.nz.
Watermark branding suits the Kiwi trademark with and without the triangle.
5. Signage Branding with the Kiwi trademark
Signage branding takes the Kiwi trademark and applies it to a building you work in, a business vehicle you drive or any asset that the audience you want to communicate with is likely to see.
It could be embroidered on your company uniforms next to your logo, a lapel badge, a advertising sign displayed at a basketball game or up on a billboard on the motorway north into Auckland. It can be as easy as framing your Certificate of Licence and placing in your office reception.
The Kiwi trademark owes much of its iconic status from signage branding in the 90’s and 2000’s as large New Zealand businesses showed Kiwis that there were New Zealand Made.
6. Team Branding with the Kiwi trademark
Team Branding is about the loyalty and pride of those that make products for you. It may rarely seen by your customers, yet is seen daily by those who build, create, cut, sew, form and finish products to exacting standards. It is a reminder that the quality of what they make, matters to all New Zealanders.
Quick Start Summary For New Kiwi Trademark Licence Holders
Now that you’ve been inspired by the six different ways the Kiwi trademark can communicate your market origin advantage, get started by completing the following.
- Order your product labelling on buynz.org.nz by choosing from either stickers or swing tags or download the artwork and integrate it into your packaging design.
2. Decide whether to label on the front or back of your product as Factual Product Branding or Product Certification respectively.
If you want to do something unique with the Kiwi trademark consider creating something different that is truly unique using Embedded Product Branding option. The Buy NZ Made team will review and approve proposals.
3. Overlay the Kiwi trademark on your social media posts and website as Watermark Branding with the help of a web or social media agency.
4. Create recognisable Signage Branding that your audience is likely to see with the help of a signwriting company .
5. Get some Team Branding up in your workshop or office so that your team are proud of what they’re making.
Becoming a Licensed Kiwi Trademark Licence Holder
If you are not yet a Kiwi trademark licence holder or are unsure if your products or services would qualify you can check the Labelling Guides or apply to become a licence holder.
