Schools singing Clutha Country tune

A new Clutha Country song, aimed at raising the pride of young people in the district, could well be the biggest hit in Clutha this summer.

The Clutha Country song was written by well-known children’s songwriter Natalie Yule-Yeoman, and has been launched to schools throughout the district. The song project was coordinated by Positively Clutha Women and also made possible with support from the Creative Communities NZ Funding Scheme, which is administered by Council

Positively Clutha Women spokeswoman Irene Mosley says the song was trialled with groups of primary school aged children and had been given the “big thumbs up” by them. Now the aim is for all primary schools throughout the district to embrace the song in order to increase the regional pride of young people in the area.

“The song’s lyrics are easy to learn, it talks about places and features of Clutha Country that children know and relate to and the tune is very catchy,” Mrs Mosley says. “The melody will be stuck in your head in no time at all.”

All local primary schools have received a Clutha Country CD, which contains several versions of the song, as well as files with the lyrics and guitar chords. 

Council’s District Development Manager, Julie Pearse, says she’s thrilled to see the community celebrating the district in such a positive manner.

“Positively Clutha Women have done a great job in not only embracing the district branding, but in encouraging other people to actively use it and take pride in the district,” Mrs Pearse says. “The song encapsulates all the great things about Clutha Country and I’m sure it will catch on in no time at all.”

Click on the hand below to listen to the Clutha Country song. It may take several minutes to download and will only work if you have Windows Media Player or a similar programme installed on your computer.

Clutha Country - How to Use Your Brand Brochure

Developing the brand

In mid-2006, the Clutha District Council provided a brief to BrandCom to establish a new district brand that would deliver:

1.       Establish a logo consistent with a brand for the Clutha District to be used in conjunction with:

·         signage at Clutha District boundaries

·         a ‘living’ in Clutha brochure

·         a ‘visiting’ Clutha brochure

·         in-stands for use at Tradeshows

2.       The campaign needed to be aimed equally at internal promotion as well as external. The aim being a campaign that would promote within the district, initiating a ‘take pride in where we live’ type of feeling.

3.       The campaign needed to be aligned with the primary tourist hotspots of the Catlins and Lawrence, while still being able to blend and work with Balclutha and the entire Clutha District.

4.       Create a tagline.

A business seminar and public meeting held in September 2006 proved to be extremely important in the development of the Clutha Country brand. At the meeting, BrandCom asked the community two insightful questions:

·         What does a ‘sense of community’ mean?

·         And how does this ‘sense of community’ impact on people’s daily lives?

Community consultation showed that the people of the Clutha District value its friendliness towards the world, while consultation at a national level showed the Clutha District was considered an exceptionally friendly and a safe place.

Many other districts have chosen to emphasise a landscape feature in branding their areas. But in Clutha’s case, where the landscape is so diverse, this was not an option. Public feedback was about helping a tourist who was lost, waving at each other, people getting ‘stuck in’, helping each other out – these stories were about the people.

Saying hello – the outcome

Clutha Country’s tagline – where everyone says hello – is a reflection of the sense of the community, and the down-to-earth, easy-going nature of the people that live here.

Clutha could well be the last remaining district in New Zealand where people not only say hello to each other on a daily basis, but wave at strangers and passing visitors, who can’t help but ‘wave back’. By highlighting this core value of the community now, we may have been just in time to keep this alive at least for the next 20-30 years, possibly longer.

Inherent in the brand is the ability to physically communicate it. This is very rare and usually difficult to achieve.

How to use the brand

This brand is not ours; it’s yours, a symbol of how you see yourself and a way to sell yourself to the world. Embrace your identity, use this brand to your advantage and make it come to life. It is after all what makes you unique.

1.         Clutha Country website (www.CluthaCountry.co.nz)

The Clutha Country website contains information for visitors and people considering moving to the district, as well as information about upcoming community events. People can also upload their very own ‘hello’ photos to be displayed on the website – this has been a hugely popular and successful feature of the website to date.

Already, dozens of local schoolchildren, businesses and residents have submitted fantastic photos, poems and stories about what makes Clutha Country such a fantastic place to live.

Schools can also develop their own art or photographic competitions of people waving and then upload onto the website. Schools could even challenge other schools in the district to do the same, and teachers could discuss what makes Clutha Country so unique!

Another feature of the website is an interactive map highlighting various tourist routes throughout the district.  The website has been designed to be dynamic and representative of the district; it will continue to be an interactive portal for the community.

2.         Clutha Country email signatures

Many of you will send dozens of emails every week both to locals and to people throughout the world. Adding a Clutha Country signature to your emails is perhaps the easiest way to let people know where we’re from and what we’re all about.

Many locals are already stamping their Clutha Country mark on email inboxes throughout the world with the simple signature below:

www.CluthaCountry.co.nz ~ where everyone says hello

The signature has a direct link to the Clutha Country website, so recipients can see more of this great part of the world with the simple click of a button! To use the email signature, please contact Council by emailing help.desk@cluthadc.govt.nz.

3.         Clutha Country in advertising etc

Local businesses and tourist operators can use the campaign to lay claim to being part of Clutha Country in their print advertising and letterheads.

For example a Bed and Breakfast, in creating a brochure to advertise their accommodation, can incorporate images of people waving. This would be instantly recognisable as part of the campaign, and they can also use the Clutha Country logo.

Naturally, there are some guidelines in place to ensure the brand is used correctly and any designs have to be ‘signed off’ by either the Clutha District Council or Development House.

4.         Clutha Country banners

The banners and stand are available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis for local schools, businesses and organisations wanting to showcase the district to visitors and locals alike. Subject to availability, the banners and stand are available free of charge by contacting Council on 03 419 0200. They can also be viewed on the Clutha District Council website – www.cluthadc.govt.nz

Groups such as Positively Clutha Women (Rural Women’s Week), Balclutha Rotary, and local schools have made use of the banners and pop-up stand to add a friendly Clutha Country flavour to their events.

5.         Clutha Country merchandise

Merchandise is also available free of charge for approved conferences, functions, reunions, interest groups etc. Please see the brand support application attached to this document.  More information is available at www.cluthadc.govt.nz