London's newest village comes to life with branding guidance from Ziggurat Brands

Following the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games Ziggurat Brands set about creating an identity for Greenwich Millennium Village that would “build on the sense of community generated by the Games, and would encourage people not simply to see the area as an investment opportunity but as a place to live, to raise their families and to feel proud of,” said Alison Taylor, client director at Ziggurat Brands.

Taylor added: “The challenge in creating an authentic and powerful identity for a property development is that there is rarely any product differentiation. Houses in one development are much like houses in another development, so you have to look elsewhere for the essence of the brand.”

In order to create a solid identity for the area which is home to The O2 arena the agency talked to those “on the ground” to get a feel for how much they liked living there. Ziggurat Brands encouraged the stakeholders to use the name Greenwich Millennium Village as opposed to GMV, which sounds more like a development company than a place to live.

A brandmark reflecting the angular buildings of Erskine’s design was then developed, replacing the cold, impersonal silver of the previous logo with green. “Property companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of branding, not just as sales tool, but as a way of communicating the values and successes of their developments,” added Taylor. “Whereas 20 years ago property branding meant little more than putting a logo on a building, now urban planners are recognising the important role branding can play in physical environments. For example, on this project we even worked with HLM Architects on the redesign of the village green. “It is vital that a property brand is visible not merely in print and online, but is also expressed in the actual space of the development. We believe that is what we have helped Greenwich Millennium Village to achieve, and we look forward to seeing this community thrive in the years ahead.”The branding has since been deployed across all Greenwich Millennium Village brochures, signage, hoarding, events and website.