Maori Television 

Maori Television launched at a time when race-related issues were polarising the population of Aotearoa New Zealand.

So when it came to developing its brand identity, a scrupulously organised, utterly transparent and clearly defined project management system was required; one that ensured all stakeholders felt consulted, engaged and valued throughout the process.

The station was due to launch in four months' time; was understaffed and behind schedule; and beset with public relations problems - in short the perfect potential political scapegoat.

But a strong belief permeated the culture of the organisation, and 4i's needed only to capture its essence and put a shape to it.

While that took sensitivity, care and consensus-building by the truckload, the process was a straightforward one.

The creative process began with a promise that became the station's tagline: "Ma ratou, ma matou, ma koutou, ma tatou" (For them [those who have gone before], for us, for you, for everyone).

This was a notion of profound meaning for Maori, but was also patently risky given the channel's single-minded cultural mandate.

However, 4i's set about developing a brand that would embody that meaning for all New Zealanders.

With recognition and acceptance now high in most communities, 4i's continues to refine the brand identity as Maori Television seeks to develop language systems - both verbal and visual - through which it can communicate with relevance to its many and varied audiences.

In a little over two years, the Maori Television brand - with its distinctive word mark and inclusive tagline - has become a beloved symbol not just to Maori, but to New Zealanders of widely mixed backgrounds.

Now, when Maori Television says it is "ma tatou!", there is widespread understanding and endorsement of the claim.

Increasingly, as 4i's helps the brand to grow in maturity and broaden its strategic aspirations, it is able to draw on a design vocabulary that speaks with equal relevance to quite disparate audiences in a confident and cohesive manner - a vocabulary that is growing organically with the brand itself, but with controls to ensure that the growth comes at no expense to its core identity.

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