The Dunedin City Council will launch the first stage of its Brand Dunedin marketing strategy today.
The "Insiders' Dunedin" campaign is inviting residents to come forward with Dunedin stories which will "stimulate a sense of parochialism" and engage people.
The subsequent stories will be placed on a website and used to promote the city in local, domestic and international advertising campaigns.
Dunedin residents are encouraged to visit: www.insidersdunedin.co.nz with stories, videos and images, plus help identify the city's local characters and "hidden gems".
People can also write to the Otago Daily Times with their stories at PO Box 517 with "Insiders' Dunedin" on the envelope.
DCC city marketing team leader Jennifer Hooker yesterday told the ODT that the campaign would be promoted throughout the greater Dunedin area starting today.
"We're going to have posters everywhere, from Port Chalmers and Mosgiel to Middlemarch," Ms Hooker told the ODT.
The project runs until September 11, when prizes will be awarded for the best stories and a national campaign launched to target visitor and tertiary sectors, as well as former Dunedin locals and alumni.
DCC chief executive Jim Harland said it was hoped the "Insiders' Dunedin" campaign would create a profile that "will enable Dunedin to present itself in a compelling and cohesive way and attract like-minded people to consider the city as an attractive place in which to live, work, do business, study and visit".
The $500,000 initiative was developed over two years by the DCC in collaboration with its Brand Dunedin partners - Allied Press, Tourism Dunedin, the University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic, Otago Chamber of Commerce, Otago-Southland Employers' Association and Dunedin Venues.
The aim of Brand Dunedin is to develop a city-wide, collaborative approach to Dunedin city marketing.
"Insiders' Dunedin" succeeds the "I am Dunedin" and "Dunedin, It's all right here" campaigns.
