News

The trend of sponsored flats in North Dunedin has come under DCC scrutiny after the branding of a radio station on a Castle St flat did not have the required resource consent. The flat, situated on the corner of Castle St and Dundas St, has the ZM logo and radio frequency plastered on one of its external walls, which the Council, in a letter to the property owner, asked to be either removed or for retrospective resource consent to be applied for.

The ODT reported that, according to DCC resource consent manager Alan Worthington, the branding falls within the Council’s definition of “signage” and thus required that resource consent be applied for. Worthington further added that he “wouldn’t encourage [the property owner] applying. The most expedient route would be to remove it, I would think.”

The growing trend of sponsored student flats, including the V flat and newcomer Pic’s flat, has reportedly contributed to the Council’s latest action. Worthington said that the ZM brand logos differed from the “whole swag” of signs on other flats, many of which were flats named by tenants and were “part of the character of that environment.”

While it appeared that ZM had arranged with the property owner for the branding to be put up, neither party were aware that any such resource consent was required. Radio Network promotions coordinator Laura Campbell said, “The owner of the flat gave us consent; that’s why we pushed forward.”

While it was unclear to Critic whether the property owner intended to apply for retrospective consent or remove the branding, the tenants of the flat in question were against removing the branding as the arrangement saw them being given movie tickets and pizza vouchers. Flat tenant Abby Van de Vlierd told the ODT that the request by Council to remove the branding was “pathetic” and the sign itself was “harmless.”

Although the branding undoubtedly served as an impressive advertising platform to one of ZM’s target markets, Otago Business School senior marketing lecturer Dr John Guthrie said that flat sponsorship or endorsements could be considered a “mildly risky strategy” and things could “backfire quite badly” if the wrong mix of flat, place and students were included.