Love the Bay - logo or no go?

Love the Bay! We've been saying it since way back in 2014 when we put it on some stickers. We had Tapu Te Ranga in the background and everything. So we were very happy and flattered when the coalition between Wellington City Council, Cycle Aware Wellington and the Island Bay Residents Association (the syndicate) also adopted the phrase as the name of the Island Bay re-engagement process. We certainly didn't make any fuss about it or expect any acknowledgement. Nobody asked us about it but hey, it's not like we were the first ever people to say love the bay, right?

Island Bay Cycle Way's original 'Love the Bay' design (first 3 photos) and the new design on the right

Imagine my surprise then when I received the following email from the Love the Bay syndicate relating to ​my recent blog post What's happening with Love the Bay?

"Dear Regan,

The syndicate is writing in reference to your use of the Love The Bay logo to headline an opinion piece you have published on the status of the Love the Bay process.

The syndicate does not think that this is an appropriate use of the logo and respectfully request that you remove the logo from your post(s).

Love the Bay is a community centred and owned project and the syndicate’s view is that the logo should only be used when supporting official LTB communications by including an excerpt from or link to them, e.g. notices of upcoming workshops. In such cases, the logo’s use needs to be suitably attributed to the LTB project. Providing an opinion under the LTB logo dilutes the intent of the logo, and runs the risk of being mistaken for the LTB project or syndicate position when that may not be the case.

We would like to emphasise that conditions of use of the LTB logo applies across the board. We are well aware that there are many channels on social media with many different views and as much as is possible we will try to ensure that the integrity of the LTB logo is preserved in all cases.

Thanks for your understanding on this matter.

Kind regards,
Love The Bay syndicate"

Whaat? Sounds like someone's been watching too many episodes of Suits. It's probably not a surprise to anyone that I'm going to respectfully decline to do what they ask. Frankly, I think it's a silly request and their reasoning is a bit specious. Why was it even necessary to write this email? I would have hoped the syndicate has much more pressing and strategic matters to be discussing. And let's not forget the actual subject matter of the blog in question - without being too harsh throwing stones from glasshouses comes to mind. The blog is clearly an opinion piece about the Love the Bay process hosted on the Island Bay Cycle Way website, so there shouldn't be any confusion about my words being those of the Love the Bay project or syndicate. Please let me know if you're confused about that or what website you're currently reading though.

But hey, it's no biggie and I want the Love the Bay syndicate to know there's no hard feelings. I will continue to put time and effort into promoting Love the Bay events and posting Love the Bay updates on social media. That includes occasionally paying to boost Love the Bay related news on Facebook out of my own pocket, which I have now done several times because I believe its important to get the message out and try and get more people involved. And yes, I will also continue to put time and effort into engaging with the process and contributing to the discourse with my views and opinions.

They say every moment is a teachable moment so while I've got your attention here's a link to the latest update on the Love the Bay project. Click on the link! It's a good update! There's information! You'll be glad you did!

Have a lovely long weekend everyone.

​Peace out,
​
​Regan.