MIPIM 2008: Manchester messengers ‘must look ahead’

Manchester's Original Modern brand must be reflected in the city's property content rather than being a mere "pat on the back for past achievements", said Nick Johnson, chairman of Marketing Manchester.

Speaking at an event on the Manchester stand this afternoon, Johnson, who is also deputy chief executive of Urban Splash, said: "We are in the world of city competitiveness and it is important to consider the implications of what branding is. We all participate in brands through the things we wear and the things that people think about us.

"Original Modern is as much a proposition as a declaration. It is not about giving ourselves a pat on the back for past achievements. It is about a statement of where the city is headed.

Johnson cited Peter Saville, the Factory Records designer who gifted the slogan to Manchester three years ago, saying all Manchester businesses needed to ask themselves if their actions were really original and modern.

Johnson added: "The things that those of us in the city make and do are far more important than what we say. The brand is about the way we drive content in the city."

Also speaking were Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, and Edward Ziff, chairman and chief executive of Town Centre Securities, the developer behind the Piccadilly Basin rebirth.