Spring brands Tory conference retail zone

Spring has designed the identity for a new retail zone at the 2009 Conservative Party conference, which will be held in Manchester next October.

‘North Parade’, named after the Grantham street where Margaret Thatcher was born, will host up to 100 specialist retailers and is aimed at the growing numbers of 20- to 40-year-olds who attend the conference, according to Spring managing director Erika Clegg.

Spring developed the branding of the zone with careful attention to party guidelines, creating a simple identity with serifed fonts and sketchy depictions of Classical architectural features. The consultancy also came up with the tagline for the 2009 conference, ‘Be Part of the Story’.

Clegg says the identity was created to communicate ‘a sense of establishment tempered with levity’.

She adds, ‘We wanted the North Parade brand to have a clear autonomous identity, allowing it to appeal to potential retail exhibitors.’

Scott Seaman-Digby, commercial director at the Conservative Party’s campaign HQ, describes the North Parade brand as ‘a strong offer for retailers and exhibitors, and one which sits well with the party’s ethos’.