CPH Port iD workshop
Brief: The objective of the CPH Port iD workshop is to create a new, vibrant, dynamic and direction-setting identity for the harbour of Copenhagen. The working hypothesis is that by entering into the public space with a new CPH port iD it will be possible to influence investors, authorities and the citizens of Copenhagen to make the harbour a dynamic and vibrant place.
It is a workshop for an interdisciplinary and international group of professionals working in the field of communication and urban development. The workshop will take place between August 2th and 17th, 2003.
There are two components to this project – the Internet workshop and the on-site workshop. The internet workshop focuses on developing three brand identities of the Copenhagen harbour and the onsite workshop focusing on identifying characteristics and potentials of the Copenhagen harbour, elaborating the new brand identities for the harbour and a strategy to realise and communicate this identity.
Responsible for the CPH port iD is Jens Brandt, Architect MAA and Assistant Professor Can-Seng Ooi, sociologist at the Copenhagen Business School.
Background: CPH port iD workshop is part of SUPERTANKER, an independent laboratory where ideas for a vibrant and dynamic harbour are created, developed and communicated. The CPH port iD workshop complements two planned SUPERTANKER workshops in which the citizens of Copenhagen and students respectively are working with ideas for small or large-scale projects for the Copenhagen harbour.
SUPERTANKER and the workshop CPH port iD run parallel to The Blue Plan” concerning the Copenhagen harbour, which the City of Copenhagen and Copenhagen port authorities are jointly working on. SUPERTANKER is a new movement consisting of young professionals, people of Copenhagen and people who use the harbour. It is initiated by Luftkastellet (a popular restaurant, night-club and cultural hub at the Copenhagen harbour) and the association Aktiv Havn (Active Harbour).
SUPERTANKER starts a democratic process which includes all citizens of Copenhagen and the activities consist of workshops, exhibitions, debates, a web site and project development. The outcome of SUPERTANKER is an exhibition seen by 25.000 persons, a web site with 50.000 hits and a whole world of ideas on how to make the Copenhagen harbour a vibrant and dynamic place.
Outcome of workshop:
CPH port identities – Three alternative proposals for a harbour identity with in-depth reflections on the strengths and challenges behind each brand identity and strategy.
Public debate – The public is involved through a press conference, articles and other media events.
Exhibition at SUPERTANKER in the end of August, and the public will have the chance to express their preferences for each one of these brand identity through a polling process.
Evaluation A discussion on the three alternative CPH port identities with harbour stakeholders will result in choosing one of harbour identity as the final proposal for a new CPH port iD.
Brand identity: In the marketing literature, branding is a means to communicate a coherent and attractive image to audiences. However, there are other inherent functions for a brand like Copenhagen Harbour. This project aims towards achieving following goals.
Firstly, the brand identity is both a description and vision of the product, in this case, the harbour. The brand identity will not only communicate what it is to the public but also what it wants to be.
Secondly, the brand-identity focus the attention of audiences towards understanding the harbour in a particular way. Otherwise, people may not be aware of the harbour, or that they are getting incomplete messages about the harbour – they do not have a sense of place for the harbour.
Thirdly, as a vision, the brand identity provides a blueprint or master plan to develop the area physically, socially and culturally. A co-ordinated effort aiming towards particular goals will result in a more exciting and dynamic environment for the city.
Fourthly, The brand-identity will become the basis for people visiting the area to interpret and experience the place; the identity will engage people’s imagination via its messages and images.
The Internet workshop will function very differently from the later on-site workshop. It will concentrate on imagining and fantasising the harbour without being “corrupted” by “reality”. Such imaginations can allow us to stretch the brand identity vision and offer ideas that may be blocked by mental barriers when one frames reality based on experiences. We will bring these fresh imaginations into the on-site workshop.
The virtual workshop will also allow participants to be familiar with the harbour branding topics and approaches before the on-site meeting. The on-site meeting is relatively short and the virtual workshop will prepare participants not only in terms of the contents but will also build social bonding.
The virtual workshop will not function in synchronised time, that means participants will not be in sync with each other when they communicate. The workshop will therefore take time but the extra time will allow participants to reflect on the topics. Each participant is expected to spend an average of one hour a day during the virtual workshop.
Jens Brandt and Can-Seng Ooi will be convening the virtual workshop. Can-Seng Ooi is a certified e-moderator with experience in running such a workshop. For the virtual workshop, detailed instructions will be given to participants, and they will be given short, easy and achievable tasks. Motivational techniques will be used to encourage active participation.
Workshop participants: Approximately 20 interdisciplinary participants from both the Øresund region and from abroad. Sociologist, artists, geographers, designers, architects, media consultants, etc.
Harbour stakeholders: Representatives from major investors and building contractors, the Copenhagen Port and city of Copenhagen, users of the harbour such as sport clubs and houseboat residents.
Project components
Phase I: Non site – Internet workshop. Presentation of workshop participants. A general discussion focusing on developing three brand identities of the Copenhagen harbour starts by participants contributing with each 10 reference photos. Themes are drawn from the initial discussion and this part of the workshop’s results in three essays based on the chosen themes. The virtual workshop will give participants many ideas on how to think about Copenhagen Harbour.
Phase II: On site – Workshop in Copenhagen. Presentation of the CPH harbour at a boat ride with CPH harbour stakeholders as guides. The boat ride will challenge their thoughts as they experience the place. Subsequently, based on their experiences, ideas and what exist in the harbour, the two-day workshop will use a number of exercises to offer three alternative brand identities. Each of these alternatives will have a complete strategy on how to realise and communicate the new brand identity to the world.
Timeline
Phase I: Non site – Internet workshop
There will be 5 e-tivities in this virtual workshop:
1. Handshaking
2. Imagining place
3. Values for the brand identity
4. Picking the brand identity values
5. Brand identities and stories
Considering the context of a virtual workshop, each e-tivity will take 2-3 days for each participant to complete. The role of the e-convenors will be very central here as they will be the ones facilitating and encouraging flows of exchanges and discussions. A virtual workshop platform will be used, in which people can post messages and also chat with one another. The workshop will take place over two weeks (Weeks 32 and 33).
Week 32
E-tivity 1: Handshaking
Saturday 2/8
Sunday 3/8
This is the get-to-know” each other session, during which people will introduce each other and exchange snippets about their professional and personal lives. Participants will familiarise themselves to the technology in a virtual workshop.
E-tivity 2: Imagining place
Monday 4/8
Tuesday 5/8
Wednesday 6/8
Participants will be asked to imagine what they want Copenhagen Harbour to be. They will present their imaginations via ten (electronic) pictures expressing scenes and emotions. Each picture will have a caption to express what the picture means to the participant.
Participants will be encouraged to comment on each others’ pictures. Participants will be divided into groups according to three emerging themes.
Initial overview on participants ideas, dreams and values for the future of CPH harbour
General discussion and formation of three groups.
E-tivity 3: Values for the brand identity
Thursday 7/8
Friday 8/8
Through the pictures, the group will discuss and pick five attractive values or characteristics that they want to associate with the brand identity of Copenhagen Harbour.
For each characteristic, they will provide a short 2-5 sentence explanation together with accompanying images. Three groups choose 5 values for a new brand identity.
Arguments for the choice of values.
Week 33
E-tivity 4: Selecting brand identity values
Saturday 9/8
Sunday 10/8
Monday 11/8
The groups present their selected images and values. All participants will discuss the potential brand values together.
The discussions aims at reaching a consensus on grouping various values into three alternative brand identities. (Voting is used if consensus cannot be reached) Some values will be accentuated, while others dropped in the process of constructing the three alternative brand identities.
Discussion on the choice of values.
Grouping and prioritising of values into three brand identities for the CPH harbour.
E-tivity 5: Brand identities and stories
Tuesday 12/8
Wednesd. 13/8
Thursday 14/8
Participants will be broken up into three groups, and each group will be a champion for each brand identity.
Each group will weave a story for their brand-identity. The presented story should not be more than 100 words. Images will be used to accompany the story.
These three brands and their stories will form the bases for the workshop in Copenhagen.
New groups weaves a story for each brand identity.
Phase II: On site – Workshop in Copenhagen.
In all the exercises, participants will have access to computers and printers. They will use images they have collected. They will have the opportunities to manipulate, re-draw and enlarge the pictures
Friday 15/8 Arrival
Evening Dinner at harbour front restaurant
Ice-breaking exercises to acquaint participants to each other, as well as, to acquaint them to Copenhagen and Denmark Welcome, and cultivating a warm social and working environment for participants
Saturday 16/8 Morning Boat ride around the harbour (2 hours) Stakeholders of the harbour will act as guides.
Exercise 1: Take interesting” pictures of the harbour during the boat ride; one roll of film for each participant Experience the harbour site so that participants know the reality”
Lunch
Afternoon Short talk (Jens Brandt, 15 min): Harbour’s history and planning strategies
Exercise 2 (1.5 hour, with everyone): Angles from the boat: what have we learned from the harbour tour? How should we update the three brand frameworks, as originally established in the virtual workshop?
Exercise 3 (1.5 hour, group work): Selecting 5 preliminary images for each of the three new brand framework, together with modified stories. Plenary presentation, and feedback on new framework.
Reconfiguration of group for tomorrow morning’s exercises. Background information
Reflections on what is the harbour like now, and how they differ from the initial imaginations
Fine-tuning the branding framework based on participants’ experiences of the actual place
To allow for dynamic and fluid contributions
Evening Dinner
Sunday 17/8 Morning Short talk (Can-Seng Ooi, 15 min): Poetics and politics of branding
Exercise 4 (1.5 hours, group work): Within each branding framework, what are the internal characteristics? What make the harbour unique?
Plenary presentations (1.5 hours) Group presentations with the help of 5-8 essential images, followed by discussions (30 minute for each group in total)
Reconfiguration of groups for afternoon’s exercises
Lunch A framework to understand branding
Establish the 2 basic dimensions in each of the brand identity
To clarify ideas and seek feedback on the evolving proposed brand identities
To allow for dynamic and fluid contributions in all the proposals
Afternoon Short talk (Can-Seng Ooi, 15 min): Branding strategies
Exercise 5 (2 hours, group work): Develop the branding strategies for each brand, and producing a strategy report/presentation.
Why this brand?
Poetry in the brand (visualising – logo – and communicating the brand and its values)
Politics in realising the brand (how to convince different stakeholders? Why is the brand vision feasible?)
Plenary presentations (1.5 hours) Presentation of results To sell the ideas convincingly to the public
Evening Dinner
Tuesday 19/8 Press conference
The press conference is followed by articles, and other ways to involve the public. Ensure that the result of the workshop is presented to the public in Copenhagen.
Week 34 & 35 Exhibition
The three alternative proposals for a new CPH port iD along with an in depth presentation of the three identities and the process that lead to them at SUPERTANKER in the end of August.
the public will have the chance to express their preferences for each one of these brand identity through a polling process. Communication and discussion of workshops results.
Week 36 & 37 Evaluation and workshop
Evaluation and production of a report presenting the process and the result of the CPH port iD workshop. The material will be made available on the www.supertanker.info web site and at the Evaluation workshop.
