It’s always funny to us to see how exterior signage seems to get under the skin of city governments and management boards of public areas. We’ve talked about the battle between Ripleys and the Baltimore Harbor and the Wilshire Hotel and the city government, and now we bring you a battle between a bank and the local government in another country.

In an article by Wayne Thompson on nzherald.co.nz titled “Council red-cards ANZ Bank’s logo bid” the story of the battle over signage rights is detailed. Here are some key excerpts from the article:

• The Rugby World Cup tournament sponsor ANZ National Bank is arguing to keep its exterior signage logo flying atop a prominent building overlooking the former waterfront Rugby World Cup fanzone area.
• The bank was given dispensation from Auckland Council bylaws under the major events’ provisions to have exterior signage on the former Auckland Harbor Board building for the period of its tournament sponsorship.
• The bank now wants its name and lotus flower logo on the sides of the building’s highest point and architectural feature – its glass-clad plant room.
• The report says the bank’s exterior signage was part of a city-wide branding campaign which would trigger requests from others and spoil the city’s looks.

As we’ve said before, we’re in favor of local governments and local companies making their own decisions on what works best for signage standards. It’s easy to see how the city could say “it’s time to take this down,” but we cannot help but feel that this is more about getting a “naming-rights” payment to keep the exterior signage in place. After all, the folks in Auckland know that illuminated exterior signage is not meant to be a temporary installation. Any exterior signage — especially wall-mounted letters with power — will leave a scar on the facade once it is removed.