However, if the challenge of introducing "lifestyle reserve" to the tourism terminology list is met, then Lake Wanaka Tourism (LWT) could have come up with a brand which surpasses everyone's expectations, Professor James Higham says.
"If you are able to make that association with being the first in the world to do or lay claim to something, then the branding benefits can be particularly advantageous," he said.
A recent New Zealand bid to introduce an unusual term was the Mackenzie Basin's proposed world-first "starlight reserve", giving protected status to the night sky above Lake Tekapo, Prof Higham said.
The key achievement in establishing a successful, recognisable brand was delivering a clear and lasting communication to a target audience, he said.
The challenge with tourism brands was the diverse markets. Domestic tourists were more familiar with the features of a particular place, while international markets were not.
"The concept of a lifestyle reserve may mean something completely different to someone in Beijing or Sydney, let alone Dunedin or the lower South Island," Prof Higham said.
Lifestyle reserve could be critiqued as being a "potentially complicated" brand.
"I don't want to over-analyse here, but the word `reserve' can have connotations of restriction, limited access, and an out-of-reach desirability," he said.
He agreed "reserve" could also be construed as an subconscious imperative for someone to make a booking, lest they miss out.
The clarity and meaning of the brand would need to be carefully managed to ensure it was taken on board by markets, Prof Higham said.
Lake Wanaka Tourism (LWT) board chairman Ross McRobie says the new brand sent a powerful message.
"That protected stamp of the world's first lifestyle reserve is an incredibly powerful message that we can take to outside markets," he said. No-one else would ever be able to claim the title of the world's first lifestyle reserve, he said.
LWT general manager James Helmore said the marketing campaign and website redesign cost "less than $20,000".
The lifestyle reserve campaign is the brainchild of Wanaka public relations and marketing outfit Sorted Design.
LWT's 400 members had been sent survey forms asking what living and working in Wanaka meant to them.
The 96 member responses had been compared with 75 surveys handed in by visitors to Wanaka. The similarities between the responses was striking, Mr Helmore said.
Lifestyle was one of the most common answers from both groups when asked to name Wanaka's key attraction.
The concept has attracted some criticism about the notions of exclusivity, protectiveness, and having perceived links to the retirement industry.
Helicopter pilot Graham Stott told the ODT a lifestyle reserve exaggerated existing notions about Wanaka's "oversized retirement village" reputation.
A more vibrant catchprase was needed to motivate "get up and go" tourists, he said.
Wanaka resident Steve Coombe emailed the ODT to say Wanaka was claiming to be something it was not.
"The main snag is that Wanaka as a 'reserve' does not exist, [besides] a border with some great national park."
The message was firstly dull and secondly inaccurate, Mr Coombe said.
However, Treble Cone skifield marketing manager Nigel Kerr said the "lifestyle reserve" tag was "another brand" which set an expectation and delivered a little bit of a promise for visitors.
"It contains enough grains of truth as any successful brand needs to," he said.
Luggate Hotel general manager Sarah Perriam said she loved the stamped logo, which gave the concept a mark of authentic originality.
She considered it worked for locals and business operators in the area surrounding Wanaka.
"I'm most impressed with the website. It's fresh and modern, while giving us a point of difference to other alpine resorts."
Puzzling World marketing manager and LWT deputy chairman Duncan Spear said his first reaction to the "lifestyle reserve" message was one of bewilderment.
"Initially, I found it difficult to get my head around it,"Rather than being a catchy slogan, the concept encouraged people to think a little deeper about a meaning.
He liked how a new catchprase had been created, because one couldn't help but question what a "lifestyle reserve" was.
Wanaka's brand needed to be distinct from Queenstown's to ensure there was a key point of difference between the two neighbouring resorts, Mr Helmore said.
A survey response had listed how Wanaka was a "destination that could be discovered, whereas Queenstown can't be avoided," he said.
Wanaka had to pitch a complementary message alongside Queenstown's well-known branding as the country's capital of adventure and adrenaline.
He rejected any notion that the lifestyle reserve concept was aimed at an older, educated, and affluent visitor market.
People could not be pigeon-holed into age-groups, or convenient backpacker stereotypes.
Mr Helmore said Wanaka had to offer visitors a more meaningful experience, as compared with conventional notion of "tourists," whom he saw as people who merely passed through a place and never took the time to take things in.
One of the key things that struck him during the process to determine the lifestyle reserve concept was a survey response which said "Wanaka becomes a part of you. It changes you," Mr Helmore said.
