EP 14: Branding an Entire City

When we think of the word "brand" in an advertising sense, surely we first picture the Nike Swoosh, or the Coca-Cola can, or the Ford medallion, or, who knows, maybe the Quaker Oats guy. And for good reason. Their owners put forth gargantuan levels of money and strategy to make you think of them before their competitors. But what about when branding is the project of a local government? It's been happening a lot over the past decade, as cities and towns across the country seek to freshen or sharpen their images, most often to win new businesses, residents and economic growth. Just like with the private sector, town branding or rebranding is a delicate process that requires steady navigation to stay out of the ditch. What are the best practices? What's the secret? What happens when a town branding goes right? Or wrong? On this episode we talk with a town that's embarking on a branding project, another town that recently completed one, and a researcher who's written a lot on the subject. If your town is thinking about branding or rebranding, you might want to give this one a listen. Show notes: Southern City article, "Being a Brand Apart"- http://www.nclm.org/programs-services/publications/southern-city/2016/2016-05/Pages/BeingaBrandApart.aspx Town of Morrisville, "Live Connected. Live Well." - http://www.townofmorrisville.org/index.aspx?NID=794 City of Newton branding initiative - http://newtonnc.gov/brand/ Town of Fuquay-Varina, "A Dash More" - http://www.fuquay-varina.org/416/Fuquay-Varina---A-Dash-More Staci Zavattaro - https://www.cohpa.ucf.edu/directory/staci-zavattaro/ Zavattaro on Twitter, with links to books - https://twitter.com/staciwithaz