Pensacola branding initiative

A car displaying the six versions of the campaign's signature magnets

A Pensacola branding initiative was undertaken by the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce in 2007. Their goal in creating a distinctive brand for the Pensacola area is to create a "product truth" that would help residents "reinvent and rediscover a new sense of community pride."

Contents

Development

When Charles Wood, the Chamber's senior vice-president for economic development, moved to Pensacola in 2006, a city-wide branding initiative was a major priority:

There is so much history here, and I don't know all the history, but there is a lot of economic development that runs through the history of Pensacola, and I like that. … I think there are some things that need to be started right away. The "branding" of Pensacola is one issue.

The subject was the focus of an IHMC lecture by Carol Coletta of CEOs for Cities. According to Coletta, "A city brand has to be felt through the community as a shared story. … There are obvious economic and social benefits for those who do it right. But if you make a mistake or don't do it well, the people in that town will give you hell."

The Chamber hired Coletta's Memphis-based firm Smart City Consulting, along with Stone Mantel of Colorado Springs, to study the Pensacola area and create a new "brand" for the city. Members of both firms traveled to Pensacola several times and held a series of charrettes in May 2007 to gain input from citizens.

Local advertising executive Jane Birdwell, whose firm BPM helped with the brand rollout, said of the endeavor, "The branding process gives people an opportunity to talk about their passions, what they love about this city, what their life experiences are here. Because while we might have issues with things and areas to improve, by and large we're all here because we love this place."

Elements

The first phase of the initiative, unveiled in September 2007, was a series of circular car magnets featuring six adjectives on brightly colored backgrounds. The words — heroic, genuine, beautiful, innovative, spirited and glorious — were chosen "to capture the essense of the city."

The words will also be used in banners placed around downtown Pensacola and on other merchandise available from the Chamber. A series of filmed ads are planned as well.

Reaction

In a viewpoint published in the Pensacola News Journal after the initiative was announced (but before details were announced), Ron Melton criticized the Chamber for "fretting too much about the lack of a superficial advertising identity and not doing enough to create a better education system, a cleaner environment and utilization of smart growth." A later editorial by the News Journal called the Chamber's effort "a serious one" that "has focused on the right things, beginning with our 450-year history."

The Independent News parodied the magnets in their 2007 "Best of the Coast" issue, joking that "if you see the six words … enough and speak them over and over again, then the Pensacola area will become those words. It's called 'branding.'"

External links

• Informational page at the Chamber's website
• Rebrand Pensacola – blog critical of the campaign