Key Challenge
A day at the beach.    Boasting a big asset is never a bad thing.  But sometimes to identify the essence of a community, you must pull back a bit from the high-profile to gain perspective on the profound.  Such was the case with Monticello, home of regionally renowned lakeside amusement park Indiana Beach.  High-wattage attractions including wooden roller coasters, rides, a boardwalk and a water park sometimes detracted from the community’s subtler charms.  Savvy city leaders launched a branding initiative to uncover the identity that would embody all sides of life in this two-lake town.       

Critical Insight
North Star research revealed that Monticello is shaped by its surroundings. The heart of this town is tied to lakes Freeman and Shafer that define it geographically.  Of course this includes fun-loving Indiana Beach, but it is so much more. Anyone who has spent time lakeside understands how the experience engages the senses . . . waves lapping the shore, warm sun and breezes, the smell of morning on the water.  The lakes infuse the town with energy, personality, sparkle, fun and tranquility. You could say that the lakes, and the spirit that extends beyond their banks and into the community, offers a chance for something more than everyday living.  It’s lakeside living.     

Brand Strategy
North Star recommended positioning Monticello as a place for people seeking a friendly waterside environment where the lakes are a lifestyle not just a landscape.  The creative brand identity is anchored by the line “Life with a splash” that epitomizes the “something extra” that comes with lakestyle living.  Communications and the high-energy logo convey how this “splash” reflects on everything from vacation to business to everyday life, transforming experiences into something a little more special, a little more heartfelt, little more fun.

Initial Concept

One of the ways North Star brings your community brand to life is with a Brand Identity package, which is the creative representation of your community brand. Creative goodies include recommendations for a logo, strap line, color palette, print ads, outdoor boards, t-shirts, websites and more!  (Note:  The “initial concept” is North Star’s recommendation.  As our client’s brand implementation progresses we will provide their “evolution of the idea”!)

• Sound off - Develop a signature sound for a splash that can be used as sound on your portal website, can be downloaded from the portal as a ringtone, can be included on MP3 tours of the area and can be the precursor sound for radio advertising, cables access talk shows and PSAs. The sound should be unique and wholly identifiable with Monticello . . . for example the sound of a splash followed by a child‘s laugh. Used consistently, such sounds can come to represent a product or place without any other visual elements (consider the brand equity built in the tone that identifies Microsoft booting up). Click on the link below to hear the accompanying sound file.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPCWyiZ508w
  
  
• Brand stationery - Reprint the letterhead, cards, envelopes and folders for all public organizations with the new brand logo. Make a production out of presenting employees with the new branded materials. For example, package each department‘s new materials in a large picnic basket and hand them out at a Splash Bash picnic lunch. Set a roll-out date after which only the new materials may be used and place a splashdown clock in various government offices.
  
  
  
• Brand lakeside beachfront - Branded docks and boardwalks: Use your docks, boat launches and boardwalk as a canvas for displaying the brand message. Old-fashioned telescopes can offer a look at far away boats. Dispensers filled with fish food give children the opportunity to feed the fish (talk about splashing). Seasonal food carts can sell ice cream, snow cones and cold drinks. Pole supports let fishermen relax even as they fish. A series of brand-inspired pole banners (public access parking lots) can create continuity between all lake access points by telling the story of life with a splash
  
  
• Celebrate the lake life with new festivals - Splashback festival . . . Splash back to Monticello‘s early days with an event featuring the food, clothes, music and entertainment of yesteryear. Each year the festival can focus on a different decade in Monticello history.
  

Press

Splashy new Monticello logo a group effort

Kudos

"The City of Monticello was trying to find its niche.  I am very pleased with the hands-on approach that North Star provided through this process.  We are now strategically in place to market our assets, which is lakeside living.  I look forward to the possibilities this BrandPrint will bring us.  The City is more than living, we are Life with a Splash!!" - Mayor Jason Thompson, City of Monticello

“For many years, I researched branding companies. North Star's work stood above the rest. The Chamber could not find funding for the branding process. When our new Mayor found the funds, I was thrilled. We are the home of a major tourism attraction, Indiana Beach. If you visited our downtown, you would never know that. I've always believed we needed our own identity apart from Indiana Beach while recognizing its importance. The brand you uncovered does that. It's young and full of vitality. We are very pleased with the branding process and the end result. Now the work for us begins!!! Thank you, Janet Dold, Executive Director, Greater Monticello Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.”