Key Challenge
Playing it safe doesn’t pay off. Located in the midst of Los Angeles, Pasadena and Burbank, Glendale, California has a reputation as a quiet, productive, safe community. But that can translate into boring surrounded by all that glitz and glam. While being safe in Glendale is a good thing, turns out playing it safe doesn’t always pay off. How then to get noticed in the heart of the most competitive region in the nation?
Critical Insight
The key was not to try and make Glendale cooler than its competition, but to identify what is special about the city and then find a provocative hook to leverage that essence for the purposes of economic development. Research revealed that Glendale’s essence is the confluence of dynamic characters and personalities that brings each of the city’s 33 neighborhoods and six business districts to life in a wholly distinct way. The hook is Glendale’s animation industry including being home to the creative campuses of the world-famous DreamWorks Animation and Disney Imagineering.
Brand Strategy
North Star connected the dots between the two with a strategy based on the fusion of imagination and vision that makes life more dynamic and animated.
The line, “Your Life. Animated” can be customized by local businesses and industries such as the famous Porto’s bakery using “Your Appetite. Animated”. The logo, which features five brightly colored graphic spirals can be animated for digital use and manipulated with relevant images in the spirals such as fruits and vegetables for the farmer’s market or different brands of high-end cars from the Brand Boulevard of Cars. See an in-depth exploration of the logo and line.
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”!)
Click the video below to animate the Glendale logo!
Brand Action
Bringing a two-dimensional city brand to life in a three-dimensional community takes a strong brand action plan. Following are a sampling of action ideas from the hundreds developed specifically for Glendale. All were designed to help them wear their city brand like a second skin.
