Client: Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa: A CITY IN SEARCH OF AN IDENTITY

BYLINE: BOB NORBERG

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Santa Rosa residents are liberal, drink premium beer and wine, drive imports and think their city, if it was a celebrity, would be Luther Burbank. Or maybe Steve Jobs. Or Kevin Costner. Or perhaps George Clooney.

So says a survey released Wednesday by a company charged with crafting a new slogan, a new logo and ultimately a new image for the city.

Santa Rosans see their city as the cultural, financial and service hub of Sonoma County, a place that offers much for families and balances urban and rural lifestyles.

On the downside, the survey found that outsiders think Santa Rosa lacks the personality of Healdsburg and Sonoma, competes in the major leagues against San Francisco, Monterey and Lake Tahoe for visitors, and is in a state of flux.

Santa Rosa isn't so much a destination, the survey said, as it is "a place to drive through on your way to somewhere else.''

The findings are included in a 100-page research report given to the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce by a Tennessee firm hired to help the city find its identity.

"There is a lot of good news,'' said Don McEachern of North Star Destination Strategies of Nashville. "This is very positive information, there are a lot of opportunities.''

North Star is working under a contract with the chamber, the city, the Santa Rosa Convention & Visitors Center and Santa Rosa Main Street to assess what attracts and repels people about Santa Rosa.

Once that is understood, the city can adopt a slogan and logo, a "brand print,'' and a strategy to market itself.

North Star recently completed a similar program in Sebastopol, which last month unveiled its new logo and slogan: "Local flavor. Global vision.''

McEachern, who spoke at a chamber breakfast Wednesday in Santa Rosa, said "the logo and the tagline get all the attention, it's easy and quick.''

But, he said, the community needs to "wear the brand like a second skin, they celebrate it, it becomes part of the culture.''

The survey is the halfway point in the process, said Mike Hauser, the Santa Rosa chamber's president.

The goal is to define "the concept of how we present ourselves to potential tourists, how we present ourselves to people who live here, how we present ourselves to people who want to do business,'' Hauser said.

The research included surveys of city and county officials, residents and tourists, melding that with data taken from 15 economic, tourism and planning reports by governments and businesses.

What it found is that Santa Rosa has, among its assets, Railroad Square, Old Courthouse Square, the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, the Charles Schulz Museum, Safari West, wineries, the Sonoma County Fairgrounds and 41 parks.

Santa Rosa is perceived as the economic engine of Sonoma County and the cultural, business, service and educational hub. Being the hub of the county is not bad, McEachern said.

The survey also finds that Santa Rosa is seen as a city that is in transition as it struggles with its own growth.

"I think we are a city in transition, and that is a positive,'' City Councilwoman Jane Bender said.

As for the city as celebrity, Burbank was suggested with the phrase, "we continue to plant seeds and create new and improved varieties.''

Jobs was Santa Rosa as growth machine and new wealth. Clooney was the attractive, sophisticated activist, and Costner as mid-life and well off with a broad appeal.