View The Case Study View North Star Press

Client: Santa Rosa, California

BOUNTIFUL RESPONSE TO NEW SR SLOGAN `SANTA ROSA -- CALIFORNIA CORNUCOPIA'

Published on December 8, 2007
© 2007- The Press Democrat

BYLINE: KEVIN McCALLUM

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Santa Rosa is no longer simply "A City Designed for Living.''

After more than a year of work and scores of interviews a group led by the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce on Friday released its pick to replace the city's longtime slogan.

And the winner is ...

The new slogan, paired with a colorful logo of an overflowing horn of plenty, is designed to effectively market Santa Rosa to Bay Area tourists and business groups, said Mo McElroy, executive director of the city's Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The logo and brand identity are meant to evoke the abundance -- cultural and agricultural -- that Santa Rosa offers visitors and new businesses alike.

"I am convinced that this is going to be an effective way to market Santa Rosa,'' said Mike Hauser, president of the chamber.

The new slogan and logo were revealed Friday at a sustainability conference staged by the chamber. Effectively marketing the city is one of the keys to keeping it economically sustainable, Hauser said.

The new slogan is meant to replace the one chosen by the chamber after a 1946 contest to promote the city's "new'' image following World War II.

While "A City Designed for Living'' served the city well for decades, the chamber hasn't used it in promotions in years, Hauser said.

Many city and business leaders in attendance praised the new concept.

North Star Destination Strategies is the firm hired to research the public's impressions of the city and draw up a strategic marketing plan centered around a new slogan.

North Star conducted a similar project for Sebastopol, which unveiled its new slogan in April: "Local Flavor. Global Vision.''

The slogan was not selected through a contest, but rather by a committee of the four groups that funded the effort -- the chamber, the city Economic Development department, the Santa Rosa Convention & Visitors Bureau and Santa Rosa Main Street.

The chamber did not release the 119-page marketing strategy developed by North Star.

McElroy said she was thrilled when the day finally arrived because it meant she would have something snappier to tell people than "Santa Rosa -- Come here.''

While Santa Rosa's location in the heart of Wine Country makes the industry a key draw for the city's tourists, the selection committee opted not to choose a wine-related image or slogan, Hauser said. Their research showed at least 15 other cities around the country have used a wine theme in their slogan, Hauser said.

One of those is Windsor, which claims to be the "Gateway to Wine Country.''

Nevertheless, a bunch of grapes is prominent on the horn of plenty logo.

Other images are a fork and spoon, representing the area's fine cuisine; a musical note for the city's concert scene; a bag for its shopping; a rose, presumably a tip of the hat to Luther Burbank; a fish; and an artichoke.

Santa Rosa City Manager Jeff Kolin said he was pleased to see the results of the effort.

"It was nice to see it come to fruition. It's been a long process,'' Kolin said.

How the city intends to implement the slogan and marketing plan remains to be seen.

Blanchard said it was far too soon to say whether the logo and slogan would be used in city publications and on city buildings and vehicles.

But Kolin said he doesn't expect the city government to adopt the new slogan and logo as its own. The chamber's marketing efforts are going to be broader than the city's, and will include highlighting attractions outside the city limits, Kolin said.

"This was never really intended to replace the city logo or to be immediately placed on the vehicles or the stationery or those kinds of things,'' Kolin said.

City Councilman John Sawyer said he expects to hear a great deal from people who like it and those who don't at the next council meeting.

But no slogan can ever make everyone happy, he said. The goal is less about finding a cohesive identity for a diverse city than to communicate a sense of its bounty to others.