Up close and wonderful. The phrase is the core of Jamestown's new identity.
At the recent business meeting of the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation, Lee Harkness announced the completion of a marketing study for the city. However, hints of the new branding campaign have been already visible in the lead up to the international hockey pre-tournament camp in December. Printed on city maps and applied to storefront windows, a common logo features "Up Close and Wonderful: Jamestown, New York" in lively arranged letters and inviting font color.
"What we will want is for everybody to use this on their stationary and advertising. If everybody uses it, pretty soon it will be universally recognized as Jamestown," said Harkness, executive director of the DJDC.
He said the DJDC requested proposals from a field of marketing specialists. They found their partner in North Star Destination Strategies, a firm based in Nashville, Tenn.
North Star produced a comprehensive "Brand Management Action Plan," which showcases the new identity in a variety of formats. It also supplies a schedule of citywide implementation and follow-up surveys for managing its impact on the community.
Harkness said the work began two years ago. During the process, he said the DJDC recruited a group of "attractors in the city," which became the Jamestown Branding Study Committee. The group consisted of liaisons from the Fenton History Center, Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center and other venues.
"We actually have them as a committee of DJDC, so if they are awarded a grant the DJDC can officially house the grant for them," Harkness said.
He added the Gebbie Foundation came forward with the initial grant to pave the way for the marketing research.
"There will be a plan now to roll this out. We have the plan in place, now we have to figure out how we make it happen," Harkness said.
He added it is important that the new identity supports the vision of the ongoing Urban Design Plan. He said the local committee is hoping to enlist the support of a consultant to guide the city along the instructions laid out in North Star's BrandMAP.
Included is a tiered "timeframe for completion," which identifies short-term goals to be completed in one or two years. At the start of the first tier the BrandMAP recommends selecting a "Brand Marketing Manager" and setting to work on a toolkit and presentation for a diverse selection of audiences. Afterward, criteria includes establishing a partnership that assigns responsibility for new funding opportunities, creating or revamping signage on city-run and attractor facilities as well as developing a downtown pole banner program.
City Planner Bill Rice said government-sponsored activity will begin in the spring, after the selection of the manager position from the private sector. He said objectives will be met along a timeline so the city will "continually introduce things as we go and not just lay everything out and say that is it."
He added the initial grant allow a study into the prospective "business mix" that should be attained downtown. Rice said there are certain business that could reinforce the mission of existing local enterprises and improve the overall climate of downtown tourism.