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Client: Brookings, South Dakota
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City, county need common message
BY
John Kubal
"We are really excited that we are embarking on a 'one-Brookings' message . We need a brand in Brookings in order to help it grow."
That was the message Victoria Blatchford, chairwoman for the Brookings Visitor Promotions Committee, brought to the Brookings County Commission at its Thursday morning meeting.
Continuing, she explained that "the idea behind branding is really to help foster the growth of Brookings, to be able to make us a marketplace so we can attract people "to come to Brookings, not only for our businesses but for our visitors, which is our primary goal."
She cited the need for a "brand strategy, which is different from marketing" and has one message to clearly communicate what Brookings is today and what it will be in the future.
The branding process is under way, with the Promotions Committee seeking "the most-qualified individual, professional services in order to do this process." She pointed out that "branding is more than a logo and tagline."
Brookings now has a variety of brandings that must be molded into one. And vital to it all is to attract people to Brookings future students, young families, active retirees, business and industry and keep them here.
Blatchford said, "We are not only just a state, local, regional, national and international marketplace. Don't forget agriculture."
In response to Blatchford's call to the commission for questions, Commissioner Mary Negstad said, "One of the things I hope you don't forget is that agriculture is the major player in the total economy of Brookings County."
Blatchford agreed that agriculture "is a vital part, because it's the underlying foundation of what South Dakota stands for. " It is a critical part; we'll make sure we have that at the forefront."
Al Heuton, executive director of the Brookings Economic Development Corporation and an exofficio member of the Promotions Committee, responded to a question from Commissioner Dennis Falken about how long a branding remains effective: "Do you re-look at it? Is there a period of years where things obviously change? Are you going to be doing something into the future with this?"
Heuton said he didn't have an "exact answer" to Falken's question, but he added, "The critical issue here is that we're creating an identity that represents what we are and what we want to become.
"So I view this as something that's going to be in place for the long haul, that this is not something we're not going to come in, create a logo or a tag-line , for example, that says 'Brookings , Someplace Special," and it's just there for three to five years." And what's created will "be more of an identity for Brookings, the Brookings area." Heuton noted that the Brookings area has much diversity and a "collection of resources in one location to build on."
However, Heuton sees a challenge in the creation of "one identity that can be used across all those different marketing pieces." Marketing is the next step; but before we start spending a lot of money on that, we really need to create this identity and this theme that will carry through from one piece to the next."
