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Client: Fort Collins, Colorado
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Redefining Fort Collins: City's New Slogan, "Where Renewal is a Way of Life," Reflects Local Values
By: Angela Hygh
If Fort Collins were a movie star, it would be Robert Redford or Al Gore.
That's what local respondents told surveyors from North Star Destination Strategies, a Tennessee-based marketing company that the city hired-at a cost of $80,000-to help polish its identity.
The resulting branding effort comes with the tagline, "Fort Collins: Where renewal is a way of life."
The tagline is the newest of such branding efforts in northern Colorado. Greeley's new slogan "Greeley: Great from the ground up" was also recently unveiled.
Kelly DiMartino, the communications and public involvement director for Fort Collins, said that the goal of the contract was to provide Fort Collins with an overall message to help it stand out as distinctive and accessible to visitors.
"There are a lot of things to do (in Fort Collins), but there's no one thing that stands out," DiMartino said. She added that there is a "lack of awareness of things to do and reasons to visit."
That might be hard to believe for those who live in the city and have become accustomed to Fort Collins regularly being singled out as a great place to live by national magazines, associations and interest groups.
DiMartino says the purpose of crafting a catchy slogan was two-fold: Define for residents of Fort Collins what exactly makes their city great, and to attract visitors and businesses in target industries.
In order to form an impression of the city, North Star Destination Strategies conducted research in Fort Collins and surrounding areas by talking with the Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau and conducting studies and surveys.
They found that the city is perceived to be business-friendly, environmentally-conscious, and generally charming. Its amenities -- including unique shopping, Colorado State University, a variety of outdoor activities such as biking and hiking, and an array of distinctive craft beer breweries -- won't surprise the locals, but serve as points of attraction to tourists and new businesses. Fort Collins' civic-mindedness and artistic flair are also important characteristics, DiMartino said.
And, she added, Fort Collins is seen as a city of harmonious opposites. Seen as both green and pro-business, the city is also full of residents who seem to be at once highly educated but modest and down-to-earth, high-energy but laid back, and healthy but with an appetite for good beer.
Based on this information, North Star Destination Strategies formed the Fort Collins tagline along with a variety of other slogans to promote economic development, tourism, downtown and the arts. The taglines focus on renewal, with an emphasis on recharging, energizing and family values.
The next step is to incorporate the taglines with posters and banners for Fort Collins and to begin development of a new Fort Collins Web site at fcrenew.com. Although it is not yet active, the site will serve as a "central portal" for information and promotion.
The city is also debating the use of a new logo that displays Fort Collins' new brand along with swooping lines to represent the Front Range and the Poudre River. If approved, the logo could appear on public buildings, vehicle decals, uniforms and city letterhead.
The city is also partnering with several entities in Fort Collins in order to implement the new brand. Among them are the Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Development Authority, the Downtown Business Association, Colorado State University and the city manager's office.
Anne Hutchison, executive vice president of the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce, said that the chamber will be incorporating the brand in its relocation materials, such as its magazine, its directory, its interactive CD and its map.
"We're thrilled to be a part of the program and are excited about having the opportunity to communicate to other audiences who we are as a community," Hutchison said.
One of the great things about the new brand, DiMartino said, is that seems to ring true as a representation of Fort Collins for those who've had a chance to evaluate it.
"I think everyone's really positive," DiMartino said. "People can relate to what this is."
Angela Hygh is a reporter for the Fort Collins Weekly.
