Client: Mesquite, Texas

It's Personal: Slogans Can Help Cities Capture a Unique Identity

February 2, 2005

Personality matters to cities. Image matters. Slogans, too.

Sure, it's easy for the more cynical, especially editorial writers, to poke some fun at cities when they spend months and thousands of dollars on a new marketing slogan. And sometimes, cities like Dallas deliver more than such critics can hope for when they say they want to shed their J.R. Ewing-big-hair-1980s image and then stand behind something like "Live large, think big."

But McKinney, at least, has hit a home run.

McKinney, Texas: Unique by nature.

A consultant worked for months with residents and leaders to determine what set McKinney apart, what should make people want to live, visit or do business there. And then, of course, the consultant had to try to encapsulate that in a few key words.

Not an easy assignment, and not a perfect result. After all, does the slogan full-capture the city's rapid growth, the fact that it is a great place to embark, perhaps, on a new business venture? Eh. Or that it is home to the county's only business airport? Well ...

But no slogan, no logo, can possibly capture all that a city is. If it could, then such a monolithic city probably is not worth marketing.

But "Unique by nature" works. The city is unique to its core, with one of the state's largest residential historical districts and the city's authentic downtown, which other cities have tried to duplicate in the name of "new urbanism."

And the city, though it is not discussed much, does have a greater diversity of natural beauty than almost any other in North Texas. Streams, grasslands, farmland and hills. Hills! Yes, McKinney has hills, in case you didn't know.

So does the new logo, which will start popping up on city vehicles and property around town. A welcome addition. A display of personality.