An Economic Game Changer - City of Ennis’ Rebranding Campaign
April 2019 Main Street Matters
By Becky McCarty, Ennis Main Street Manager
The City of Ennis is on the cusp of growth and prosperity. A mere five years after becoming a Texas Main Street city, Ennis has adopted a Downtown Master Plan and the majority of the Tier 1 projects estimating an investment of more the $20 million are currently underway. Numerous downtown buildings are taking advantage of historic preservation and façade grants. Downtown Ennis is well on its way to becoming an experiential destination. The plan implementation and all of the new energy downtown have put Ennis on the radar as a potential growth area.
As the city was moving ahead, our brand was stuck in the past. The logo was very outdated and didn’t convey growth. The marketing materials were inconsistent, with no brand guidelines to follow. Overall it was very difficult to get current residents and outsiders excited about the upcoming changes.
The need to rebrand was obvious. The rebranding project consisted of an extensive 12-month process working closely with Chandler Thinks, a place branding agency based in Franklin, Tennessee. The four phases included significant research, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, surveys, and more. It was extremely important to us to involve the local community. The new brand needed to represent them and create an emotional connection.
The objective was to create an authentic brand that bridges the existing mix of culture, festivals, and businesses as well as the future of Ennis as defined through the approved Downtown Master Plan and Comprehensive Master Plan. The new vision should influence the way citizens, visitors, and investors feel about the city and provide a central mission that the citizens can rally behind. The resulting brand should support the city’s economic development goals with emphasis on the following areas:
Enhancing the city’s quality of life
Attracting, retaining, and growing business
Building a vibrant, experiential downtown
Encouraging residents of all ethnicities and ages to engage in community activities and support local businesses.
Resulting Brand Strategy
Claim and preserve your small town Texas heritage and bluebonnet distinction;
Use your downtown as your core strength for storytelling and celebration;
Connect to your beautiful countryside.
Core Brand Truth
Downtown is Ennis’ primary focal point and now provides a frame for telling your story
Idea
Position Ennis as the one place in Texas where the spirit of bluebonnets pervades everything, all year long.
At the end of the process, we had developed much more than a stunning new logo and tagline. We developed a story for the City of Ennis that everyone can connect to. This allows for the community to help tell our story and promote our city.
The branding project had an immensely successful launch. The city commission, city boards, mayor, and city staff all immediately connected to the new story and design. The significant involvement with the community helped with an easy rollout and adoption. The brand launch video, http://bit.ly/EnnisBrand, played a huge role in releasing the brand. It created the emotional connection needed to re-inspire current residents and inspire potential new residents, visitors, and investors. The video captured numerous types of people from all over the city with a heavy focus on downtown. Ranchers, downtown business owners, football team, children playing, factory workers, and families were all represented. The video has been viewed over 80,000 times via the Ennis TX: A Main Street City Facebook page. Our population is 19,000 so it is definitely fair to say the video went viral. Current residents were sharing it, people who had moved away from Ennis to different states, and even different countries were sharing it. It pulled at heart strings and made people proud of their roots. Many comments were made about moving back to, or moving to Ennis. The branding campaign is generating buzz about Ennis and affecting our economics by increasing residents, visitors, and potential investors.
Immediately after the brand reveal, a new billboard was installed on I-45 (major highway running through Ennis). The design was unique with a bluebonnet extending five feet above the billboard. The purpose was to create positive brand recognition and get people thinking about Ennis. Existing marketing materials were revamped to reflect the new brand and new print ads were designed to help tell the story of the “bluebonnet spirit of Texas.”
Downtown merchants are also beginning to adopt the new brand. The local pub, Finn MacCool’s, serves a Bluebonnet Spirit margarita, and many of the retail shops now carry bluebonnet gifts all year long.
We were thrilled to receive the inaugural Best Economic Game Changer Award at the 2018 Texas Downtown Association Conference. The impact of the new brand has been huge and we are excited to continue rolling it out.
While you can experience the Bluebonnet Spirit in Ennis all year long, you will certainly want to plan a trip in April to take in the beauty of the bluebonnets as they take over our countryside. The 40 miles of mapped Official Texas Bluebonnet Trails are in season from April 1-30, and the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails Festival takes place April 12-14. Experience three full days of live music, including headliner Le Freak, unique shopping, food, Wine Wander, and children’s’ fun area. Ennis in April is not to be missed.