Main Street Branding: More Than a Logo
Written by: Rebekka Adams, Assistant State Coordinator, 2014
Can you verbalize, in two sentences or less, what your Main Street is? Do you have an elevator pitch for your downtown? How do you sell your downtown? These few sentences that describe your downtown are easy if you have a successful brand. A successful Main Street not only has a definable brand; the people that visit that Main Street can see, feel, and experience this brand firsthand.
What is a brand for Main Street?
Your brand is the condensed version of your community’s unique identity. It’s the sum of your history, culture, people, and stories distilled down to a handful of unique attributes. It clearly communicates who you are, what you do, and how you do it differently. Without a brand, you are just another place that exists. With a brand, you are a place to experience. Below are some tips to help you brand your Main Street.
Brand ≠ Logo
A logo is the visual representation of who and what you are. But your logo is just the beginning of your brand. A brand is what sets your community apart from others.
Brand is the way that outsiders view your downtown. Not sure of your brand? Ask visitors to your community their perceptions. You may be surprised by their responses.
Brand is the way you speak. It is the way that you articulate what sets your downtown apart from the thousands of other downtowns across the nation.
Brand is the whole array of your communication tools. Brand is everything from the quality of signs that you use to the graphic design you use for event posters to the visuals you use online. A good brand is consistent and can be used in all aspects of promotion and marketing your downtown.
Brand is your people. Brand is your people and the way they represent you. Having a good team involves getting community consensus on your brand. If your downtown merchants or local residents are not on board, you will not not have a successful brand.
Brand is your buildings and atmosphere. Is your community clean? Well lit? Inviting? Does it have signage that is consistent with your visual standards? Does it look and feel alive? Your environment is your brand.
Brand is your customer service. Downtown is a collection of businesses that can sometimes be hard to convince to collaborate. Each business has its own brand, and together, they help contribute to your downtown brand. You need to work individually with each business to help foster a sense of community so that they in turn will give back to your downtown and help reinforce your brand.
Brand is your logo and visuals, too. A great brand deserves a great logo and great graphic design and visuals. It can make the difference when the customer is choosing between two great places. But these alone cannot make your brand great.
Why you need a Main Street brand?
A brand is your communication strategy. It is the story that all of your buildings, business, and assets tell together. Branding is a process of working all of the Main Street four points together to create a unified vision and message for your downtown. Under your brand you develop a marketing strategy, a communication strategy, strategic partners, and growth strategies. A good brand will not only help you understand who you are as a community, it will help you determine what you can be.
Not only does a brand tell the story of who you are, it also calls people to action – to visit, to stay, to get involved. As a Main Street community, you rely heavily on volunteers. Your brand is what inspires your volunteers to act. Branding builds loyalty. It creates demand. It produces brand advocates.
Branding is a process.
Branding is not a project. It is a process. Branding is not something that can be accomplished by a Main Street manager alone. It must be developed from top down and from the inside out. An inclusive process is essential to the community. For a brand to be effective, community leaders must be on board and endorse the brand. It is the community who must live the brand and endorse and invest in the brand for it to be successful. Everyone in your community must work together to bring the brand to life.
As a community process, you need to determine your assets, who you are, and what you want to be, and capitalize on this. Brands can be aspirational, but they must be grounded in reality. For example, if you claim to be the hot dog city, make sure you have some outstanding hot dog restaurants and shops where one can purchase small souvenirs related to hot dogs. A SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) analysis can help you begin the branding process.
Outcomes of Branding
As mentioned, a brand is more than a logo and pretty graphics. Community stakeholders use it as a tool to make decisions based on what the community is and what it can be. Here are some tangible outcomes of place branding efforts:
- Logo, tagline, graphics
- Stakeholder consensus
- Internal/external brand adoption
- A brand strategy
- A brand style guide
Consistency is key when utilizing your brand. You should develop a set of standards of how and when to use your brand. Your brand should be the same on your website, social media, banners and signage, print publications, and marketing and advertising pieces.
In summary, when developing a brand it must be driven from the top, include local authorities and stakeholders, and align with a downtown business strategy and a larger community brand. When utilized effectively, it is a long-term economic development tool used to attract visitors, residents, investors, and stimulate development.