In the News

Staunton Unveils New Brand
February 8, 2008
City of Staunton
As a result of this process we learned that more than any other component, Staunton’s independent spirit makes it the place it is. This independence also makes Staunton a place where a lot of different types of people enjoy living.
If you like a place of learning where colleges and schools inspire our youth…If you like a place where high tech meets down home…We are that place… the Queen City of the Shenandoah, where the spires of the city are our crown. We are Staunton, Virginia… As you like it
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Staunton, Virginia – February 8, 2008 – The City of Staunton announces today the Office of Economic Development, the Staunton Conventions and Visitors Bureau, and the Staunton Downtown Development Association will unveil the new Staunton brand at a public meeting on Monday, February 11, 2008 at the Blackfriars Playhouse.
The city commissioned Arnett Muldrow and Associates with the task of helping the community develop a new brand after a competitive proposal process last spring. “We selected Arnett Muldrow because of its experience with helping other communities with brand development. Arnett Muldrow has assisted over 100 communities in the U.S. with branding,” said Julie Markowitz, Executive Director of the Staunton Downtown Development Association.
Some people may ask, so what is a “brand” anyway? A brand is a perception, an identity, a definition of a place or product, or as Ben Muldrow with Arnett Muldrow says, “branding is the defined promise, that when delivered and then lived up to, creates a sense of trust with the consumer.” A brand is not a slogan or logo by itself but slogans and logos create a visual identity for the brand and help communicate the brand to the world.
When asked about the branding process, Amanda Huffman, Assistant Director of Economic Development, said, “We went to great lengths to thoroughly and deliberately work through the branding steps, while being as inclusive as possible with the Staunton community.” Over the past few months, staff involved with the project determined the primary customer groups which include potential visitors to Staunton, potential new businesses or industries, potential new residents, and also current visitors, businesses, and residents. Huffman added, “We wanted the Staunton brand to be something that our current residents and businesses could be proud of so they would continue to communicate with our potential customers in a positive way.”
Staff then inventoried Staunton as a whole – the main attractions, the major assets, the people. Arnett Muldrow captured much of this inventory of Staunton with film, which will be shown at the brand launch. Staff also compared Staunton to other communities to determine what is different about Staunton.
Next they surveyed the community through several different mechanisms. One-on-one and group interviews were conducted. Surveys were distributed. A community-wide public input session was held at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel. There was even a branding blog on the internet. Market and economic impact studies and demographic information were analyzed.
Arnett Muldrow took all of the information gathered and developed what professionals call “brand values,” the most meaningful elements of a community that help to define the area. Those brand values evolved into a “brand statement,” which essentially communicates the vision and meaning of the brand. It was not until all of this preliminary research and analysis was complete that Arnett Muldrow developed the graphic identity system for the brand, complete with a logo and tag line.
The brand launch, as city officials are calling it, will feature music, photos, the research and development of the Staunton brand, and of course, the new logo. “It will be a celebration of what we have accomplished, said Huffman, and a kick-off of where we are going with this new brand.”

City staff says that one of the first steps is to incorporate the new logo and slogan into marketing materials and continue to build the brand message though marketing messages. Sheryl Wagner, the City’s Tourism Director said, “we are really at the beginning of the process because while we have determined who we are and therefore the “promise” we can fulfill and we have the visual identity system (logo and slogan) to go with the brand, we have to market this to the outside world.” Combined with effective marketing strategies, staff believes the new brand will help them to better recruit visitors, businesses, and residents to the Queen City.
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Contacts:
Amanda Huffman, Assistant Director of Economic Development
540.332.3869; HuffmanAN@ci.staunton.va.us
540.448.3202 (cell)
 
Sheryl Wagner, Director of Tourism
540.332.3865; WagnerSS@ci.staunton.va.us
540.448.3576 (cell)
 
Julie Markowitz, Executive Director, Staunton Downtown Development Association
540.332.3867; SDDA_Director@ci.staunton.va.us
540.294.1431 (cell)