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City of Gastonia Branding Process
New City Logo
City of Gastonia unveils new marketing and branding logo
(Gastonia, NC, Feb. 20, 2007) – The City of Gastonia unveiled its new marketing and branding logo at the televised city council meeting this evening, which began at 6 p.m. in the Public Forum room of the Gaston County Courthouse. The new logo, the product of a seven-month research and creative development process, will be the “face” or hallmark of a marketing and branding campaign for the City focused on attracting new business, residents, tourists and shoppers.
The logo features a new tagline or slogan, “Gastonia: Great Place, Great People, Great Promise,” and a full-color, stylized illustration of some of the landmarks and attractions that make Gastonia a desirable place to live, work and visit. Another version of the logo, designed to be printed in one or two colors, uses an outline of the skyline pictured in the full-color illustration.
“We love it,” Gastonia’s Mayor Jennie Stultz said about the new logo, “because it portrays our city, our people and our future so well. We wanted a branding logo that conveyed the promise and optimism we’re now seeing on a number of economic fronts: new industries, job development, downtown revitalization, and yet also captured the warmth and friendliness repeatedly mentioned by people who come here.”
“We’ve had community input and feedback throughout this whole process and it’s gratifying to hear the positive comments we’re getting about our new logo,” said City Council Member Dale Burkett. “Almost everyone who sees it recognizes a feature or landmark that makes Gastonia a great place to be.”
The move to develop a new logo and brand for the City began last June when city officials invited approximately 50 business and community leaders, residents and marketing professionals to meet to identify the city’s selling points. The goal was to develop a new logo and branding strategy in time for the observance of the City’s 130th birthday in 2007.
The group met for a half-day discussing everything from jobs to recreation. ElectriCities, the municipal power agency of which Gastonia is a member, who facilitated the meeting, compiled the group’s recommendations. City officials hired local public relations and marketing consultants, Chris Jensen of Jensen Public Relations and Rachel Bagley with Bagley & Associates, to develop the logo and provide public relations and marketing direction on the branding and marketing strategies.
The new logo is the hallmark of a much larger marketing effort being launched by the City. City officials have also hired a communications and marketing director who is charged with developing and instituting a marketing plan designed to attract new business, residents, tourists and shoppers to the City. Costs for the marketing initiative, including the costs for the development of the logo and the salary of the communications and marketing director, will be paid from the Gastonia Tourism Development Authority budget, funded by the City’s occupancy tax on hotel/motel rooms.
The new logo will gradually replace the city seal, until now the most visible symbol of the city, for general and promotional use. The city seal will now be reserved primarily for official or ceremonial purposes. The City will phase in use of the new logo on city stationery and business cards as new or replacement orders are placed. City vehicles will be outfitted with new logos as department budgets permit.
City officials will also be encouraging local businesses, especially hotels, motels, tourist attractions, real estate agencies and home builders, to promote the City by using the logo in their advertising and promotions. One of the duties of the City’s communication and marketing director will be to work with local businesses to identify ways to use the logo appropriately to promote both the business and the City.
City Council Member Walker Reid said he thinks the new marketing campaign will do more than just attract newcomers and new business. “I believe this campaign will go a long way toward building morale and pride in our city. There are still some negative stereotypes of Gastonia and whenever someone sees this logo they’ll be reminded that we have a lot of reasons to be proud and optimistic.”
The new logo will be introduced to the rest of the world in a series of ads sponsored by ElectriCities to promote its member cities, which will appear in tourism and economic development magazines beginning in March.