The city of Allentown’s partner for developing a community “Brand” for marketing the city to visitors, residents and businesses in 2017 and beyond will present the research gathered and its recommendation for Allentown’s strategic positioning on Tuesday, October 25. The public meeting with representatives from North Star Destination Strategies will be held in City Council Chambers at 6pm.
For the last few months, North Star has gathered research from residents, visitors, business prospects, and even competitors. North Star conducted many pieces of research to learn about Allentown including interviews, surveys, brand barometrics, perspectives outside Allentown, competitor assessments and more. From the research, strategic insights were gleaned about the community and its competitive advantages.
“I cannot over emphasize the importance of insights gleaned from the people of the community,” stressed North Star CEO Don McEachern. “In our partnering with more than 200 cities nationwide, we have learned that you have to go to the people who spend more than just their money and time there to learn what makes a city special. You need to hear from people who spend their lives there.”
According to McEachern, “At the heart of Allentown’s brand will be the area’s competitive differentiator -- in other words, what makes the area special so it can stand out in the marketplace.”
Many regard branding as simply a logo and line. ”Allentown’s brand requires depth over anything superficial,” said Mayor Ed Pawlowski. “While those brand components are important, we are interested in developing Allentown’s competitive identity in order to enrich and enhance the community through community and economic development as well as tourism interests. We selected North Star for this project due to their strengths in strategy and creativity which they base on extensive, thorough research.”
North Star’s Community BrandPrint process is organized into four stages: Research, Strategy, Creativity, and Action. It is the Research and Strategy that will be presented at the public meeting on October 25.
North Star’s experience tells it that residents of the Allentown community are the most important factor in the success of its brand. North Star believes that a new brand and programs can only succeed with enthusiastic involvement from all sectors of the population within Allentown. Only the residents can deliver the advancement, momentum, and strength needed for the effort. It is their enthusiasm and creativity that will fuel the community development, and their efforts will be rewarded in many ways including an improved image, broad community pride, and elevated regard for Allentown.
McEachern added, “A true brand moves beyond its identity package to address politics, diplomacy, architecture, economic development and arts education, – in other words, every touch point Allentown has with its residents and visitors. This requires a detailed management action plan that serves as a roadmap for how to put that brand to work in the community – from launch to longevity.”
Persons interested in learning more about Allentown’s branding initiative are urged to visit www.allentownpabrand.com.
To learn more about North Star Destination Strategies, go to www.northstarideas.com.
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