New Castle: Authentic Approaches To Community Branding

In general, there are two basic approaches to community branding, those being: 1) a feel good generic community brand and 2) an economic development brand. It is my observation, given the goals of the Town, that a community branding effort that drives a growth and economic development agenda that is consistent with community desires is the approach needed in New Castle.

More than likely a feel good, generic approach will not help New Castle achieve its all-to-important objectives. For example, many communities in Colorado and across the nation use in their efforts language to the effect that their community is a great place to “live, work and play.” There is very little content to distinguish one community from all of the other communities

My observation is that this does not seem to be a brand; but rather, it is tag line. What is it backing up? What does “authentic” mean to one of the potential target groups described below? What does “authentic” mean to those people or businesses that New Castle hopes to attract? As pointed out above, a community brand is more than color scheme, logo, or slogan, it is a philosophy or belief system. Second, many communities say they are “authentic.” (I can you one very familiar example. Canon City, the community where I currently live, adopted a “Gateway to the Authentic West” brand. That community has the largest designated historic district outside of Denver, with a substantial number of unaltered historic buildings. It also an exceptionally rich history western history. That is only one of many communities that use the word authentic it is brand in some form.) My question is does the current use of the word “authentic” distinguish New Castle from 270 other Colorado communities? Even as a slogan, “Authentic Colorado” may not say what New Castle must say about itself. I believe that there is more to it. New Castle should elevate itself above the fray. So, if New Castle wants to attract new jobs and business investment, new residents or visitors, it MUST get potential “customers” to know about it, be moved by it and then have a desire to experience it.

More than likely, an effective branding effort will not be forged by public consensus. Trying to do so often results in a generic approach, one watered down to meet everyone’s needs or interests. It is said that there are three things that usually stop a branding effort. They are: a) trying to accommodate a wide range of community player’s interests (local politics), b) a lack of champions that are enthusiastic and committed to carrying the work forward and c) a lack of funding (both public and private). Committed champions usually find the money. Therefore, while public input is appropriate, a brand should be driven by leadership, vision and