Place Branding | From location to destination

Place branding seems made for big cities. Campaigns such as “What happens in Vegas” and “I love NY” capture the attention in the marketplace, leaving smaller cities wondering what value is in a place branding campaign for them. The answer is everything. Place branding has become increasingly important for small towns as well as big cities, allowing small towns to tell their stories to visitors and both current and potential residents. As populations start to cluster around metropolitan areas, small towns need to make sure they are positioned to show off all of the benefits of living in and visiting them.

Legs for a strong place brand come from a solid foundation in brand development—from communication aspects ranging from slogan to visuals, to physical aspects such as cultural offerings and the building condition. This being said, I wanted to highlight a branding firm that is helping small towns break through the place branding barrier—informing people with unique campaigns grounded in solid slogans and engaging visuals. Bluespace creative is based in a small town much like many of those it helps to build brand identity, but that doesn’t stop this firm from creating powerful messages for many small to mid-size towns and cities in Iowa (and beyond). I think that what they offer is unique in the marketplace—high quality brand identity that is affordable for cities that may not have the largest budget, or the any idea what to say.

This just goes to show you, place branding can be affordable for a city of any size. And in today’s economy small towns, especially, need to let their visitors know why they should come and their residents know why they should stay.