Branding: The Road to Tomorrow Coming to Batesville April 20-22
Arnett Muldrow, a consulting firm specializing in community planning, will be coming to Batesville for a three day branding session April 20-22, courtesy of Main Street Arkansas.
The schedule for the interview sessions and public meetings is as follows:
Tuesday, April 20:
12:00 Noon – Main Street Batesville Board of Directors – Elizabeth’s Restaurant
1:30 – Mayor Rick Elumbaugh, City Council, and other city officials – Municipal Building
3:00 – Main Street Batesville committee members – Old Independence Regional Museum
4:00 – School and college officials – Old Independence Regional Museum
5:15 – Merchants and property owners – Old Independence Regional Museum
6:15 – Public Presentation “What is branding and what you can expect from this visit?” – Museum
Wednesday, April 21
7:00 a.m. – Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
9:00 – Judge Bill Hicks, Ed Mabry, Quorum Court, State officials, Bankers, Major industries – Chamber of Commerce conference room
10:30 – Non Profit and Civic Groups – Chamber of Commerce conference room
Thursday, April 22
6:00 p.m. – Unveiling – Municipal Building
Communities embrace branding strategies to achieve competitive advantages and to increase tourism, recruit and retain talent, attract new businesses, and entice retirees. A brand is not simply a logo and a tagline, but rather a collection of perceptions, messages, and mechanisms that a logo or a tag line reinforces. A branding effort will identify the community’s assets and build a mechanism for sharing and capitalizing upon those assets. While certain institutions will have a major impact on the brand—local government, tourism councils, cultural non-profits, chambers of commerce, and economic development organizations—the entire community needs to be involved for the branding to be most effective.
Visitors to a community are looking for unique, authentic experiences. Branding promises those experiences, whether they are built around natural resources, historic assets, cultural activities, or a specific focal point. To effectively brand a community, its members must carefully identify its strengths, understand its demographics, and recognize trends that will have a long-range impact. Every community believes it is a great place to live, work, play, and shop. Effective branding builds on what is unique, attractive, and compelling about our community.
How do communities benefit from branding? First of all, a strong brand elevates a community in the minds of tourists, retirees, and businesses looking to relocate or open new operations. The very existence of your brand says that this community cares, that it is proud of its history and its resources, and that its citizens are united in support growth, progress, and an exceptional quality of life. Branding enables a community to send a consistent message to prospective visitors and business prospects so they know what to expect. It also places the responsibility on the community to make sure that visitors’ experiences equal their expectations.
The experience of developing a brand can be a powerful and unifying experience for community members who participate. A strong brand means new businesses, more tourists, and increased media coverage and exposure. Branding also unleashes the ideas, talent, and vision of the community’s creative class—its artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and poets—who find new energy and inspiration in a strong, effective brand.
For more information, please contact Paula Grimes, executive director of Main Street Batesville, at 870-793-4632 or e-mail downtownbatesville@sbcglobal.net. More information about Arnett Muldrow can be found at arnettmuldrow.com.
