How Fall River Created a Brand at a Fraction of the Cost of RI
Friday, February 03, 2017
This week, Fall River rolled out its new video, logo, and overall brand strategy to support business growth and tourism. The announcement was seamless, cost less than $100,000, and was developed and implemented by two Rhode Island firms.
It was a stark contrast to Rhode Island’s chaotic, publicly embarrassing rollout in 2016 -- which saw nearly $10 million funneled primarily to two New York firms, Milton Glaser and Havas PR.
SEE SLIDESHOW BELOW OF NATIONAL PRESS COVERAGE OF RI TOURISM ROLLOUT
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“We are very pleased with the rollout of the brand and how it has been received by the citizens of Fall River, as well many other colleagues and friends from throughout New England that I have heard from,” said Mayor Jasiel F. Correia on Thursday.
For Fall River, one of the most economically depressed communities in the region, the wins are beginning to pile up.
Amazon recently located a massive facility in the city - now employing 1,800. The job creation equals nearly a third of all the job creation in Rhode Island in its first two years under Governor Gina Raimondo. And in contrast, much of the job creation in Rhode Island is highly subsidized by the Raimondo administration.
A Very Different Approach
While the Rhode Island tourism campaign was driven by RI Commerce staff and their board, along with partners in the state, the Fall River brand development process was incubated by EGN, the lead Rhode Island firm that drove the process. Figmints, the branding and design firm located in Pawtucket, led the creative process.
“From the beginning of this process the combined teams of EGN and Figmints had established a solid plan of how to be as inclusive as possible in talking with the community,” said Rick Simone of EGN. “This allowed us to gather immense amounts of data, conducting over 100 meetings, attending many local events and taking dozens of local tours. Our committee formed by the Mayor guided this process with great passion as well as provided a constant of additional feedback.”
The Fall River brand was unveiled Wednesday by the Mayor and the agencies with the support of over 300 community and business leaders -- a stark contrast to the Rhode Island rollout which was primarily a video being posted to YouTube and then removed after it was identified that a scene from the Rhode Island video was in fact stock footage from Iceland.
“The ‘Make It Here’ brand was not made up, it was uncovered,” said James Kwon, Figmints’ founder and CEO. “It resonates with the community because it is true. At one point in its history, Fall River was once considered to be one of the most prosperous cities in New England. We kept asking ourselves, "If then, why not now?’ That question informed the foundation of the new brand.”
Rhode Island’s rollout became a blame fest. Raimondo accused Rhode Islanders of being too negative. There were charges and counter charges by vendors. Then, Raimondo forced the resignation of tourism boss Betsy Wall.
“From talking with businesses such as Matouk to non-profits like the Children’s Museum…we had conversations in coffee shops, markets and restaurants. It is how we discovered the true spirit of Fall River,” said Simone.
Rhode Island Today
While Fall River is celebrating the new campaign, Rhode Island is still licking its wounds a year later.
The tagline “cooler and warmer” was discarded. The logo is used primarily by RI Commerce and partners, but has not been extended to state signage or much else.
Commerce is now out for yet another review for new vendors, and in the fall, one top regional tourism organizations questioned Commerce’s process and priorities.
"That's where I don't see a whole lot being done, and I don't see what's being done behind the scenes, that's unbeknownst to me," Evan Smith of Discover Newport told GoLocalProv.com in September. "The regions are looking for the state to make a brand to connect to, so that we can collaborate and integrate with what we're doing."
Commerce’s board is scheduled to review final staff recommendations at the next meeting. According to Matt Sheaff of Commerce, presently there are no ads promoting Rhode Island businesses or tourism running anywhere in the country or internationally.
Related Slideshow: National Press Critique RI’s Embarrassing Tourism Campaign - 2016
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