City of Wheat Ridge Branding/Identity Project
Challenge:
Faced with the challenge of keeping pace with neighboring communities, the City of Wheat Ridge questioned how it might become more proactive in its positioning. How could the City encourage economic growth without alienating long-time residents who resisted change? How might this positioning support a wide-range of programs and initiatives designed to attract business, families and visitors from across the Front Range?
As one of the first of many steps, Wheat Ridge City Council made it a top priority to develop and implement a new marketing logo and brand identity in 2007. Their goal was to create a consistent and cost-effective brand identity that would unify all of the City’s entities and organizations, highlight the community’s rich history, showcase Wheat Ridge’s distinctive values and vision, and reinvent their community in a positive light to attract residents all along the Front Range.
Solution:
CIG recognized that addressing decades of brand neglect would require a great deal of effort. Not the least of our concerns was reaching out to the community’s “old guard,” who were deeply entrenched and very resistant to change. To counter these concerns, CIG engaged the community through outreach, education and input gathering through one-on one interviews with key community members, public meetings and online surveys.
By working closely with all stakeholder groups and communicating effectively, the brand identity CIG created was adopted by City Council. In comments prior to the vote, council members agreed the design clearly communicated the community’s shared vision and future goals, as well as its rich history and pride.
The new brand and identity have been a success, with 70 percent of the public agreeing that the new City identity represents the City of Wheat Ridge as a positive, progressive community. In 2008 the City-County Communication and Marketing Association awarded the City of Wheat Ridge with the Silver Circle Award for the brand identity development project designed and managed by CIG.