This month we celebrate North Star’s 25th anniversary. Wow! It’s been an incredible privilege to serve more than 250 communities since we began in 2000. Kudos to our founder Don McEachern, a true visionary who saw that emerging communities could compete better if they shared their most competitive, compelling stories to impact economic development, resident attraction, and tourism and amplify the value of municipal services.

We believe the importance of an anniversary milestone is not what’s behind you, but the knowledge and experience you carry forward to serve clients at the highest level in the future. Hopefully our 25th commemorative logo, “Enduring Brands for Emerging Places,” says it all.

As we look back, we also want to look forward by sharing the truths that twenty-five years have taught us about place branding and marketing.

5 Place Marketing Truths

“Why are we doing this?” is the most important question to answer.

To the resident at large, the idea of “marketing” the community understandably raises lots of questions. If not answered proactively and supported by facts, those questions can undermine the program. Our experience is that the “why” is almost always (and should be) tied to essential needs, like workforce attraction, building tax base, or increasing resident engagement. Educating your community about “the why” of branding and marketing builds understanding and endorsement.

Community engagement is more than a survey and some focus groups.

It’s about gaining an intimate understanding of a community. Sure, gaining insights about a community is aided by focus groups and myriad conversations, but the real learning comes in listening deeply to everyday residents. The “a-has” are found in authentic gathering spaces like barber shops, diners, and town square—and with unusual suspects, not just dedicated civic leaders. That’s the work we do to get to the heart of what makes a community tick.

Enduring place creative happens when it’s built on a strategy.

Enduring creative cannot happen in a vacuum. Following community engagement and research, great place creative outcomes happen when the community is aligned around a common DNA strategy—an expression of the place’s driving essence and ownable distinctions. The strategy will also point to openings for differentiation that the place can pursue in the marketplace. When the creative is both beautiful and aligned around these factors, the best things happen.

Reputation growth is in the activation, not the logo.

It’s natural that your residents and stakeholders focus on logos, especially new ones. The logo is a representation of their community! But it’s also just the tip of the iceberg. The real power of the brand is in the idea behind the brand and its activation, bringing the idea to life in stories of your residents and businesses via PR, and your history, public art and built environment. The greatest brand success comes to those who demonstrate the underlying story first and often.

Pride is the most powerful asset a community can build.

Every municipality and destination is forced to dedicate finite resources to the issues and opportunities that matter most. It’s hard. For the relatively reasonable investment it takes, we have seen community marketing deliver exponential returns in community engagement and pride. When your people believe in where they live, progress happens with greater ease and the utmost enthusiasm. Conviction and belief are how healthy communities become great communities.

So there’s 25 years of accrued wisdom in a nutshell. It’s been our passion to learn these things as we have served communities around the country. In the months ahead, look out for regular lookbacks at our client communities who have achieved enduring brands. In the meantime, let us know how we can help you emerge to be your best.