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<br />Advertisement <br /> <br /> <br />Mounds View / City's <br />image overhaul taking <br />shape <br /> <br />Rebranding survey takes public input <br /> <br />By Katherine Wolfe <br />kwolfe@pioneerpress.com <br /> <br />Updated: 12/20/2008 11:09:18 PM CST <br />Mounds View, on paper at least, is in need of an <br />update. <br /> <br />The north suburban city has hired a nationally <br />recognized marketing firm to "brand" the city and <br />bring its image into the 21st century. <br /> <br />Risdall Marketing Group will work with the city to <br />develop a new image and logo that better represents <br />the city's values and will attract business, said <br />Patrick Bettenberg, the branding project's account <br />supervisor. <br /> <br />"It's not about selling a city," he said. "It's about <br />working with the city to create a new image or <br />reputation." <br /> <br />The city's newsletter and e-mail likely will be given <br />a new look, and a unifying logo will be used, <br />Bettenberg said. <br /> <br />And it could go as far as giving a new name to <br />County Road 10, a move that would attract attention <br />to the city and hopefully draw business, Bettenberg <br />said. <br /> <br />The name Mounds View Boulevard has potential, he <br />said. <br /> <br />Updates would be needed to make the road <br />pedestrian friendly, and the process of changing the <br />name would involve city, county and state <br />governments. <br />The image update couldn't come at a better time, <br />since the more than two-decades-old logo and 15- <br />year-old slogan are inconsistently used and in <br />serious need of an update, said Heidi Steinmetz, the <br />city's economic-development specialist. The city <br />decided to consider updating its image after <br />developers and mortgage bankers urged it, said City <br />Council Member Roger Stigney. <br />The city's current slogan is "Pride, Progress, <br />Partnerships." <br />What the future logo and slogan will be is "up in <br />the air," Stigney said. <br />The marketing firm is surveying residents and <br />businesses to determine what they like about the <br />city, what they want to change and what their values <br />are. <br />Nearly 700 people have responded, which is an <br />excellent return, Bettenberg said. More than 400 <br />were need for representative results. <br />The survey results will be unveiled Jan. 5, and in <br />early February a logo could be presented to the City <br />Council for consideration. <br />Although some may be confused by the branding <br />effort, "cities reinvent themselves all the time," said <br />City Council Member Carol Mueller. <br />In the past year, Burnsville, Anoka, Coon Rapids <br />and Centerville started branding projects, and in <br />January, St. Paul and Minneapolis unveiled a united <br />multimillion-dollar branding effort with the slogan <br />"More to Life." <br />Page 1 of 2Mounds View / City's image overhaul taking shape - TwinCities.com <br />12/29/2008http://www.twincities.com/north/ci_11277859?nclick_check=1