December 9th, 2009 By Justin Williams
Evansville Needs a Brand
The city of Philadelphia recently unveiled their new branding, which I am somewhat conflicted about. While it’s hard to argue that the Liberty Bell is a staple landmark for the city, it also feels like a cheap and easy solution to the branding problem. Despite that, it’s not a bad branding.
What does this have to do with our fair city? It got me wondering about what Evansville’s brand was. Where is our city logo? What is our city motto? I reached out to the Mayor’s office asking about this. In terms of of a slogan, we can look towards the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau’s slogan of:
Where the midwest meets.
Ew?
The slogan is pretty bad, but what about the logo?
It’s certainly official looking.
I understand Evansville isn’t the largest city in the state of Indiana, but I do think we can do better than a boring seal and a cheesy midwest-centric slogan. I’m not a designer or artist, so I’m hesitant to make any suggestions, but it seems like the kind of project that the city could get around. Or perhaps I am just wishfully thinking Evansville is bigger than it really is.
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Why does Evansville, or any city, need a "brand"? I am not sure how you choose to travel, but I do not base my tourism on what city has the coolest brand, slogan or logo. Why can't we just enjoy what we have, a smallish town with more amenities than some, yet not enough as others. For those that want the "big city" feel and attractions, move to one and stop trying to turn Evansville into something it is not. The whole "downtown revival" that has been talked about for as long as I can remember really needs to be left alone. I spent a weekend in downtown St. Louis near the arch a couple of years ago and their downtown was a ghost town, and I thought if St. Louis can't have a thriving downtown area, what makes Evansville think it can. Evansville is a nice, fairly safe place to live and have a family, nothing more, nothing less.
Maybe you are confusing downtown St. Louis with downtown East St. Louis. If Evansville's downtown was 1/10th of what St. Louis's "The Landing" is, why we'd be allright. Louisville also got their downtown right. If you have ever been to 4th St. Live or watched a concert at Louiville's "great park" you know what I mean. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that these cities embrace the riverfront with entertainment and commerce, not pave it and seal it off. Hell, even Jasper got it right with their Patoka RIver riverfront.
I'm a constant leisurely traveler. I choose my destinations from a large colorful book of information about cities that includes their seals and slogans. The brand of a city directly reflects what the people and businesses have to offer. Better brand and slogan, equals better city. Whammy.