goals + guidance for creating your neighborhood brand

This is the third article in a series about neighborhood branding. After exploring the perceptions of your neighborhood and determining what to change, we will now provide tips on how to create your neighborhood’s brand.

What image comes to mind when you think of your neighborhood?

If you live in St. Johns, it's likely the verdant green rivets lining the contours two distinctive Gothic, cathedral-like towers, which jut skyward flanked by lush hills on either side and flowing water below.

The most easily recognizable and instantly understandable aspect of a brand is often a visual identity. But as discussed before, you can’t simply slap branded stickers on windows or hang logo banners from light poles and expect people to change their perception of your neighborhood. In fact, if you did, you’d likely have a lot of displeased neighbors.

But once you’ve collected feedback from your community, what does it actually take to create a brand?

To bring your neighborhood’s identity to life, begin by defining realistic, measurable goals.

What Are Your Goals?

“Creating and documenting measurable goals, in regards to branding or rebranding, may not be the easiest task for neighborhoods or business districts, in part due to the fact that the impact may not be immediate,” says graphic designer Jeff Fisher of LogoMotives. “It takes time to initiate the branding effort, go through the research and design phase, determine how to introduce the new identity, and then measure actual results.”

Setting goals and documenting them is nevertheless important. Common goals for a neighborhood or business district often include instilling a sense of pride in the area while “project[ing] a polished and professional public image,” Fisher explains.

But in an areas with “a rich and long history” like St. Johns, one of the main goals is preservation, according to Josh Guerra, the design chair for St. Johns Main Street Coalition (SJMSC).

“The fine line we have to walk is somewhere between respecting and preserving the architectural character of the district, but also encourage responsible development,” Guerra says. “The design committee in particular is working on creating [a] cohesive vision for how community members want the district to ‘look’ based on our vision session, which took place in January 2011.”

For Dee Heffernan of Sol Identity, a brand strategist and designer who is currently leading the St. Johns branding effort, this vision must address, "How are we going to attract people from outside of St. Johns to live in and to invest in our community?"

In order for St. Johns to get on the map, "there needs to be some kind of demand," she continues. She believes St. Johns is deserving of the “special trek” it takes to get there, but part of the branding goal is to show others why.

Citing historic landmarks and natural areas like the bridge, Cathedral Park, and access to the river, Heffernan says there are plenty of “untapped properties” that deserve to be highlighted. The main challenge is defining the intangible quality of community for a diverse and changing community.

But Heffernan believes the kind of community St. Johns has is unique. “It's a little bit simpler out here,” she says. But, in terms of branding, "How do we communicate that sense of community—old school community?” she asks. How does a brand convey a concept like acquaintanceship—everyone knows their neighbors in St. Johns?

The people have "a lot of pride" and "are protective of it [St. Johns]," Heffernan says, and the appropriate brand can rejuvenate and unite the community.

While Heffernan says she, SJMSC and the community are still determining the exact goals they’d like to achieve, it’s important to "start with values. What I want to try to get to are a set of core values that the community can basically agree upon." By listening to her neighbors, she’s documenting early trends such as: "‘I want to know who my neighbors are.’ That's a real value—feeling connected to the people that live next door to you."

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For more guidelines on how to create your brand, read the rest on Neighborhood Notes.

neighborhood branding : determining what to change + how

This is the second article in a series about neighborhood branding. In the first article we explored outsiders’ perceptions of your neighborhood and began to think about how we can change misperceptions. We will now continue to dig deeper into the process of changing the perception of your neighborhood.

Potentially dubbed the "Independent Republic of St. Johns" or the "Best Little Town in Portland," the St. Johns Main Street Coalition is currently working to brand its community.

“Branding is more than a logo,” the coalition states. “It’s a long-term journey of discovery that unleashes who your community is, what your community does, and how it communicates to potential consumers.”

But branding is not simply about communicating to customers. It’s also about creating a shared identity in your community between neighborhood associations and business districts. Your brand is something the whole neighborhood can stand behind and share with outsiders saying: “This is what it means to live, work and play in St. Johns.”

Why Would It Be In Your Best Interest To Rebrand Your Neighborhood?

“Some neighborhoods in the city are not as well known as others, [some] have kind of gotten lost over the years, [some] are victims of sometimes negative reputations or are simply not clearly defined,” explains Jeff Fisher of LogoMotives. “Branding one’s neighborhood offers an opportunity to create a verbal and visual identity, reintroduce a community, instill pride in the residents, and make the place known to others in the city.”

“Such branding does increase the public awareness and positive perceptions of specific neighborhoods and business districts throughout the City of Portland,” Fisher continues. “Many individuals have never even heard of some neighborhoods in which residents have enormous personal pride. Logos, banners, bumper stickers, T-shirts, signage, neighborhood business or walking maps, and other graphic elements may be very effective in introducing and informing the public about the location, history and attributes of a neighborhood. At the same time, resident pride in their own neighborhood may be enhanced.”

But don’t think you can simply put banners on your light poles and logo decals in storefront windows to make people view your neighborhood differently. Branding is a huge undertaking that requires the input of your neighbors, the local business community, and even outsiders.

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But where do you start? Learn how to begin the process of changing your neighborhood’s perceptions as well as how to work with your community and business district on Neighborhood Notes.