City rebranding starts with scarves (and ties!)
When you think of a city, a few words usually comes to mind. Paris is stylish and romantic. New York is fast-paced and exciting. Sydney is an endless beach. Just like people and companies, cities make an impression, for better or for worse. As a result, cities have their own brand, which they can build up or try to modify. In fact, city rebranding is a common theme these days.
Towns or cities may wish to update their image in order to:
Suit an evolving identity;
Reaffirm who they are and what they stand for;
Attract more visitors and drive business.
A City Rebranding Success Story
One prominent, recent city rebranding example is Pittsburgh, PA. The city felt the need to revitalize its image when major retailers, including Saks 5th Avenue, closed in 2013. The downtown core wanted to be seen as a happening and trendy shopping hub. Therefore, Pittsburgh had to lose its industrial image, once and for all.
From new bike lanes to branded, reusable shopping bags printed with the slogan “Get Downtown”, the efforts showed Pittsburgh off as a lifestyle and shopping hub, instead of a gritty, industrial city.
Today, retailers from craft boutiques to big name brands are flocking to Downtown Pittsburgh. The location that once housed Saks now is the setting of a commercial and residential redevelopment project, with many new retailers and restaurants poised to move in.
Boost Your City Rebrand Efforts
Cities and towns don’t always need to run major marketing campaigns to boost their image. Sometimes, a few key elements can go a long way when it comes to city rebranding. Take the town of Vermilion, for instance, which recently updated its branding. Vermilion’s economic development team believed that the best way to showcase its image was for people to wear it. With this in mind, they asked Monsoon Corporate Gifts to create custom scarves and ties with their logo and colours. Vermilion plans to give these items out to dignitaries and other special guests.
A city rebranding success: Vermilion’s custom scarves with a unique take on the town logo.
Vermilion, a town proud of its natural setting and cultural heritage, got its name from the red clay parsed throughout its river valley. Over 100 years after the town came into existence, scarlet dominates Vermilion’s logo, separated from golden yellow by shades of grey. The design reflects the town’s branding in an artistic manner, with a pattern of red, golden and grey hues atop a classic black background.
Vermilion created custom scarves and ties with its logo and colors.
“I would highly recommend working with Monsoon,” said Mary Lee Prior, Economic Development, Town of Vermilion. “They provided excellent design and customer service…[Our] unique logo scarf and tie designs…are beautiful. We could not have done it without [Monsoon’s] expertise!” In conclusion, custom logo scarves and ties were a good idea when it came to Vermilion’s rebranding.
To find out about other unique ways for city rebranding with custom apparel, contact Monsoon Corporate Gifts today!