Engine 8 is thrilled to announce we will be starting work on the Brand Livingston project in the coming weeks! After a lot of meetings and months of building support for the project, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Check back here for periodic updates on the project, and make sure to subscribe to our RSS feed (link to the right) to keep in the loop. Thanks to everyone who got behind the idea and made it a reality.
Official press release announcing the Brand Livingston project:
In the fall of 2011 Brad Bunkers, owner of Engine 8 Design, brainstormed with local photographer Kyra Ames about ways to better promote the Livingston area to travelers and locals alike. As a branding expert, Bunkers recognized the value of creating a brand identity (logo) and long-term advertising campaign for the town. After presenting the branding idea to Vision Livingston, Bunkers was encouraged to move forward with the effort and started working on bringing the City of Livingston, Park County, the Business Improvement District (BID), Vision Livingston, Livingston Chamber of Commerce, and private businesses together to partner on the project.
Bunkers spent the next eight months talking to business owners and community leaders about the branding project, gathering feedback and building tremendous support along the way. After presenting a more formal proposal and funding request to the potential partner groups, it was evident that the project, “Brand Livingston,” would become a reality. Brand Livingston represents an unprecedented collaborative effort between the City, County, BID, Vision Livingston, Chamber, and the business sector to create a unified promotional campaign for Livingston.
According to Bunkers, “Effective branding requires a long-term strategy that builds momentum over time. We need to think of this as an investment in our future — a 10 to 20 year investment.” He is confident that a sustained branding and marketing campaign can bolster Livingston’s economy. In his view, “Brand Livingston will not only help bring in more tourism dollars, it has the potential of strengthening community pride and promoting the town to new businesses and families. Livingston is an amazing town with a wide range of amenities — we just need to get our story out there and spread the word.”
Work on the Brand Livingston campaign will officially start this July, although preliminary planning is well underway. Once a logo has been created for Livingston, Bunkers and his team will create a billboard campaign, which will be up by the fall. Multiple businesses have donated the use of existing billboards and land to accommodate new billboards. The first phase will also include an online toolkit for local business owners to use the new logo according to set guidelines.
At the end of this year Engine 8 will meet with the six partners to evaluate work completed and map out next year’s plan. Starting in 2013, the Brand Livingston campaign will focus more on web-based marketing and other cost-effective, alternative approaches to promoting Livingston and the surrounding area.
For more information about the Brand Livingston project, contact Bunkers at 406-222-7566.