9. EDSR 08-08-2011ITEM # 9.
MEMORANDUM
l~c„iver
TO: Economic Development Authority
FROM: Annie Deckert, Director of Economic Development
DATE: 8 August 2011
SUBJECT: Branding and marketing update
ATTACHMENTS
• Branding and Marketing Update to all boards and commissions
Branding and Marketing Strategy
Branding consultant Steve Chandler from chandlerthinks was here on July 18~' to present the
research results and overall branding strategy to the branding subcommittee. Input and
suggestions from the committee have been incorporated into the final brand promise and two-year
plan. Final presentation of brand and marketing strategy will be given to the EDA and
City Council on September 12`''. City boards and commissions are invited to attend this
meeting, in addition to all participants involved in the process (branding subcommittee, interviews,
focus groups, etc.). All city staff involved in marketing will be meeting with chandlerthinks prior
to the meeting to review the plan. Train the trainer sessions will be held the following day and a
community roll-out is anticipated to be executed in the future after brand plan implementation
begins.
The initial presentation of the brand and marketing strategy is just the beginning. Chandlerthinks
is providing the footwork for us to begin to tell our story. The brand plan is just a plan and will
come to life once we begin implementation. Once we begin executing recommendations to
establish our brand, we will gain traction and buy-in, a community event will be planned to
demonstrate the final results and how our community has utilized the recommendations to tell our
story.
MEMORANDUM
V~`
TO: City Boards and Commissions
FROM: Annie Deckert, Director of Economic Development
DATE: August I , 20 I 1
SUBJECT: Final Branding and Marketing Presentation- chandlerthinks
WHAT IS BRANDING?
"Your brand is what people say about you behind your back"
What do people (residents, businesses, employees, outsiders, etc.) see when they look at our
community? We want to ensure they see a community working together and a City that gives off
a strong, unified message. A branding and marketing plan will send a unified message to the
community as well as those outside of Elk River. Currently, there are different messages that the
City conveys to the community, businesses and outsiders. Some of the examples include:
Elk KiverEconomic Development location-~ciency-innovation
The Light Industrial Hub of the Northavest Metro
Elk Diver Parks and Kecreation He pingyou lead an active, healthy l festyle.
Elk Kiver Energy City Energy City provides the opportunity for the City of Elk Kiver
to be a hub of energy technology, energy manufacturing, energy
demonstrations, recycling, use ofgreen products and education.
This may cause confusion and may not portray Elk River as having a solid identity. These
different messages may create the misconception that different departments within the City do
not work together, when in reality, they do. It may also appear that there is no cohesive message
of the City. To encourage economic growth it is beneficial that communities have a strong and
competitive image.
Think about some of your favorite brands...what do you think of when you think of Target?
Wal-Mart? There's a good chance that you don't think the same thing about each of the big
boxes. Think of some communities throughout Minnesota...what comes to mind when you think
of Stillwater? Maple Grove? Ely? No two brands or communities make us think or feel the
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same thing. Our goal is to find out what people think about us, and to use that information to
best market our community and utilize our assets to maximize Elk River's exposure.
BACKGROUND
At the December 13, 2010 Elk River Economic Development Authority meeting, the EDA
authorized staff to move forward with a branding and marketing strategy. This is an action step
that will support the 2011 Vision and Goals, approved by the Elk River City Council. This
process has been identified as a priority of the EDA and City Council.
To create a sense of ownership and pride in the brand, it is important that the brand represent the
entire community and accurately reflects the thoughts, perceptions and opinions of those in our
community. It is difficult to stand behind a brand you don't believe in. The more relevant and
resonant a brand feels to us, the more we believe.in it, and the more we have a sense of belonging
to it. The EDA authorized the creation of a branding subcommittee to assist staff and the
branding consultant chandlerthinks in facilitating the process. The subcommittee is comprised of
the following members:
Tina Allard, City Clerk
Steve Benoit, Parks and Recreation
Andy Christensen, Heritage Construction
Annie Deckert, Director of Economic Development
Pat Dwyer, Economic Development Authority Commissioner
Larry Farber, Sherburne County Commissioner
Jay Lusignan, Vision-Ease Lens
Michelle Martindale, Elk River Municipal Utilities
Brad Rolfe, Chief of Police
Alan Sakry, Chamber of Commerce Board Chair
Wendy Simenson, Downtown River's Edge Business Association
Ron Touchette, Economic Development Authority President
Nick Zerwas, City Council
PROCESS
Branding consultant chandlerthinks was in Elk River April 27-29 to begin the market research for
this project which included a community tour, approximately 25 one-on-one interviews with
stakeholders, three focus groups and numerous mystery shops throughout Elk River. The group
also completed mystery shops in Big Lake, Ramsey, Anoka, Maple Grove and Minneapolis to
find out their community's thoughts and perceptions about Elk River.
Using the information collected from the visit, chandlerthinks created two customized surveys;
one for the community and one fox employees. These surveys were executed early June to gather
community input. Community input and involvement is not only crucial to this process, but will
create buy-in and support of the final brand plan. Similar surveys were executed throughout the
Metro area to determine their opinions and perceptions of Elk River.
Chandlerthinks was in Elk River July 18 and presented the research results to the branding
subcommittee. In addition, he provided the proposed brand promise/positioning statement. The
brand positioning statement is an internal strategy for driving and measuring the direction of
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city/community branding efforts. It is not something that literally gets communicated in a
broadcast manner throughout the community; it is something to fuel and inspire messaging for
advertising, websites, names of community events, programs, etc. Communicating to residents or
externally for marketing to others needs to reflect the spirit of the statement. It will be used by
key Elk River brand driving organizations such as the City of Elk River, and other interested
organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Arts Alliance, River's Edge Business
Association, etc.
Input and suggestions from the committee have been incorporated into the final brand and two-
year plan. This meeting is also intended to build momentum, instill pride, confidence and buy-in
of the plan.
Final presentation of the brand and two-year strategic marketing plan to best support the brand
will be presented not only to the EDA and Council for approval, but to all interested board and
commission members, City staff, the branding subcommittee and all who participated in the
initial market research to engage and prepare them to help champion the brand. Finally,
chandlerthinks will be holding `train the trainer' sessions with City staff, interested organizations
and civic groups to demonstrate how the community brand can be incorporated to their
respective marketing efforts. This will provide the tools needed to explain, advocate for, interpret
and integrate the brand strategies and tactics into their work in the community.
NEXT STEPS
Staff will be seeking authorization to approve and adopt the final brand and strategic marketing
plan. This plan will be executed by the Assistant Economic Development Director under the
supervision of the Director of Economic Development and City Administrator. The brand plan
will be revisited one year after execution and applicable tune-ups will be made. Staff plans on
revisiting the plan annually.
Citizen Satisfaction Survey
After approving the 2011 Vision and Goals on May 16, the City Council authorized staff to enter
into a contract with chandlerthinks to execute a citizen satisfaction survey. Executing this survey is
a step that will allow us to support two goals identified in the visioning process: "Develop nesv
programs and services to meet the needs of the communi~', and "Enhance and Expand community Involvement
and public participation" in addition to supporting a number of tasks that rely on a better
understanding of City residents, and how they use, receive, and want city information and services.
This survey will help us understand the state of existing programs offered by the city, how and if
they are used, as well as help us identify any new programs, services or processes that should be
offered. We will also learn how citizens currently receive information, as well as their preferences
moving forward.
Completing this survey is necessary to allow staff to obtain an accurate representation of the voice
of the community and gain a better understanding of the needs of our residents in several key
areas related to the provision of services. This information will ultimately be used to form and
communicate recommendations for the Council's use.
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The survey was available to residents the first half of July and data is currently being tabulated.
Results and final report are anticipated to be complete sometime in August.
Energy City Educational Event Series
Staff partnered with the Environmental Department to hold the third event in a series of business
educational events on June 1. Local lenders, business owners, property managers and realtors
joined us at the Elk River Public Library to learn about the new Energy Efficiency Improvement
Micro Loan Program, 2011 utility rebates and federal tax credits. This event was attended by
approximately 30 people and a survey distributed at the event indicated high satisfaction. Staff has
received several follow-up calls and inquiries regarding the Micro Loan Program.
Restaurant Attraction and Recruitment Efforts
Identifying the community's desire for additional restaurants, staff continues to proactively market
Elk River as it relates to restaurant development. Staff has created a link on our city's website
(www.ci.elk-river.mn.us/restaurants) tailored specifically for those looking for a location for their
next restaurant. This site includes financial programs and incentives, available sites, a map
showcasing specific restaurant pads and more. In addition, detailed demographics are provided
for site selectors to be able to quickly determine if Elk River meets their site selection criteria.
Major restaurant chains have site criteria which must be met before locating their restaurant in a
community:
The Elk River City Council recently approved a sewer access charge and water access charge
payment program available for full service restaurants. Also approved by the Utilities
Commission, this program is one of very few in the state which allows applicants to pay these fees
over a period not to exceed five years, in conjunction with their utility bill, instead at the time of
building permit. This is a unique financing tool staff can use and partner with our Micro Loan
program to utilize when responding to inquiries, meeting with developers and marketing our
community. A direct mail outlining these incentives is anticipated to complete later this summer.
An advertisement appears in the 2011-2012 Economic Development Association of Minnesota
(EDAM) directory outlining this program, in addition to other programs and incentives attractive
to developers. EDAM is a professional association of individuals and organizations (approximately
800 members) throughout the state of Minnesota who strive to advance economic development in
the state.
Staff attended a Retail & Restaurant Summit through the MN Real Estate Journal (MREJ) to hear
about the current retail and restaurant climate, strategies, trends and opportunities. Staff has since
spoken with the MREJ to provide additional information about available sites and financing
programs to be considered for a future issue of the MREJ publication.
Staff has begun working with a restaurant broker to raise awareness about available sites/property
owners, financial programs/ incentives and demographics. Staff will continue to provide updates
as they occur.
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