Help Uncover Our Region’s
Authentic Story
The Branding Project
The Okefenokee Partnership has recently begun a region-wide branding initiative, encompassing Charlton County, Ware County, and Clinch County. Why? In an increasingly competitive and mobile world, communities must present what they stand for to their residents, prospective residents, visitors, and businesses to give each of these audiences confidence in choosing the destination. It's a matter of ensuring long-term economic health and vibrancy. By unifying the region and its offerings, the brand will help strengthen local identity while inviting visitors to experience all the area has to offer.
The Okefenokee Region is defined by the people who spend their time here—living, working, and exploring. Each individual plays a part in defining this region, and their stories help us uncover its unique identity.
As we build the Okefenokee Region brand, we will rely on a strong foundation of research to inform creative outcomes and implementation planning. We are currently in the Research portion of the project and look forward to uncovering and creating the Okefenokee Region brand story.
The Process
Research
We start by conducting research inside and outside of the community to uncover perceptions, attitudes, and what's unique about the Okefenokee Region.
WE ARE HERE
Creativity
We then transform the research data into compelling creative tools that tell the Okefenokee Region story and connect with residents, business owners, investors, and visitors.
Action
Finally, we will introduce the brand to the market over time. More than just a tool for communication and promotion, this brand is designed to be embraced by the people and businesses that call the Okefenokee Region home as well as those who come to explore it.
“How people think of a place is less tangible but more important than just about anything else.”
- Richard Florida,
Author & Leading Urbanist
FAQs
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Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not around. In other words, your reputation! Just like people or products, communities have reputations based on all the different experiences people have had with that community over time. Branding is the process of changing, clarifying, refining, or improving that reputation.
The first step in our regional branding initiative is conducting research to figure out what the Okefenokee Region’s existing reputation is. At the same time, we will conduct research to determine what the region’s greatest strengths are. What makes our community special and unique? This allows us to look at what our reputation is and what we want it to be. Then, we come up with creative tools, strategies, and advocacy programs that help close the gap between the two.
A new brand won't solve all our problems. What branding can do is focus people on the positive differentiators in the Okefenokee Region, which can help us stand out as a preferred location. The stronger and more defined our reputation, the more people will want to live, work, and play here.
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A brand may include a logo and tagline, but it is much more than that. Our brand is our unique story. It sets an expectation of what our community is about and shapes what people think of our region—from inside and outside of the community.
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People have opinions about the Okefenokee Region. We want to hear them all. And the only way to do that is to gather lots of data about the community. That data then becomes the primary driver for uncovering the region’s brand. A statistically significant body of quantitative and qualitative research ensures the brand represents the perceptions of all audiences inside and outside the community.
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You can see numerous examples of community branding on the website of North Star Place Branding + Marketing. This agency is the Okefenokee Partnership’s branding partner.
Get Involved
At the heart of the Okefenokee Region are the stories of the people who spend their time here—and we want to hear them all! We have a few ways for you to get involved throughout the branding process.
If pictures are your preferred way to tell your story, post a picture of you, your family, and friends at a favorite hangout or local business. Post pictures on Instagram or Facebook with #OkefenokeeBranding. The best pictures might even be used in a social media campaign associated with the rollout of the new brand!
If you have a passion to help with this process, sign up to become an Okefenokee Brand Ambassador below. Ambassadors are kept updated on the project and given the tools to spread the good word about the region within their own personal spheres of influence.
