Meaford CAO Frank Miele unveiled a new logo and slogan for the marketing of Meaford at the Monday March 14 meeting of council.
“It has taken a long time to get to where we are now,” Miele told council as he showed off an updated version of the familiar Meaford logo and the catch-phrase “The Other Big Apple.”
The new logo is similar to the existing logo but features a slightly stylized apple, brighter colours and softer edges. The words “Municipality of” have also been removed from the logo.
Miele said that it was his desire to bring humour into the marketing of the municipality, and for that reason he decided to move forward with a comparative marketing campaign in which Meaford will be compared to New York City.
To help usher in his new branding concept, Miele enlisted the services of the Scarecrow kazoo marching band who played a rendition of “New York, New York” as a custom made scarecrow in the image of the Statue of Liberty was carried into the council chamber.
In addition to the new logo and slogan, Miele presented a concept for a print advertising campaign along with a radio commercial in which a woman with a Brooklyn accent is speaking to her son on the phone thinking he has moved to the Big Apple, when in reality he has moved to The Other Big Apple, Meaford Ontario.
Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce were also in attendance to express their support for the new logo and slogan.
The process to re-brand Meaford began several months ago when the services of a consultant were engaged to develop a new image for the municipality. That consultant spent a considerable amount of time over several weeks during the summer of 2010 visiting with local businesses, service clubs, and residents in general, to learn what made Meaford special, and to discover how those most intimately connected to Meaford viewed themselves and their community.
Two public input sessions were also held at Meaford Hall and Woodford Hall which allowed residents to offer their thoughts about how to market Meaford.
Branding concepts were then created and presented to council who then asked that another public input session be held to seek out community input about the designs that were proposed at the time.
“The Other Big Apple” was one of those concepts, and the consultant indicated that it was included at the request of Miele who believed that it would be an effective marketing slogan for the municipality.
The consultant explained that she and her firm did their best to incorporate the essence of Meaford into their logo designs, and she also tried to ensure that the full amalgamated municipality was represented.
She expressed a desire to move away from using the apple as a representative symbol of Meaford and instead focus on the future of Meaford. Citing many examples of young entrepreneurs in Meaford, the consultant suggested that the municipality needs to tap into and promote the energy and vision of these young business people who have chosen to live and work in Meaford.
During that council session in August “The Other Big Apple” didn't grab the attention of councillors who instead focused on two slogans- “Shaped by the shore,” and “Rising above the bay.”
In a poll conducted on The Meaford Independent website in August “The Other Big Apple” found support of just 7.4 percent of those who voted with “Shaped by the Shore” and “None of the above” each garnering roughly 37 percent of the votes.
At a public input session held after the logo concepts were unveiled last August, the general consensus was that the existing logo reflected the community though it was agreed that it needed some updating.
With the municipal election approaching it was decided to postpone any decision of a direction for a new brand campaign until after the new council was elected.
While none of the options created by the consultant that had been hired by the municipality have been used in the final product, Miele stressed the community involvement throughout the process which has ultimately resulted in the logo and slogan presented to council on Monday.
“For the past several months the Municipality engaged the community to participate in assisting Council to create an identity, and position Meaford as a destination for businesses and tourists. As identified in the MEDS, part of the process was to develop a logo and slogan. The feedback received from the public was to modernize (facelift) the logo and create a new slogan that would generate interest and opportunities, and put Meaford of the map for all the right reasons,” Miele told members of council in his report.
In presenting the revised municipal logo and slogan to council on Monday, Miele explained that he believes that a comparative advertising slogan such as “The Other Big Apple” works if done well.
“Comparative advertisement is based on specifically mentioning a competitor by name, or their slogan for the express purpose of showing why the competitor is inferior to the municipality naming it,” said Miele.
The CAO also referenced the slogan of his former employer, the city of Vaughan who for nearly two decades used the slogan “The city above Toronto” which was heavily promoted through radio and print advertising and sought to offer business and residents an alternative to the hustle and bustle of their neighbours to the south, Canada's most populous city.
“Branding Meaford has been a process that has engaged the community and produced a revised logo with a new slogan,” Miele told council on Monday.
Council unanimously approved the new slogan and logo, and according to Miele's report staff will be checking the new logo and slogan against the Canadian Intellectual Property Office trademark database to ensure that there will be no legal ramifications from adopting the new slogan.
“If necessary we may engage a trademark lawyer to confirm that the logo and slogan are, in fact unique and to consider trademarking,” Miele wrote in his report to council.
Mayor Francis Richardson thanked Miele for his work on the branding project and reminded staff and the public that the new logo and slogan would be phased in meaning that signs, vehicle decals, stationary and other materials that currently feature the municipal logo would be updated only when it was time to re-order which will minimize the costs associated in transitioning to a new logo.
