Flint & Genesee County Launches First Community Brand Identity

Unveils New 'See What's Possible' Marketing Campaign and Website

FLINT, Mich., March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The nation is invited to "See what's possible" in Flint & Genesee County through the region's first community brand identity and marketing campaign.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130327/DC84329)

Nearly one year ago, the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, formerly the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce was tapped to lead tourism efforts in Flint and Genesee County and shape the image of the area. Today marks the culmination of the Chamber's efforts to build a brand partnership between Flint & Genesee and create a campaign to market the region as a desirable destination for events, vacation or business.

See what's possible is a rallying cry that invites travelers to see various attractions that the County has to offer. The campaign plays off the word "see" and features iconic destinations and human moments through compelling imagery. The idea is to get travelers to see a more complete representation of Flint & Genesee.

"The destination branding will help to bridge the gap between our strengths and potential visitors' perceptions," said Tim Herman, CEO of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce. "There are millions of Americans who have limited or no knowledge of our rich culture and arts, our innovative spirit, our heritage, emerging status as a college town, rebirth of downtown Flint, our county parks or other assets that makes Flint & Genesee a great place. The brand and new campaign gives us a great platform to introduce ourselves."

The campaign was produced in partnership with branding consultant Mark Lantz, who was one of the creators of the award-winning Pure Michigan brand and campaign; Fenton firm Shift Reset, which provided original music and radio production; and Jamie and Carrie Shaltz, who handled photography, cinematography and videography for the project, and are also based in Fenton.

Together they produced TV and radio spots, print ads, billboards, signage and video. Television and radio commercials will air on ABC TV 12 and on cable stations Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, TNT and USA network. Print ads will appear on MLive/The Flint Journal and Crossings magazine. A few weeks from now, ads will air on WJR news/talk radio, and be published in Pure Michigan Travel Guide, Pure Michigan Warm Weather Radio & Online Campaign, MSAE Impact magazine, Michigan Meetings & Events, Canadian Newspapers. The campaign will also be supported by a social media campaign. In addition, billboards will appear in southern Ontario, Canada, northern Ohio and southeastern Michigan along the I-75 north corridor.

Jamie Curtis, Chairman of the Genesee County Board of Commissioners emphasized that although the Chamber led the marketing initiative, See what's possible is a community brand versus a Chamber brand.

"I want to congratulate the Chamber on developing an exciting campaign," said Jamie Curtis, Chairman of the Genesee County Board of Commissioners. "Now that we have a brand supported by an advertising campaign, we need everyone to get behind it. This is a campaign that has to be embraced by the public and private sectors as well as citizens for it to work."

The new identity represents the community in its entirety bringing the two names – Flint & Genesee -- together to form a single identity.

"The branding initiative does a great job of reflecting the important linkage between the City of Flint and Genesee County," said "Dayne Walling, Flint Mayor. " There's no doubt that together, we are very powerful."

Walling added: "The timing of the campaign launch could not be better. We just held a public master planning session and addressing our public image was one of the top priorities coming out of the session. The City of Flint will partner with the Chamber and others to leverage the new community identity to attract new businesses, students and visitors."

The Chamber unveiled a newly designed website flintandgenesee.org today in conjunction with the campaign. The new site features an interactive map to locate businesses across the county; a Visitors Guide for travelers looking for things to see and do; an e-commerce portal that will offer tourists the opportunity to book Flint and Genesee hotel stays online; purchase tickets to various attractions and create customized packages. The site also includes an event registration and payment tool, and is mobile and tablet friendly.

Troy-based Basso Design Group was tapped to create the newly designed website.

To see the ads, download a web badge or for information on the brand and marketing campaign, visit flintandgenesee.org.  Information can also be found on Chamber's name change

Contact: Elaine Redd, 1-810-600-1418, [email protected]

SOURCE Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce