Community branding more than just a logo

OTHELLO — When it comes to making changes to a community’s marketing strategy, the term “re-branding” can often leave residents wondering what it entails.

For residents of Othello, this question has perhaps been a frequently asked one over the last few months. A re-branding effort is in the works with the help of professionals..

“We acknowledge it’s an awkward term,” said Tripp Muldrow of Arnett Muldrow & Associates, a South Carolina based town-planning firm specializing in economic development and community branding.

Arnett Muldrow & Associates typically focuses on smaller communities. It has worked with more 450 communities across 37 states. Othello will be the ninth community it has worked with in Washington state.

“We don’t just design a logo,” Muldrow said.

Rather, Arnett Muldrow & Associates creates a marketing toolbox for the community. This includes looking at colors, typeface, logos and tagline to create a whole, uniformed package.

The overall goal is to give all signs, letterheads, logos and the like throughout the city of Othello a uniform look.

Muldrow said his company, the City of Othello and the Greater Othello Chamber of Commerce are looking to keep the existing logs and tagline and simply expand on them.

The re-brand will still allow for different organizations to have their own individual logos, while maintaining uniformity with the community’s overall branding plan with the colors and fonts used.

Muldrow likened the idea of community branding to that of sending out an invitation to a party. Whereas the community is the party, and the new branding will essentially be the invitation showcasing to visitors what Othello has to offer.

Othello community members can expect to see a finished product in February, though the full effect of the re-branding will happen in phases. Muldrow said that, typically, smaller items, such as letterhead, will change first, while the bigger, more expensive items like signs will change in years to come.