What Goes Into Rebranding a City?
Here at Savage, we’re considered city folk—and not just because we work in the heart of Milwaukee’s third ward. After some creative collaborations with multiple cities over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two about what goes into rebranding them.
Educate and Immerse
To adequately rebrand a city, the first step is to uncover who and what they are. This calls for our favorite part of the process—a Savage field trip. Immersing our team in their city allows us to fully understand what they’re all about and how we can represent that through their brand. While we take the time to get to know the town, we visit local businesses, try out restaurants and coffee shops, speak to those working or living in the city, and get a general lay of the land. We look for the people, places, and things that make each city’s culture uniquely awesome.
Consider the Community
While building the brand, we consider the community and its role in the city. A city thrives off of its businesses, but more importantly, the people behind the business. Whether someone lives in a city, works in a city, or is just visiting for fun, they become a part of something bigger—the community. When developing visuals, messaging, campaigns, and more, it’s critical to keep the community in mind and how they would want to better their city through its brand.
Build Businesses
One of the most important goals in a city’s rebrand is to not only build brand awareness, but to bring business into their city. Through promoting and highlighting current businesses to welcoming new and upcoming establishments, we strive to give a city everything they need for it to flourish. The key is to give everything a personal touch. Through interviews, videos, and campaigns, we showcase the real people and the story behind the local businesses to keep the city boomin’.
Goal Guidance
From initial brand discovery, clarifying a city’s goals becomes the baseline for anything and everything we do going forward. Keeping the end-goal in mind allows us to work diligently to develop the brand for its purpose. Whether that’s economic growth, heightened tourism, brand awareness, or just simply bringing more people into the city, the Savage mission is to storytell through brand and all the creative behind it.
Gotta see it to believe it? Take a peek at some of our savage work with the City of West Allis.