North Bend settles on slogan for city
June 25, 2009
By Michael Rowe
“Easy to reach… hard to leave” is the city of North Bend’s new slogan.
The North Bend City Council selected the slogan after a presentation from Community and Economic Development Director Gina Estep and branding team facilitator Geoff Doy at a June 16 meeting.
A group of volunteers from the community and city staff members participated in the branding exercise that culminated in the new slogan and a brand statement for the city.
North Bend city leaders hope that the brand will help to create an identity for the community to promote tourism and increase city revenues through more sales tax collections.
Councilman Alan Gothelf said that he wasn’t sure about the slogan the first time he heard it, but it has since grown on him.
Councilman Jonathan Rosen was more easily persuaded.
“The first time I heard it, I loved it,” he said. “It doesn’t pigeonhole us, it’s not too specific.”
The slogan is meant to identify North Bend as a place that is a short drive from the Seattle area, with amazing natural beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities, according to Doy.
“I’m a dry engineer, and I am not very creative, but I like this a lot,” Councilman Dee Williamson said.
Councilman David Cook noted that the slogan is also appropriate for attracting new residents. City Administrator Duncan Wilson agreed that the slogan was not just for tourists. Indeed, Doy and others on the branding team share the experience of visiting North Bend and deciding to live there because they were drawn to the area’s natural beauty.
Doy said that the slogan was tested amongst the downtown merchants and other community members and that it received 100 percent buy-in from the stakeholders.
The branding team considered more than 100 suggestions for the slogan, ranging from tongue-in-cheek ironic statements like “life after Issaquah” to statements that suggest what North Bend has to offer like “take a hike.” The branding team used long sheets of brown paper to brainstorm ideas on, before selecting the new slogan.
According to Doy, the slogan and brand statement should work for the city for the next 5-10 years. The brand statement describes what North Bend hopes to become: “We are the small town that is creating the premiere outdoor adventure destination in Puget Sound.”
The Economic Development Commission — along with Doy and branding team member Martin Volken — will work to develop a strategy for implementing the slogan and branding statement, and to develop a budget for using the slogan as part of the city’s marketing and promotion efforts.
The branding team efforts cost nothing for North Bend, and the costs of any new promotional materials will be in the city’s 2010 budget.
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