GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Green Bay’s city council is expected to vote next week on whether to move forward with a $101,000 rebranding effort.
The idea received mixed feedback when it was first proposed late last year.
It doesn’t take a marketing expert to tell you people think of the Packers and football when they hear Green Bay, but Will Ketchum of North Star Place Branding & Marketing says his company can build a brand beyond that.
“The world pretty much thinks branding is about logos and slogans, and that is just a very superficial definition of the impact we believe we can have for the city of Green Bay,” said Ketchum.
North Star graded highest out of the seven companies that responded to the city’s request for proposals on rebranding. The price companies said they could get the job done for ranged between $66,966 and $259,125.
A 20-minute presentation from Ketchum to the city’s finance committee focused on growing Green Bay faster than nearby communities. He said the rebranding would mostly be geared toward getting talent to move here but also attracting investors, employers and visitors.
“You can see the theme here is, over time, if Green Bay doesn’t compete harder for its share of talent and residents, there’s going to be a problem,” said Ketchum. “Our proposal here is about getting ahead of that problem.”
City council president Jesse Brunette was one of three council members who voted last December against seeking rebranding bids.
“I thought that people who I spoke to, which were many, they said, ‘What is the city doing?’ Out of all the priorities, this is lower on the list,” said Brunette.
“It’s great to have a gut reaction on do we want a new flag, a new logo, cheese, Packers, that sort of stuff. That is nothing. That is nothing compared to what was presented tonight,” said Alderperson Bill Galvin.
North Star is expected to make another presentation when the city council votes next Tuesday.
Five of the 12 city council members have changed since last December’s vote on this issue. The city attorney says the council could vote not to accept the bid from North Star or any other marketing group.
