Community Branding a benedum-funded project at the wvu reed college of media
We're a team of strategic communicators from the WVU Reed College of Media, working to create research-based integrated branding campaigns for three communities in the Mountain State: Matewan, Grafton and Whitesville.
We specialize in brand storytelling that favors “place” over products.
A community brand is a unique, collective story that makes a place memorable, such as a town or region’s people, history, beliefs, mission, business, natural resources or new focused endeavors.
In each community, we aim to increase local business, raise regional and national awareness of assets, increase independent efforts toward strategic goals, provide resource materials for economic development, and foster a sense of community pride.
Our project director and principal investigator, Dr. Rita Colistra, led the #BrandMatewan campaign in 2015.
Dr. Colistra explains why working with communities is important:
Step 1: Background & Secondary Research
Here's a quick look at our community-branding process. First, #BrandMatewan met with branding experts before collecting and analyzing existing information.
Step 2: Immersion Trip
Next, we sent a team into Matewan to conduct primary research, such as focus groups and surveys,...
...but mainly to meet the residents and get to know the town. It's important for our teams to understand that they're helping real people, so spending time in the communities is essential.
On this trip, #BrandMatewan recruited 26 business owners and town stakeholders for a roundtable to gauge their perceptions of Matewan and to discuss ways to improve tourism and economic development.
A few weeks later, the team held a community member focus group to hear their thoughts on improvement.
Step 3: Planning & Creative
Dr. Colistra's team spent 5 months traveling to Matewan to take pictures, film 360 video clips, hold social media workshops, interview residents, earn media coverage and discuss logo/brand ideas with a local branding committee.
Step 4: Presentation
On December 16, #BrandMatewan successfully showcased their efforts at the WVU Media Innovation Lab. They presented a new brand image, slogan, website, social media accounts and other deliverables.
We're passionate about telling each town's unique story!
Designed by Mariah Elliott, Coordinator