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In an effort to create a community image for the Greater Brandon area, The Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce is asking residents to add their voice to the project by participating in an online survey.
As part of the "Branding Brandon" campaign, residents are invited to take part in a 10-minute survey selecting various words and ratings that identify Brandon the best. Having thrown the idea around for a few years, the Chamber's board of directors decided to put the idea into motion while on their 2006 retreat.
"We at the Chamber want to adequately depict what Brandon truly is, whether it be for economic development purposes, for other people looking to relocate to Brandon or even for residents within our geographic region," states Laura Simpson, vice president of business and community development.
Having hired Catch Your Limit Consulting to initiate research for the project, the Chamber plans to use the data gathered to segway into a marketing campaign in the spring of 2008. And, according to Tom Laughon, president of Catch Your Limit Consulting, "The community's perspective is the most critical component of the branding process. Community brands are not created by marketing people in ivory towers, they are created by the beliefs, perceptions and values of the people who live and work in the communities."
The survey beckons all those who are residents, non-residents and business owners to take part putting entering their input via the Internet. After acquiring the needed 100 responses from each of the three categories, the Chamber hopes to answer the questions: who are we, what do we have to offer, what are our unique characteristics, what are our values and why does our community matter? "We want something that will transcend through different segments such as charities, the business community and the community itself," adds Simpson. The community will be given the results after January 1.
In the spring, three to four identifiers will be formulated which are planned to be tested within the community giving residents the chance to become involved again through focus groups. Simpson concludes saying, "Through a unified voice, we can give that definition of Brandon, so when you say Brandon, people will be able to understand what that means."
All who take part in the survey can enter to win four tickets for the Tampa Bay Lightning game scheduled on January 22. Participants can go to www.brandingbrandon.com or click on the link at www.brandonchamber.com to fill out the survey. For information, please contact Laura Simpson at 689-1221 or email lsimpson@brandonchamber.com.
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