Young professionals say, 'It's all here'
40 Below organization launches branding campaign at weekend festival.
by Rick Moriarty, The Post-Standard
A volunteer public service organization is taking matters into its own hands when it comes to promoting the Syracuse region.
40 Below plans to launch a branding campaign for the greater Syracuse area Saturday during the Taste of Syracuse festival in Clinton Square.
Members of the organization, who are mostly young professionals, will hand out beaded medallion necklaces imprinted with the campaign's slogan, "Syracuse: Live it. Love it. It's all here."
The group is also launching a Web site, its-allhere.com, to provide people with information about the arts, nightlife, recreational and career opportunities in the Syracuse area.
Nichole Wenderlich, chair of the group's marketing and communications task force, said the goal of the campaign is to boost pride in Syracuse and to encourage people to stay here.
"We want to create an identity, to create self-esteem," she said.
The idea for it came from two public conferences, or summits, that the group held.
"One of the things we saw over and over again was that people wanted a 'brand' for the area," said Wenderlich.
Designworks Advertising Inc. helped the group come up with the logo, which features the name SYRACUSE with the letters "CUSE" in a circle.
Wenderlich said the Connective Corridor, a community project started by Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor to link University Hill and downtown Syracuse, is helping to sponsor the campaign by paying the cost of the medallions.
Wenderlich said the organization would like to put its "Live it. Love it. It's all here" slogan on billboards, Web sites and radio and television advertising later this year. It's looking for sponsors to cover costs.
The Central Upstate Regional Alliance, an economic development consortium formed last year, is developing a "brand" identity for the region, too.
Wenderlich said 40 Below's campaign will not conflict with the alliance's efforts.
Staff Writer Rick Moriarty can be reached at 470-3148 or rmoriarty@syracuse.com.
This item was published on 06/02/2006
