Officials in the Northwest U.S. 33 corridor are looking to brand the region as a testing ground for future technology.
Earlier this year, the NW 33 Innovation Corridor Council of Governments (COG), which includes Union County, the Union County Port Authority and the cities of Dublin and Marysville, hired Columbus-based Adept Marketing to develop a brand strategy at a cost of $49,815.
At a Wednesday meeting, the group presented its findings and recommendations, “to brand the COG in a meaningful way— and develop a marketing plan for the collective group to targeted audiences.”
Adept offered that the corridor should be known as “The Beta District.” Adept recommended a tagline that the Beta District is “where the future is tested.”
Jen Campbell, Adept Creative Director, said the Beta District message should be it is “a place where private sector, government and academia work together in an open playground to safely test and deploy technology in real-world scenarios.”
She said the district should brand itself with a series of blue and purple primary colors and more muted, red, magenta and neutral grey secondary colors. She said the colors represent the district is creative, insightful, imaginative and responsible; the secondary colors represent the district is passionate, driven and strong. She said the neutral colors are safe, secure and balanced. Campbell said the Beta District is fortunate in that this color palette is not already being used by another research corridor.
Campbell offered a variety of potential logos, as well as advertisements, letterheads, business cards and other marketing pieces based on each logo.
Jake Kaufman, Adept Director of Strategy, said he interviewed a variety of stakeholders in an effort to determine what message they wanted to put out.
“Everyone struggled to articulate the COG’s vision,” Kauffman said in his presentation. “By default they talk about the project the COG is overseeing.”
That project is the installation of fiber along U.S. 33. He said each group expressed excitement at the outcome of this project, but there still seems to be significant questions about what happens “when we turn this ‘on.’”
“Right now, we’re mostly talking about what we offer — even though what we offer currently doesn’t exist,” Kaufman said. “In reality, the 33 Project is really the starting project in the implementation of our mission. We must begin talking about who we are and what we do.”
Kauffman said on it’s own, the COG is not compelling to the businesses and researchers it is trying to attract.
“What we are building, and how, is the real story,” Kauffman said.
Campbell suggested the Beta District’s message needs to be is, “Where R&D Meets Reality.”
According to Adept’s marketing pieces: “We are a region devoted to breakthroughs. Where engineers, researchers, scientists, and designers test transformative technology and innovative ideas in the real world. Where ah-ha moments surface from actual deployment data. Where state, local, and industry authorities all work together to bring big ideas to life.”
Kaufman said the initial intent of the COG was to establish the U.S. 33 corridor as a hub for smart mobility innovation.
“The COG’s vision has grown in scope and ambition—to build a connected region that becomes the ideal destination for tech innovation,” Kaufman said.
Even so, he said, the message of the COG is confusing. Additionally, he said there are several other testing grounds around the country and even in Ohio.
“On its own, a 35-mile smart corridor will not be enough to differentiate from other smart road and smart city projects happening in the country,” Kaufman said.
He said companies, institutions and technology already installed or on its way combined with the financial and collaborative commitment already made by the COG make the region “the most diverse platform when compared to other ‘open-for-testing’ destinations in the U.S.”
Kaufman said the key is to create an identity that companies and other communities can immediately identify.
He said the brand should stand on its own nationally and internationally, without a tie to a specific road or community.
“Names of roads don’t travel well across state borders and around the globe,” Kaufman said in his presentation. “Plus, when we separate the assets we have here, we start to lose connection to the others. The story is less strong when we just talk about one part of the project or the corridor—it’s really about the sum of all the parts.”
COG officials offered mixed responses to the presentation. Dublin City Manager Dana McDaniel said the presentation forces the COG to think “outside our box.” He said it can be difficult to represent the entire region and a specific community at the same time.
County Administrator Tim Hansley said the brand feels like “starting all over again.” He said the brand is “outside his comfort zone.”
Hansley said the brand does not really identify any region or represent the communities.
“I don’t know how to react to it,” Hansley said.
Dublin City Communication Director Sue Burness said there are opportunities to change elements of the marketing strategy.
Officials questioned if the Beta District was moving too far from the region’s core of automobile and mobility innovation. Adept said that is the point. Kaufman said the idea is to move away from being just automobiles to being all types of innovation.
McDaniel said he wants automotive to stay at the core while expanding opportunities.
“It is in our best interest not to put everything into automotive,” Marysville City Manager Terry Emery said.
He added he would like to see more regional identity in the marketing.
“When people see the Beta District, I want them to know where that is,” Emery said.
Adept officials said they can help the Beta District present a message that does that with other communities and stakeholders. Adept asked COG members to review the presentation and offer thoughts on the logos, the colors and the message. COG officials said they would present the message to other stakeholders and get additional input.