At least one Wilmington City Council member doesn’t want another near-midnight session on a topic as important as regional identity.
So, Councilwoman Margaret Haynes has suggested moving a resumed discussion on “regional branding” to an earlier part of Tuesday night’s regular meeting agenda.
It would allow a more alert council to tackle issues raised earlier this month at a late-night debate on the branding proposal, Haynes said Monday morning during a review of Tuesday’s draft agenda. As presented, it had the topic near the end of a long list of city business.
The last time her board took it up, on the night of Aug. 6, the calendar date was about to turn and council eventually decided to table any decision. The board was asked to pass a resolution backing a data-gathering process in the formation of a regional brand–one this area could use to attract visitors and industry–and giving advance endorsement to whatever brand the facilitators come up with.
Past story: Council withholds support on regional branding plan
Nashville’s “Music City” and the power of the Napa Valley name were among examples given by Roger Johnson, assistant to the city manager for development, who is working with staffers of New Hanover County and UNCW to get the local process moving.
But Haynes and other council members were concerned about endorsing “the unknown,” noting that the brand the facilitators shape might be a lousy one as far as the city council is concerned. Why, she asked, should the board endorse something that doesn’t exist yet?
Johnson and fellow organizers said the commitment would empower the roundtable of community and business leaders that would decide the brand. But some council members were not confident the parties involved could arrive at one adequate for such a diverse locale, with rural outskirts, an artsy downtown, an oceanfront, a university and more, before any mention of business characteristics.
The area that city and county officials propose to cover with the brand would be New Hanover County, which includes four municipalities (three of them beach towns), and northern Brunswick County, which is dominated by Leland.
For this Tuesday’s council meeting, to begin at 6:30 p.m. in Wilmington City Hall, the draft agenda includes one presentation, two public hearings and 10 ordinance items. Following that are two resolutions, the first of which asks support for the branding initiative.
Under the proposal, UNCW would volunteer to gather and analyze data through surveys, consultant reports and various other sources. The findings would go to a Brand Identity Leadership Team (BILT) comprising members of local civic and community groups, businesses large and small, and organizations specializing in jobs or economic development, among others.
Past story: The search for identity: Officials start process to brand greater Wilmington
Councilwoman Laura Padgett said she wanted Johnson to prepare of list of potential BILT members for council ahead of Tuesday’s meeting. Haynes noted she had talked to some local business leaders, including the CEO of Wilmington Business Development, who said they had not been included in the branding discussions.
They also wanted a differently worded resolution free of any endorsement for a to-be-determined brand.
As currently written, the draft resolution (a version of which the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners has already passed) says the city “recognizes the benefit of and intends to support a brand that advances the greater good of the region.”
That is, however, a change from the resolution staff asked council to adopt Aug. 6, which said the city “recognizes and pledges future support of the outcome.”
But Haynes on Monday said the revised resolution’s use of the word “intends” might still be too binding; “expects” or “hopes to support” might be more appropriate. She also wanted facilitators to explain the difference, with examples, between a brand, a slogan and a logo.
The branding would serve to convey “the unique image and experiences that can be found here,” says the draft resolution, which opines having an umbrella brand would “be of utmost importance to provide the region with opportunities for economic and community development.”
Mayor Bill Saffo on Monday underlined that the end goal is economic improvement, to have a brand that will win the attention of investors and job creators.
That’s somewhat different from a brand that simply captures the environmental or historical spirit of the Cape Fear, a product more of interest to tourism, though that is part of the scope per its economic weight.
Otherwise, Wilmington does have its classic labels.
“We are the Port City. We’ll always be known as the Port City,” Saffo said. “The Queen City is the Queen City, the Capital City is the Capital City. We can’t change that. Like, Durham is the ‘City of Medicine.’ And that’s the brand that they do.”
But trying to come up with a regional brand that smoothly unites Wilmington and the beach communities under one environmental picture or character may be futile, he said, at least as far as unanimous support goes.
“This is like Lawrence of Arabia trying to bring these tribes together,” said Saffo. “It’s not going to happen.”
Ben Brown is a news reporter at Port City Daily. Reach him at ben.b@hometownwilmington.com or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter: @benbrownmedia
