The Playing Field and the Players
The Greater Louisville Community Branding Project is a comprehensive 36-month project to develop a new brand strategy and marketing plan for Greater Louisville — to raise Louisville's profile nationally as a destination for visitors, talent, and business.
But every great plan has to have a great team behind it. And not only a great team, of course, but a collection of forward-thinking hard-working focused committed folk. A group of people with a vision, a perspective, a process, and a common cause. It would be impossible to recognize everyone, or even begin to describe the vast amount of energy and effort that's already gone into helping reveal this wonderful brand, but the following outline will at least offer an insight into our scope and depth, and perhaps encourage you to join us in communicating Greater Louisville's essential value.
Our Vision
The establishment and communication of a single brand for Greater Louisville, coupled with ongoing efforts to develop the community's product offerings, will result in our community being considered as part of the competitive set of fast-growth American regions, and will lead to an increased rate of awareness and attraction to visitors, talent, and businesses by 2010.
Our Goals
- To identify and establish a single Louisville brand that will guide current and future marketing efforts for the Greater Louisville area.
- To provide a blueprint for integrated messaging and a focused strategy to communicate the region's identity to the rest of the country.
- To establish a system and an infrastructure to manage the brand.
Our Target
The Greater Louisville brand represents the 25-county bi-state economic region of Kentucky and Southern Indiana and will compete with other fast-growth American regions as a destination for:
- Visitors: Corporate organizations as well as individuals who chose where they will meet and recreate.
- Talent: Individuals who choose where they will live and work, as well as give critical input into the decisions of those who employ them.
- Business: Corporate people who make decisions about where their organizations' emplyees will live, work, and encourage others to visit.
The Process
A four-phase 36-month project plan has been created to support the Greater Louisville Branding Project:
PHASE I
Research and Analysis
The Greater Louisville Branding Project will invest considerable time and resources into research to ensure that our strategies are grounded in true research insights. During this vital phase of the process, we plan to conduct research among internal and external stakeholders, both quantitative and qualitative, in order to understand who the customers are, their current attitudes and perceptions, what motivates them, and more. As part of this effort, we will ask our community to participate in surveys and other forums of discussion. We also plan to benchmark our region against other communities and learn from "best practices."
PHASE II
Brand Development
This phase will include the development of the brand strategy and positioning, the brand visualization and messaging, and the final concept evaluation.
PHASE III
Marketing and Communications Plan Development
This phase will include specific plans for advertising, public relations, interactive, and potentially buzz / experiential marketing and communications.
PHASE IV
Launch and Implementation of Marketing and Communications Plan
This final phase will officially launch and implement the Marketing and Communications Plan, with ongoing processes and infrastructure for brand management in place.
Our Team
The Greater Louisville Community Branding Project is a public / private partnership initiative of The Greater Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau;, Greater Louisville Inc.; Louisville Metro Government; the Greater Louisville Community Branding Alliance; a coalition of civic leaders including state governments, economic development, the corporate and philanthropic communities, educational institutions, and cultural entities; and others. Together the partners will outline a common agenda and plan for this initiative.
Greater Louisville Community Branding Alliance
The Alliance will act as a steering committee for the Greater Louisville Community branding effort providing oversight for the project and coordination with their respective organizations. The committee members will assist in the development of the overall community branding plan through the generation of ideas and the gathering of resources.
An ad hoc committee and subset of the Alliance known as the Greater Louisville Community Branding "Think Tank" will provide personal and corporate expertise, feedback and input on the brand identity, strategies, and tactics developed in the community branding plan.
Honorary Chair: Bill Samuels, Maker's Mark Distillery, Inc.
Co-Chair: Joe Reagan, Greater Louisville Inc.
Co-Chair: James Wood, Greater Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau
| Mayor Jerry Abramson | Louisville Metro Government |
| Barry Alberts | Downtown Development Corporation |
| Nicehelle Anthony | Kentucky Lottery Corporation |
| Barry Barker | Transit Authority of River City (TARC) |
| Michael Berry | Kentucky Derby Festival, Inc. |
| Jonathan Blue | Blue Equity, LLC |
| Mary Michael Corbett | Frost Brown Todd |
| Terry Davenport | YUM! Brands Inc. |
| Paul Diaz | Kindred Healthcare |
| Carolyn Gatz | Greater Louisville Project |
| Mary Griffith | National City |
| Dan Hall | University of Louisville |
| Hunt Helm | Bellarmine University |
| Andrew Hutto | Baxter Station |
| David Karem | Waterfront Development Corp. |
| Paul Klein | GE Consumer and Industrial |
| Bill Lamb | WDRB TV — Channel 41 |
| Mandy Lambert | Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development |
| Steve Langford | WAVE3 TV |
| Tawanda Lewis | Louisville Urban League Young Professionals |
| Todd Lowe | Partnership for the Creative Economy |
| Charlie Mattingly | Better Business Bureau, Inc. |
| Skip Miller | Regional Airport Authority |
| Mary Moseley | Schneider Companies/Galt House Hotel |
| Steve Moya | Humana Inc. |
| David Nicklies | Greater Louisville Logistics Network |
| Sandra Patterson-Randles | Indiana University Southeast |
| Eileen Pickett | Greater Louisville Inc. |
| Stephen Reily | IMC Licensing |
| Benjamin Richmond | Louisville Urban League |
| Keith Ringer | MetroMojo |
| Bekki Jo Schneider | Arts and Cultural Attractions Council |
| Chris Spalding | YPAL |
| Michael Spurlock | Greater Louisville Technology Network |
| Leslie Stewart | Keep Louisville Weird |
| Kathi Stearman | LSHRM (Louisville Society of Human Resource Managers) |
| Kent Taylor | Texas Roadhouse |
| Troy Thomas | Fourth Street Live! |
| Matthew Thornton | Thorntons Inc. |
| Bruce Traughber | Louisville Metro Government |
| Nigel Travis | Papa John's International, Inc. |
| Paul Varga | Brown-Forman Corp. |
| Brad Walker | Brown Hotel |
| George Ward | Kentucky Commerce Cabinet |
| Curtis Warfield | Health Enterprises Network |
| Vicky Weber | Jeffersontown Chamber of Commerce |
| Will Wolford | Louisville Fire Football |
| Harold Workman | Kentucky State Fair Board |
Greater Louisville Community Branding Project Team
The project team is responsible for the implementation and execution of the community branding plan's brand identity, strategies, and tactics. The project team will also identify ways for the partnering organizations to collaborate in their current and ongoing marketing efforts.
| Eileen Pickett (chair) | Greater Louisville Inc. |
| Ceci Conway Boden | Marketing Consultant |
| Heather Gates | Leadership Louisville Center |
| Lisa Haller | The Galt House Hotel |
| Carmen Hickerson | Greater Louisville Inc. |
| Mackenzie Hindman | Greater Louisville Inc. |
| Phil Miller | Louisville Metro Government |
| Robin Miller | The Advertising Federation of Louisville |
| Mark Perry | Greater Louisville CVB |
| Matt Schulte | Horizon InSight |
| Paul Schulte | Horizon Research International |
| Stacey Yates | Greater Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau |
