You’ve heard of companies rebranding themselves for a fresh start. So is it possible for an entire city to rebrand itself to shed an old image and introduce a new one? Check out what’s happening in Fresno, Calif. But the rebranding is directed at an audience you wouldn’t think of first - its own residents. Thus, the city set out to find a variety of small business branding ideas.
That’s right. The Fresno rebranding campaign is largely focused on its own residents who without a doubt are its harshest critics. Many feel there is absolutely nothing special about the city in which they live. City managers want to change this image starting from the inside out.
For years Fresno has felt like a place that is the definition of un-hip with plenty of smog and crime problems. So the city is undergoing a $1.2 million marketing campaign - “Be World-Class. Be Fresno.” They’re hoping for a clear business case for rebranding the city’s image. As such, they collected a series of small business branding ideas.
Will this work? City planners certainly hope so. Forbes magazine once ranked it 146 out of 150 on a list of Best Places to do Business. One study found that Fresno had the highest concentration of poverty and its air quality index plummeted just this past year.
For small business owners thinking of rebranding their companies with small business branding ideas for a fresh start, take note of Fresno. If an entire city can undergo a successful rebranding effort, so can entrepreneurs.
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As a former Californian, this effort truly interests me. I hope that Fresno’s efforts are successful, and I’m sure that there will be much to learn from their effort. Detroit truly can use this kind of help. It is a city that is definitely in need of brand makeover.
Karen, awesome point about Detroit. They could use a rebranding after they’ve implemented changes that truly turn around the city, ala Pittsburgh after the steel industry cleaned up its act.
I currently live in Fresno as a business owner. Our town is still not progressive as a community ,were very divided.I havent experienced any new form of branding for our city. I have hopes one day we will be but for now outdated thinking and old politics are here to stay.Myself and others have tried to make a difference in Fresno by opening up a business in its sinking downtown economy but only to be confronted by despair.