The City of New Rochelle, NY has launched an intensive branding program aimed to discover, define and design the City’s unique marketplace advantages to attract businesses, residents and visitors. To bring outside objectivity to the project, New Rochelle has partnered with Nashville-based North Star Destination Strategies. North Star has helped develop brands for more than 170 cities, regions, communities and municipalities nationwide. The City’s initiative is funded in partnership with the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency (IDA).

“A successful branding strategy will benefit New Rochelle’s economy, property values, and civic image,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “This initiative will bring together community-based perspectives and national-caliber talent, so that we can present our city’s assets and attributes in a compelling way.”

North Star Destination Strategies will be in New Rochelle September 9-12 for a series of public and visioning meetings. They will hold a public information session on Tuesday, September 9th and present to the City Council at the September 10th Committee of the Whole meeting.

“Over the next several months, using our Community BrandPrint process we’ll be digging out New Rochelle’s competitive identity that is derived from the history, the culture, the geography and the society of a place,” said North Star CEO Don McEachern. “Branding the City will give community members and stakeholders the tools to effectively manage the conversation that is taking place in order to build a reputation that is fair, honest and powerful.”

The integrated branding process includes research, strategy and creative development. The final stage of the project will involve the creation of a brand identity guide for the City and will be expressed through communications, signage, special events, community outreach, online initiatives, merchandising and more.

IDA Chair Marianne Sussman noted, ““For too long, the City has not made its positive qualities broadly known.. This branding exercise will bring together all that we enjoy -- from our waterfront and strategic location, to our diversity of commercial and residential properties, to our parks and arts, restaurants and cultural offerings -- and solidify our standing in the marketplace.”

For further information on the branding process, visit www.newrochelleny.com. To learn more about North Star Destination Strategies, go to www.northstarideas.com .