Mesa council to discuss branding opportunities at upcoming planning session

By Connor Van Ligten
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The Mesa City Council is set to discuss citywide branding efforts at its upcoming strategic planning session.

The session will be held at 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 18 at 1333 N. Power Road. The council will discuss how to give Mesa a cohesive and modern brand identity, according to a council presentation.

The council presentation outlines the solution to addressing the lack of brand identity, which is developing a unified communications framework that reflects the direction of Mesa as a city and supports growth, investment and community pride.

Overall goals are to shift perception and fix reputation issues, unify messaging and identity, support long-term economic growth and increase brand value and recognition, according to the presentation. Benefits to achieving these goals include stronger connections with residents, business and visitors, development and fostering of civic pride in Mesa, better talent attraction and retention, clearer marketing articulation and economic development.

For example, the Mesa Office of Economic Development has been developing brand identities for city programs that help launch and refine businesses such as LaunchPoint and Mesa Business Builder, as well as business hubs such as Falcon District and the Asian District. According to the presentation, the Mesa economic development team aims to “refresh” branding for the city.

The approach process involves a multiple-phase outline with discovery via community input, brand identity development, testing and refinement based on feedback, developing guidelines and assets, aligning training with brand goals and an eventual launch and rollout of new and improved branding for the city, according to the presentation

By the end of the process, Mesa will have a long-term strategy for brand health, a brand toolkit with clear visual guidance and messaging, a modern and professional brand system, and more, according to the presentation.

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