EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part 2 in a five-part series on branding in relation to Mansfield. This series will run the week of May 13 through 17.
MARION — Dean Jacob, president and CEO of the Marion Community Foundation, had long since grown tired of hearing the same negative stories about Rust Belt cities like Marion and Mansfield Ohio.
A lifelong Marion resident, Jacob knew his community had positive news to share, but the negativity in the city seemed oversaturated.
“This was a time where things were starting to take a turn for the better, not only in Marion, but all over the place. The communities known as Rust Belt communities were tired of feeling like woe is us,” Jacob said.
In an effort to accelerate the transition, the Marion Community Foundation launched a campaign called “MarionMade,” which the authors of the Mansfield Rising Plan are now considering as a possible model for the downtown branding initiative.
The Mansfield plan recognizes benefits in how MarionMade highlights the community’s past, but stays focused on the “present and future of the lively remarkable community.” The campaign’s website promotes the city’s people, products, places, programs and projects with frequent stories.
“I think people were hungry for it,” Jacob said. “We reached out and did presentations, and people loved it. It seemed to automatically click.”
Listening to an expert
In 2016, the Marion Community Foundation worked with Marion CAN DO!, an economic development organization to determine the biggest needs, a workforce message and an internal message of community pride.
Together the two organizations found Bryan Haviland, president and CEO of FrazierHeiby, whose experience was in public relations and marketing communications.
“We knew what we really needed to do was hire a marketing firm to tell us what our strengths and weaknesses are, and he seemed to be the perfect person to come here and help me figure out what my message is for site selectors and businesses coming into the community,” Jacob said.
Haviland came up with the phrase “Marion Made,” and it just seemed to fit, Jacob said.
By 2017, they were ready to launch “MarionMade,” which is housed within the Foundation.
“It fit within our mission, and once we got it up and running, we realized it had potential,” Jacob said.
The Foundation hired a part-time program manager and had a committee directly involved in the program’s creation, too. From there, a group of volunteer writers have worked with the program manager to keep the campaign’s website updated frequently.
“Most stories are about 300 words, and all are supposed to be positive stories,” Jacob said.
Brand recognition has been the focus for the first two years, but now the aim is to focus on sharing what Marion is, he explained.
To fund MarionMade! The Foundation organizes an annual gala featuring a dinner and an awards show. The cost of admissions cover the cost of a program manager.
“It’s something that in theory should last forever,” Jacob said. “It’s interesting to see attitudes shifting and to see people talking positively about the community.
“I think we were a catalyst — that Marion Made came about as attitude’s were shifting — but its been interesting to see that shift progress.”