MANSFIELD — Lee Tasseff said it’s time to take the next step with the Richland County branding message.
“The good news it’s time to put the Richland County branding story to use,” the president of Destination Mansfield-Richland County told the Richland County Board of Commissioners this week.
“The better part of the news is we actually have all of the pieces, parts and assets in place to be able to deploy it for the first time,” he said.
The countywide branding campaign, unveiled for the first time in 2022, will be used in internal message and a statewide effort to demonstrate Richland County as a place to live, work, build and play, Tasseff said.
The next step in the evolution of the brand is to build marketing campaigns to generate a higher awareness of the area, he said.
Commissioners agreed to allocate $40,000 toward the three-year BrandRichland effort and Tasseff said the City of Mansfield will contribute $50,000. He will also approach the Richland County Foundation for a contribution.
“You have heard me say on numerous occasions that every community must compete with every other community for its share of attention, customers and investments,” said Tasseff, who asked commissioners for $40,000 for each of the next three years.
“Efforts must be made to market and engage potential visitors, residents and workers … and all of this needs to reinforced again and again. That’s what this is all about,” he said.
The local branding effort that began in 2019, the ideas of which can be initially found in the Mansfield Rising downtown investment plan, a citizen-led effort that has been the blueprint for local improvements since its inception.
One of the initial goals in the Mansfield Rising document was a simple action plan: Create a brand for downtown Mansfield “to weave a powerful and positive story to raise awareness about why this is a great place to live and conduct business.”
As organizers began work on the plan, it became clear the branding campaign needed to encompass far more than just downtown Mansfield. It became a true countywide effort, including all cities and villages and rural locations.
The goal was to produce a brand that reflects the entire county and allows it to speak with one voice.
The $100,000 initial effort gained financial support from the Richland County Foundation, Destination Mansfield-Richland County, Richland Area Chamber & RCDG, City of Mansfield, Mechanics Bank, OhioHealth, Park National Bank, Richland County Commissioners and Richland Source.
Tasseff was joined at the meeting this week by Sandy Messner, marketing and communications director at the chamber.
Organizers selected Medium Giant, an agency with offices in Texas and Oklahoma, to assist with the development in fall of 2019.
A full “immersion” with that company into the local community was planned in the spring of 2020, but it was delayed by the impact of COVID-19.
He said said it’s time to build on the message of the county residents as “makers, doers and dreamers.”
“We need to have places for people to land when they click on ads or social media posts … whether it’s in a category of working, living playing … they need to hit a page that matches up with what they have an interest in,” he said.
“Ultimately, we’d like to be able to capture names, email addresses … so we can communicate with potential visitors, residents, etc. on a constant basis,” Tasseff said.
“Now that we have the infrastructure built, we can start launching the marketing and awareness campaigns,” he said.
He said two-thirds of the campaign will be designed to market outside the county and the remaining third within the county.
“The goal of (the internal effort) is to build pride of place. Research indicates that your residents are your best ambassadors (to outsiders),” he said.
He said funding will be sought for each of the three-year campaign, which will include digital messaging, brochures, videos and more.
“One of the great things about digital marketing is there are footprints. We will be able to see the reach, physically, of where did our ads extend to … how popular were they … the impressions, the reach, how many emails did we capture … it will all be measurable,” Tasseff said.
Commissioner Darrell Banks recommended the $40,000 allocation from county capital funds.
“You can use it this year, or in the next three years, however you want to do it,” Banks said. “I’m not saying you can’t come back, but I am thinking that is going to be our contribution.”
“I think you guys do a fantastic job,” he said. “I’m pleased with that and it’s no reflection that I don’t want to commit $40,000 a year for three years.”
