CASE STUDY North Coast Harbor Branding & Marketing North Coast Harbor Branding & Marketing Cleveland, Ohio Stakeholder North Coast Harbor is a district in downtown Cleveland that sits Engagement Brand Strategy on Lake Erie and anchors world-classNORTH COAST HARBOR venues LOGO - FULL COLOR such WITH TAGLINE as the Rock Communications and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, FirstEnergy Stadium – home Templates of the Cleveland Browns – and the Great Lakes Science Center. Brand Guidelines NORTH COAST HARBOR LOGO - FULL COLOR WITH TAGLINE Website Additionally, the district is energized with weekly events that NORTH COAST HARBOR IDENTITY Marketing Plan & draw in residents, out-of-towners and regular visitors to enjoy Materials everythingThis mark demonstrates the tagline lakefront has to offer. Placemaking “where the city meets the lake” — colorful city buildings meet calm waters. The three elements in the city illustration are representative of North Coast Harbor’s position to enlighten, engage and entertain. Angular shapes relate to the strong shape of the Rock Hall as well as the angular breakwall and walkway, and subtly speak to Objective NORTH COAST HARBOR LOGO - FULL COLOR WITHOUT TAGLINE spotlights (events) and flight (port/airport). Activate the brandThe colors strategy are vibrant and and marketing dimensional. efforts to unifyKEY lakefront WORDS stakeholders and elevate the areaFriendly as a must-see destination. Vibrant Water Connection NORTH COAST HARBOR LOGO - GREYSCALE COLORS GREYSCALE LOGO COLOR PALETTE 7462 COLORSC 3135 C 7472 C 7462 C 116 C 1665 C 7462 C 3135 C 7472 C 7462 C 116 C 1665 C 7461 C 3105 C 3245 C 234 C 107 C 1585 C 7461 C 3105 C 3245 C 234 C 107 C 1585 C ©2013 Studio Graphique, Inc. designwithdirection.com NORTH COAST HARBOR LOGO - GREYSCALE WITHOUT TAGLINE “A harbor destination is one step in the right direction to have a memorable, desirable lakefront.” Brendan Clark, Civic Commons Participant ©Guide Studio, Inc. guidestudio.com 1 CASE STUDY North Coast Harbor Branding & Marketing Our WHY What is our core belief? Why do we exist? Our Core Belief Our WHAT What do we offer to support our beliefs? What Branded Gathering Elevate the visitor Because North Coast Harbor is Placemaking Spaces: experience through Enhance safety and accessibility Pedestrian & Wayfinding Restaurants, through infrastructure upgrades Bridge Pavilions, amenity additions. Benches in and around the district. Sanitation & Downtown Cleveland’s connection to Safety How Marina Efforts the Lake, we believe it is a place to be Additional Parking/ ation Public bor Less Costly lla Bathrooms o Why Parking C & n io t celebrated and enjoyed by all. a c i n u Additional m A place to be World-Class Connectivity m o Venues C enjoyed by all RTA Signature Why Line Events By starting with this premise, we connect Year-round NCH Brand public events/ Existing or in Development festivals/cel- progress people to this currently underused asset, ebrations District PR A place to be Build awareness and traffic among NCH Website NCH Social and market- and create an environment that people Media ing outreach enjoyed by all visitors and residents through shared Presence (residents and visitors)Our want to visit, stayHow should Northcommunication Coast and Harbor event promotions. be positioned? 10 the day, tell othersPositioning about, and return to.POSITIONING DEFINED: A forward-looking statement that succinctly defines how your organization wants to be positioned in the marketplace. It should be an honest reflection of who you are today, but with short-term attainable aspirations. Above: Why – Your Purpose 8 The Distinctive North Coast Harbor is the one Cleveland Advantage: the city’s best lakefront views Above right: How & destination where the City meets the Lake, What Diagram The Guiding Principle: venues & activities in and Life intersects with unique venues, NCH are unlike others Right: Positioning The Audiences: Cleveland-area resi- The Products/Services Statement dents, visitors, special organiza- events and activities that enlighten, tions and groups engage and entertain. The End Benefit This statement positions North Coast Harbor as a place that welcomes people Challenge and activity (a passive park), Asplays downtown on it’s distinctive Cleveland advantage as theand place its surrounding where the City meets the Lake,neighborhoods acknowledges it’s key experiencedattractors (venues), anda revival period over While the Cleveland City Departmentguides of the Port programming of the place (unique activities and venues). Control employs its Great Lake and river as an the last few years, North Coast Harbor needed its industrial shipping base, the downtown area own purpose – one that would induce6 excitement where the land meets the water, also known and curiosity about the area. As a result, Cleveland as North Coast Harbor, was an underutilized City Department of Port Control and Downtown recreational asset for a long time. Despite being Cleveland Alliance engaged Guide Studio to home to world-class venues like the Rock and develop and promote a brand that showcases Roll Hall of Fame, the Great Lakes Science Center North Coast Harbor’s comprehensive value. and FirstEnergy Stadium, along with beautiful public spaces like Voinovich Park, the lakefront Solutions area sat lifeless on non-event days when visitors The Downtown Cleveland Alliance partnered lacked a reason to be there. with Guide Studio in 2013 to accomplish its first objective: Architect a new brand strategy that “People would only visit one venue and leave,” said positions North Coast Harbor as a vibrant district Jessica Kerr, Project Manager for the Downtown in downtown Cleveland. And while that was the Cleveland Alliance, a nonprofit organization that big to-do to check off the list, the relationship works with the City of Cleveland to steward North between the two organizations has continued to Coast Harbor. “It had accessible parking and top- evolve as Guide Studio helps the lakefront district notch venues, but everything was disjointed and share its story and create branded experiences. lacked a sense of community.” ©Guide Studio, Inc. guidestudio.com 2 CASE STUDY North Coast Harbor Branding & Marketing What ELEVATE the experience PURPOSE ALIGNMENT One of the “How’s” identified for North Coast Harbor was Elevate the Experience. This image board presents project types, design Passive Intuitive Recreation Connectivity elements and ideas Spaces for public, passive recreational spaces that would support that purpose. Integrated Gathering Public Art Spaces ©Studio graphique, Inc. designwithdirection.com dca1120 | august 2013 north coast harbor // brand development placemaking mood boards page 1 Brand Strategy: During the early stages of brand concepts showcasing how the district could utilize planning, it was evident that North Coast Harbor its green space, amenities and landscapes to needed to rally all of its stakeholders (Rock activate brand-focused events and activities. Each Hall, Science Center, FirstEnergy Stadium, City of these concepts supported the district’s new of Cleveland etc.) together and gain support for tagline, “City Meets the Lake,” and were presented creating a highly-connected and collaborative alongside gateway and wayfinding signage that district experience. With the Downtown helps people navigate their way around. Cleveland Alliance, Guide Studio facilitated the New Website: Another big project initiative Stakeholder Engagement process that put many was the launch of the new North Coast Harbor of these organizations at the same table for website, which Guide Studio designed and the very first time, allowing them to develop a continues to update and evolve. With the website, shared vision and purpose for this place. prospective visitors can virtually connect with Because this project was just as much about the district to learn about all of the exciting placemaking as it was about building a brand, news and events in one place, which is especially Guide Studio also leveraged the vision to act more helpful for people on-the-go, rather than having like a strategic plan for the North Coast Harbor to visit each venue’s distinct website. District. This ensured that every idea, design and Event Marketing & PR: The first year of Guide decision fundamentally aligned with why the Studio and Downtown Cleveland Alliance’s district exists and what its visitors wanted. If it partnership was focused on discovering and doesn’t fit the purpose, it doesn’t need to be done. building the new brand, while consecutive years Brand Identity (Design): With the purpose and have been about utilizing the brand grow an messaging for North Coast Harbor completed, audience. This objective has been accomplished the team was able visualize how the area could through special events that tie back to the core of be transformed into a true urban asset that is the brand — to provide an environment that can embraced by residents and visitors at every turn. be enjoyed and celebrated by all. Guide Studio developed mood boards to present ©Guide Studio, Inc. guidestudio.com 3 CASE STUDY North Coast Harbor Branding & Marketing “With all of our brand elements in place, we toppers, signs, website and social media content, needed to start promoting the district as a year- and more to promote the unique identity of each round gathering place, no matter what you’re event within the context of the North Coast looking for — exercise, fishing, music, etc.,” said Harbor brand. Kerr. “We believe events are a great way to build Brand Champion Engagement: Visitors are, of momentum, and Guide Studio has been helping course, an extremely important audience for us engage an audience for them.” North Coast Harbor, but they aren’t the only one. As North Coast Harbor began to launch signature All of district’s stakeholders — the institutions events like North Coast Namaste, a weekly yoga and people who reflect the brand and interact series during the summer at Voinovich Park, with visitors on a daily basis — needed to be Pilates on the Pier and Fish CLE for Free, Guide supportive of the work being done in order for it Studio leveraged its marketing expertise to build to make a universal impact.