Branding/Tourism Marketing Committee - Initial Meeting Notes

A recap of the Branding/Tourism Marketing Committee breakout session.

1. We debated calling ourselves either the Union City Tourism Association, in deference to our historic town name and with the idea of direclty referencing that history, and the Union Tourism Association, which is more in line with how our town is known today. In the end it was decided that the word City in materials could quite likely create a mistaken impression and is probably best left out, and that this would not limit our ability to reference our history, and ground our branding in that history.
2. We agreed that a primary goal was not just collaboratively devleping visitor marketing materials and a summer event guide, but also strategies and events that will help us extend the season dramatically.
   
3. There were a variety of discussions about potential slogans or tag lines, with there being general agreement about proposing something along the lines of Union: An Unforgettable Destination. See George's valuable feedback about this in his email.
4. We discussed the duality of the markets we wish to reach: both the local (within a 20 minute drive) market, and the day-trip/overnight market, and confirmed our agreement that Seattle and Portland are the primary target areas for those day-trip.overnight folks.
5. We agreed that we needed the following collateral pieces developed, and Matthew agreed to take an initial stab at drafts of these by next Wednesday's meeting.

• Web site
• Entry to Union signage
• Visitor Center signage
• A printed, seasonal Visitor Guide that has a portion at least that is distributable electronically and printer friendly, that incorporates some sort of "passport" section that provides an incentive to visitors to check out multiple businesses and activities while visiting, is educational about the history of Union and perhaps incorporates that history into an activity (like a historical walking tour), and has a flap that allows us to customize the piece with additional inserts/rack cards that will change over a season.