Originally what started as an effort to have marketing materials drafted and printed turned into a six month effort and lesson in marketing for staff and the Village Board. Back in December, 2016, Administrator Fenlon began meeting with marketing professionals to discuss a mock-up of marketing materials for economic development and other purposes. As those discussions progressed, it became apparent that brand standards and defined identity were needed in order to move forward. After preliminary discussions with the Village Board and the consultant, it was decided that with that effort, staff and the board would look at the current logo and options moving forward. Over the course of the past six months, we have held a listening session or open house on the topic, solicited feedback through an interactive survey and discussed the matter at no less than 4 Regular Board meetings.
Ultimately, last month, the Village Board of Trustees voted to move forward with the logo and text you see below. In the time since, staff and the consultant have developed the appropriate brand standards and types of logos that will be used moving forward by the Village. One of the benefits of the logo below is that it maximizes production efficiency by keeping to just two colors. Additionally, it captures the font and some similarity to the previous logo. Lastly, the established was added as a homage to the Village's history, which is not only something to be proud of, but something we should celebrate externally to guests, visitors and future residents and business owners!
So what is next? We will slowly begin rolling out the new logo mainly through electronic formats, letterhead and other mediums in the coming months. Essentially, wherever we can update areas that are free in 2017 is where we will focus the update. As we acquire new vehicles or design new signs for facilities and amenities, this logo, the standards and future branding will surely follow. Since its mentioned, and I am sure you are wondering, we plan to use a tagline of "Welcome to the Village" since "Village of" is no longer in the actual logo. While the details and efforts on that branding front have not been finalized, we wanted to be sure you were aware of that key point as we round out a well reasoned and designed branding effort.
If you participated in the effort, provided feedback at meetings or took the survey, we thank you. We'd also like to extend our thanks to Jenny Vanden Heuvel, resident and owner of JVH Design for her assistance on this project. If you have comments, questions or concerns on this effort or any others, please do not hesitate to contact the Village Administrator at 920-423-3850 or at james@littlechutewi.org.
