Brand Building Comes to Lake Bluff

One of the more popular phrases in recent years is “building your brand.” That phrase and the sentiment behind it have come to Lake Bluff.

At Monday’s meeting, Lake Bluff's Village Board formally entered into a $65,000 contract with a Tennessee company which will have the responsibility of developing a “brand strategy” for the community.

“We haven’t had a consistent brand, image or marketing plan and now the Village is looking to cross functionally market Lake Bluff to drive business, sales tax revenue, relocation for both residential and commercial businesses and generally (improve)  consumers perceptions,” Village Administrator Drew Irvin said.

This move is part of the village’s overall 2016 strategic plan. “The vision statement was to have our business climate sustaining a robust and sustaining economy and with the overarching goal to create a sustainable revenue base,” Irvin said. “The strategy to do that is to develop a marketing plan.”

The firm hired is North Star Destination Strategies, based in Nashville. For over 13 years, it has worked in 150 communities across the country ranging from Grand Rivers, KY (population 382) to the entire state of Florida.

The scope of the project will include 16 pieces of research for economic development, building the village’s brand strategy identity and recommendation on how to market Lake Bluff, according to the North Star’s President and CEO Don McEachern

Also on the horizon will be focus groups, undercover interviews, one on one discussions with community leaders, surveys, some telemarketing and Internet research all to get an idea as to what will ultimately drive people to the Village.

With major shopping destinations all around Lake Bluff, the community is trying to be realistic.

“We are not looking to become the next Schaumburg in terms of a retail destination,” Irvin said. “That is not our goal.”

The fact that the investment was made in the first place did impress economic development expert Joe Schwieterman, a business professor at DePaul University.

“Most communities are trying to do branding on the cheap, but Lake Bluff wants to make some bold moves,” Schwieterman said.  “$65,000 is a significant amount. It is not good enough just to promote a town’s amenities. People want a distinctive identity that requires municipal leadership.”

Schwieterman believes Cicero and Evanston have done a good job of making their downtowns distinctive. But Lake Bluff does have its challenges ahead, especially in the tight economy. 

“There are so many suburbs that consumers have so many got lost in the shuffle,” Schwieterman  said. “Nobody can afford new infrastructure but branding can improve a town’s image without spending a lot of money.  This is a good substitute for bricks and mortar. Even if it only gives the real estate market a tiny advantage, it is money well spent.”

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