One last 'Rah Rah' — Boston firm selected to create new brand for Rochester
Three local organizations are working together to re-brand Rochester.
The Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau, Mayo Civic Center and Rochester Amateur Sports Commission have hired Boston-based Fuseideas to replace the "Rah Rah Rochester: More than you know" brand. The "Rah Rah" slogan has been used to market Rochester to visitors since 2006. (It is regularly mocked by locals.)
According to the RCVB, the decision to jointly brand the three organizations was based on the desire to create a "consistent look, feel, and message" for Rochester.
“As our city grows and evolves, telling a consistent story and taking a team approach to selling the city to visitors will help us compete,” said Brad Jones, executive director of the RCVB. “The intent is for each of our three organizations to sustain an individual identity that is consistent with the unified brand that is created.”
The organizations will pay Fuseideas around $150,000 for the project — though, according to the RCVB, that may change due to "the potential work that may be conducted after the initial research and discovery phase taking place right now."
Representatives from the company are in town this week conducting research and background interviews with stakeholders and residents. Throughout the process, they will work with a task force compromised of two board or commission members designated by each organization.
Fuseideas was selected out of a pool of companies that included four local agencies. Multiple people took to Twitter Thursday morning to criticize the selection of an out-of-town firm.
In an email to Med City Beat, RCVB spokesperson Mary Gastner explained the decision to go with the East Coast company: "FUSEIDEAS was selected by the task force due to their extensive experience, competitive pricing, and research driven approach, along with a demonstrated understanding of the goals associated with our project and how we might achieve those goals."
The new brand is expected to be presented to the public in May.
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(Cover graphic: Current logo / RCVB)
