Cincinnati doesn't have a slogan or brand. Mayor Aftab Pureval wants to change that

This article and podcast episode are part of The Enquirer's Future of Downtown series.

Cincinnati has a good story to tell about itself and it's time to tell the nation how much "swagger" the city has, said Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.

He's making it his mission to tell that story to the nation and to locals who may have forgotten the allure of Downtown with a new branding discussion that's been underway for the past few months.

No money is being spent yet.

"The Bengals went to the Super Bowl in 2022, just weeks after I was sworn in," said Pureval who spent that week doing interviews touting the city's successes on the field and off. "It really opened people's eyes to our ability to sell the city. The advantage we have is we're a bit of a blank canvas to the rest of the country, to the rest of the world. People have not been educated about how Cincinnati has grown, and evolved and progressed, frankly, in just the last 20 years."

City has motto, but no slogan

If you've met or seen Pureval, you know he has that swagger himself. So it's no surprise this issue is on his radar.

Eighteen months into his term as mayor he sat down with The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati podcast" to talk about a myriad of issues in the news: the Cincinnati Futures Commission, crime and the potential sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern Corp, which would bring a financial windfall to the city that is desperately needed, Pureval said.

But he also talked about the need to bring people Downtown during the day. That led to the branding discussion, which has not been discussed publicly before now. It's in the talking stages only, Pureval said. And it's much too soon to say there will be a logo or slogan, and if so, what they might look like or be.

The city doesn't have an official slogan. It does have a flag with the motto "Juncta Juvant," which translates to "growth through unity" or "strength in unity."

In 2004 the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber rolled out the slogan "Cincinnati USA: All together surprising," which, while not officially adopted by the city, birthed the green, blue and red many civic organizations use today in their logos.

From a city that sings to a city with 'swagger'

In 2012, then City Councilwoman Laure Quinlivan wanted Cincinnati to be known as the "City That Sings," which tied into the city hosting the World Choir Games that summer. That was also never officially adopted, but a sign at The Banks is a nod to that idea.

In 2021, Visit Cincy adopted "Where Culture Reigns!" which the tourism bureau still uses to market the city when working to attract business.

"The Cincy Region tourism brand is how we tell our region’s story to potential visitors through our tourism marketing campaigns," said Julie Calvert, Visit Cincy's president and CEO. "The brand is adaptable to many audiences − sports culture, arts culture, history culture."

With meetNKY, the Northern Kentucky convention and visitor's bureau, Cincinnati invests more than $3 million in marketing campaigns regionally, nationally and internationally to inspire visits to Cincinnati.

Pureval said the city has a lot to talk about: three professional sports teams, vibrancy, investments in public art, the growing tech ecosystem, the number one children's hospital in the country and "just how young and diverse and how much swagger the city has."

"We're not just happy to be on the national stage," Pureval said. "We belong there."

Listen to Mayor Aftab Pureval's full conversation with "That's So Cincinnati" for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Media and other podcast listening platforms.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What is Cincinnati's slogan? Mayor Aftab Pureval talks city's brand