Commissioners updated on countywide branding effort
Representatives of Mansfield-Richland Chamber and Economic Development and Destination Mansfield-Richland County say the next step in the countywide branding program will be to work with more local partners to get the brand incorporated in their websites and materials.
Chamber CEO Jodie Perry and Destination Mansfield-Richland County President Lee Tasseff told the Richland County commissioners during a branding update on Thursday that the effort will include gathering additional relevant pictures to portray the area and getting partners acquainted with the branding website.
The branding effort was launched out of the Mansfield Rising project with a consultant chosen in the fall of 2019, an immersive study of the county and its residents conducted in 2020 and 2021 that included a pause for COVID, and the brand story, ad concepts and logos approved in February 2022. Most recently, work has been completed on a website, brandrichland.com, that includes logos that can be added to online properties, business cards, letterheads and other materials and brand standards that outline how the logos can be used and suggestions for creating consistent, vibrant photography throughout the area.
Tasseff said the City of Mansfield redid its website with the branding in mind and that Shelby incorporated the Richland County version of the brand logo into its website. He also pointed out that branding information already has been used on banners in downtown and on the north end of Mansfield, on a new billboard for the Buckeye Imagination Museum and on a welcome sign installed at Lahm Airport.
Perry said three of the four examples were things that were done after organizations heard previous branding presentations and saw the materials online.
“We were not involved in that or directing it. They came to us and said, ‘We want to use the brand,’ which is really what we want to happen,” she said. “Ultimately it’s for everyone to use.”
Tasseff told commissioners that officials did not plan a big ”ta-da” to promote the branding plan and logo but intended to just execute the plan, start to use it and start seeing things around town. Some of the other areas where the information has been used have been on the cover of the chamber’s annual report, all tourism promotions, and even in workforce development videos.
“That was a neat signal to us that people were paying attention and they were drawn to it. So the things we had told them are starting to come true and that means there’s a level of acceptance that’s starting,” Tasseff said.
Marketing plan and video are next
Officials said the next steps in the branding program are to develop an overall marketing plan and to complete a branding video that will be one of the tools the chamber's marketing and communications director, Sandy Messner, will use to help organizations integrate branding material into their marketing and promotions. They also are planning to build visual assets that fit what officials want to portray about Richland County and its communities.
Tasseff said that one of the best compliments the effort can get is that, several years from now, nobody remembers what the community used to look like.
“We have transformed the conversation. We’ve transformed ourselves visually. Everything everybody sees from the outside in and even starting more in depth in the community, you start to see the new colors, the elements and it takes on the civic pride at the same time,” he said.
Perry said it’s important that branding also has an internal strategy because our own perception of the community struggles sometimes.
“We’re not alone in that and we’re hoping to navigate that a little more positively,” she said.
Officials said the logo “Richland County — A Family of Communities” shows that the county has communities with individual identities that work together in the same voice.
Commissioners OK Children Services levy for November ballot
In other business, commissioners unanimously passed a resolution asking the Board of Elections to put a one-mill operating levy renewal for Richland County Children Services on the Nov. 7 ballot. Agency officials say the levy generates around $2.3 million annually or 20% of the agency’s annual operating funds.
Children Services officials told commissioners earlier in the month that the agency is facing rising costs for caring for the children in agency custody and has a number of capital replacement expenses projected for the next three years involving vehicle purchase, electronics, HVAC and restroom renovations.
Commissioners also approved three requests by Job and Family Services including a rental agreement with the Ohio Department of Medicaid for space for two workers at the Ohio Means Jobs Center. They also renewed contracts for 13 security officers for JFS and Child Support Enforcement and a contract with the Youth and Family Council Children’s Auxiliary to allow the New Store to federal Temporary Aid to Needy Family funds to buy items for the annual school voucher and backpack program Aug. 8 and 9.
Commissioners took a number of other actions on Thursday including:
Awarding a $2,411,504 contract to Mosser Construction of Fremont for a Crider Road Bridge replacement project at the intersection of Ohio 603.
Authorizing Adult Court Services to purchase three used vehicles at a cost of $91,500. The cost will be covered by an Ohio Public Service Grant.
Approved a service and business associate agreement between the Community Alternative Center and Richland County Mental Health.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Commissioners hear branding update, place levy on November ballot
