Updated Aug. 27, 10:08 a.m.
Sentinel staff report–
New pole banners with three different themes will soon be unfurled at major intersections in Citrus Heights as part of the city’s new branding campaign.
Images of the banners provided by the city show colorful themes with the messages of “celebrate,” “business,” and “family.” Each banner will also feature the city’s new slogan, “Solid roots. New growth.” at the bottom.
According to Devon Rodriguez, economic development manager for the City of Citrus Heights, the banners are slated to be installed at major intersections across the city between Aug. 30 and Sept. 3.
The new banners are part of a new branding effort that has been slowly rolling out since the city first announced the campaign publicly in February. The branding also included a new logo for the city, consisting of a large “C” and an “H,” with bright colors and a circle in the center.
From March: City unveils new logo, brand for Citrus Heights: ‘Solid roots. New growth.’
In an interview with The Sentinel earlier this year, Vice Mayor Jeannie Bruins, who served on a committee tasked with developing the brand, said the city’s new slogan is designed to communicate that Citrus Heights has “a solid foundation that provides a good environment for growth.” She also said the effort stemmed from feedback from the business community and others who were concerned about negative opinions and views of Citrus Heights that she said no longer exist.
A two-minute promotional video about the branding campaign traces the roots of Citrus Heights back more than a century and says “everything that’s good and true about Citrus Heights grew from those roots,” describing the new four-word tagline as encapsulating what the city is about: “a healthy respect for the past, and an eye on the future.”
As previously reported by The Sentinel, city branding efforts are also seen in other municipalities, with an eye on attracting new businesses and residents by highlighting the distinctive aspects of a city. To craft its local brand, Citrus Heights enlisted the help of North Star Destination Strategies, a Nashville, Tenn.-based agency that has assisted more than 100 cities and counties across the nation with branding efforts.
Although the city’s brand development didn’t begin until 2016, discussion dates back to the city’s 2011 Economic Development Strategy, which identified a “lack of [a] strong identity distinguishing the city from surrounding communities” and called for a four-prong action plan that included the development and implementation of a “concerted marketing strategy.” That effort began to take shape five years later, when the city council approved an $80,000 contract with North Star.
See full-size images of the new banners: click here.
