Arts Council of Placer County

GOAL:
Rebrand PlacerArts for greater awareness and visibility in the community.

SITUATION:
The Arts Council of Placer County , better known as PlacerArts, currently represents 14 arts organizations in Placer County. The group participated in a workshop where audience development was identified as a priority. A steering committee was formed and the committee determined that the first need was branding, messaging and logo development. Bouchard Communications Group was retained for the branding project and led the group through the entire process.

CHALLENGE:
The council is made up of multiple visual and performing arts organizations throughout Placer County. Though they have come together under the PlacerArts umbrella, they also have their own individual brands and audience development goals and plans. It was important that whatever brand we develop, that it not compete with their individual brands, but rather that it enhance and extend all of their unique brands and messaging platforms.

OBJECTIVE:
Increase awareness and participation among current and potential audience members through the development of a new PlacerArts brand and messaging.

SOLUTION:
The first phase of the re-brand effort involved discovery. A brand audit was conducted in which all of the participating organizations were surveyed and interviewed to identify existing messaging, marketing and promotional efforts already in place. In addition feedback was gathered regarding the make-up of each organization’s current and prospective audience base. Secondary research was also gathered including demographic, population and migration data for Placer County, and general audience segmentation and demographics, competitor information and more.

Phase 2 involved taking all of the data that was collected and refined in Phase I and from that information developing a profile of the recommended primary and secondary target audience(s), positioning strategy and unique selling points. Together these elements laid the foundation upon which all of the creative and messaging would be based. With everything in Phase 2 completed and approved, the Bouchard Creative Team went to work to develop a new name for the organization as well as a new logo that would be utilized across all of the organizations. The logo would serve as a sort of “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” so that any arts organizations that used the logo would be identified as a member of this prestigious group of artists. Based on the information gathered in Phase 2 it was important that the creative appeal to a younger, up and coming audience base in addition to the existing audience member base.

The third and final phase included the development of a new name for the organization, tagline and logo development. After much creative brainstorming and open discussion with the steering committee the final name that was selected was Placer Arts 360 with the tagline “Experience Art In All Degrees”. The “PlacerArts 360” name encompasses all that PlacerArts has to offer, as expressed below: “The brand and campaign needs to convey fully the 360 degree – ease of access – to Placer County’s awesome and diverse lifestyle experiences including bountiful natural recreation, local, fresh real food and wine, the roots of California’s culture and heritage, and a living, breathing, innovative and excellent arts community. The arts express our heritage and humanity within the context of the wonders of this geography.” The logo incorporated a bold, graphic treatment that would be easily recognized and complimentary for all of the arts groups. In addition, the ticket graphic that is incorporated into the logo design would be relevant for all of the arts groups regardless of their arena.

RESULTS:
In the first year, Placer Arts organizations saw an overall increase in audience participation of 13% while audience numbers in the rest of the country decreased by more than 20%.