Atlanta Branding Idea (Jackson, Boston: fit in, live, malls)

[kirkwoodhipster]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

Lately it seems that the climate may be the strongest selling point. A 'tree' might work for that.

The Golden Gate Bridge always works pretty well for San Francisco--every time I see it I associate it with all kinds of positive things even though in reality there are a few things about San Francisco that aren't quite 'fantastic'.

Climate could play into it as well. climate=outdoorsy=woods/forests. I can't really think of a tagline though... but I'll give it a try:

The Perfect Climate for human, plant, and business habitation
the city in a forest

or something like that.

I really think all of the positives of Atlanta could be tied into this without sounding over-ly boastful.

Any other ideas? I'd love to see people tweak some of the taglines. Here is one for multiculturalism/internationalism/diversity.

Diversity in plant & people
the city in a forest

[kirkwoodhipster]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

ATL=Atlanta airport

Yes, it began as an airport abbreviation but it has become a nickname, similar to LA or NYC or DC.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by kirkwoodhipster

Yes, it began as an airport abbreviation but it has become a nickname, similar to LA or NYC or DC.

I know. I am fine with ATL.

Now that I think about it--they should just take a picture of the skywalk at the Botanical Gardens and let that be the ATL logo. 'Up, Up and Away'--good 70's tune. That can be our slogan. /gavel --lol

'Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon
Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon
We could float among the stars together, you and I
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon
It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon
We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away'



Interesting thread.

[NYbyWAYofGA]

Originally Posted by kirkwoodhipster

Sorry but I have to disagree. See my post above about southern-ness. I dont think that's the route we should go

Well, you can't get away from the fact that Atlanta is a southern city. In fact, it is often referred to as the "Gateway of the South" or "Capital of the Southeast." So, why not embrace that?

as for cosmopolitan, doesnt every city in the country claim to be cosmopolitan? there would be nothing unique about a tagline like that, nothing that would make us stand out.

I see what you're saying. However, if you attempt to over complicate the whole Atlanta tagline/slogan it will come across as contrived...as has often been the case in the past.

as for use of ATL, I thought about that, and decided agaisnt it. imo, Atlanta has great name recognition. in fact, Atlanta's name is one of its best assets. sometimes, this works to its disadvantage when people's grandiose associations with the word "Atlanta" dont match up to the reality they experience. i have had visitors who say, "when I thought about Atlanta, i imagined it to be so much more [insert word here-urban/like Chicago/bigger/dense/etc.]." places like houston and dallas dont have the same "big-city cache" as the name "Atlanta." Of course, I think the olympics may be to thank.

I see what you're saying about Atlanta's name (Olympic influence or not). The word AtlAntA itself has a symmetry to it that just makes it stick out. It also has a melodic ring to it. The name Atlanta just has a modern look and sound to it. It doesn't hurt that the city already is a young, fresh and modern city. The name just adds to that perception. Hopefully, in the near future, Atlanta will REALLY start living up to what the name connotes.

plus, I dont think its the best strategy for a city to use its nickname to refer to itself. does anyone else feel this way?

Well, ATL is the preferred used and widely recognized nickname of Atlanta whether we like it or not. So, why go against that?

[cleaningatlanta]

Originally Posted by kirkwoodhipster

I wanted to see what you guys thought of my idea for a brand for Atlanta, to replace (ATLANTA - Where everyday is an opening day):
[INDENT][FONT=Century Gothic]Atlanta[/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic]the city in a forest[/FONT]

[/INDENT]There are several themes that this would tie together that already exist:

1. Peachtree Street - Instead of emphasizing the peach in Peachtree St, emphasize the tree. It just so happens to be Atlanta's main street, so this works really well.
[INDENT][FONT=Century Gothic]Peachtree Street[/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic]the city in a forest[/FONT]

[/INDENT]2. Hawks, Falcons, Thrashers - Unlike many other cities, Atlanta's sports teams do not relate to the city's identity. Examples include Phoenix Suns, Houston Oilers, Dallas Cowboys, etc. Well, with the new brand, this would make the team names actually mean something. Again, its lucky that they are all named after birds, because where do birds live? A forest.


[FONT=Century Gothic]Come See Hawks, Thrashers, and Falcons in thier Natural Habitat[/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic]the city in a forest[/FONT]

3. Green Movement- The new brand would tie into Mayor Reed's goal to get Atlanta into the top 10 of the nation's greenest cities ( [URL="http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/plan-seeks-to-make-692064.html"]Plan seeks to make Atlanta a top 'green' city *| ajc.com[/URL] ). This would also attract young people, since the green movement is quite popular with that age group.

4. City Idenity - Unlike boastful nicknames (NYC of the South), this one is muted and unique. In addition, it uses an already existing nickname for the city. Lastly, it is actually accurate-many people note Atlanta for its trees, and I truly think it is unique among major cities in terms of tree coverage. Atlanta's trees can be simply breathtaking. Also, trees were the reason Atlanta was ranked by Nat Geo as a "place of a lifetime":

[URL="http://blogs.ajc.com/inside-access/2009/09/17/atlanta-a-national-geographic-traveler-place-of-a-lifetime/"]Atlanta a National Geographic Traveler ‘Place of a Lifetime’ | Inside Access[/URL]

"In exactly the response one expects a [URL="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/places-of-a-lifetime/atlanta.html"]National Geographic publication[/URL] to give, it first mentions our trees — “magnolias, dogwoods, Southern pines, and magnificent oaks.” Of course. They are pretty, aren’t they?"



Well, what do you guys think? I would love some input. I have seriosuly thought of creating a report and sending it to the mayor. I know funding is tight but when the economy improves this could be a really great brand and would also finally give Atlanta a unique (and new!) identity that has potential to reach national calibre. What do you think?

some of these are good ideas but watch out people may steal them

[DTL3000]

How about:

Atlanta: Sherman had the Right Idea.

?

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by DTL3000

How about:

Atlanta: Sherman had the Right Idea.

?

That would be a good one. It certainly seems that those who had the audacity to rebuild the city were severely misguided. The SE in general should have been content --let the rest of the nation grow and develop.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by DTL3000

How about:

Atlanta: Sherman had the Right Idea.

Don't forget that a lot of the people who came here before and after the Civil War were from the North. They came here to make money, and to strike out in an enterprising city, just like people do now.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by DTL3000

How about:

Atlanta: Sherman had the Right Idea.

?

Good stuff! You know when you think about it General Sherman was one of the great urban founders in American history. (He's like Atlanta's Haussmann!) His actions paved the way - or maybe I should say, cleared the ground - for the emergence of the dynamic city we see today.

So I totally agree that the key to Atlanta's attempts to realize its full branding potential lies there, with the General himself.

Maybe we should suggest something like - oh just thinking out loud here - maybe :

Hotlanta: General Sherman didn't know the half of it.

Or maybe:

Atlanta: Still burning down the house a century and a half later ... (The clubby / hip-hop resonances here obviously being a bonus.)

Anyway, you get the idea. The main point being to find something that plants the suggestion that there must be something really unique about this place, some mysterious je ne sai quoi about Atlanta that's allowed it to suffer full-scale attack, yet be reborn and then rise to the front rank of US cities.

But above all, the advantage here would be that Atlanta shows it doesn't take itself too seriously - which has been precisely one of its biggest problems, being perceived as too much of an adolescent striver of a city, always hopping up and down trying to barge to the front of the line with the big boys, perhaps before the city is truly ready to hold its own. But a humorous approach would do wonders for dispelling those worries and showing that, hey, maybe this Atlanta is really growing up a little - and has something a little special to offer to boot. After all, Las Vegas has proven very well that humorous pitches for cities can work very for a city, right?

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by kirkwoodhipster

Atlanta
the city in a forest

Peachtree Street
the city in a forest

Come See Hawks, Thrashers, and Falcons in thier Natural Habitat
the city in a forest

Originally Posted by kirkwoodhipster

Here is a stab at an ad for the botanical gardens:

Take a stroll through our canopy
the city in a forest

here is a tagline for showing off corprate environment/skyscrapers/business:

Where skyscrapers sprout among trees
the city in a forest

Originally Posted by kirkwoodhipster

Climate could play into it as well. climate=outdoorsy=woods/forests. I can't really think of a tagline though... but I'll give it a try:

The Perfect Climate for human, plant, and business habitation
the city in a forest

Here is one for multiculturalism/internationalism/diversity.

Diversity in plant & people
the city in a forest

The more I think about it, this branding/tagline is brilliant. It is definitely the way for Atlanta to go long-term.

I've always thought that Atlanta's identity is:

1. The Trees/Urban-Suburban Forest

2. Capital of the American South--Urban Manifestation of Southern Culture and Society.

3. Other sub-identities (Center for African-American Culture/Black Mecca, Center for Civil and Human Rights, and Civil War History).


I think "Atlanta: The City in a Forest" is the best overall identity that can incorporate most or all of the the other identities (see your posts above).

Here's another:

urban sophistication, southern style.
Atlanta: the city in a forest


We really can't go wrong with the city in a forest tagline/branding. It is true, it is original, and it fosters a tangible easily-identifiable identity (while including and without excluding other sub-identities).


It can be used in so many ways!


Which one do you like best (different lettering/punctuation)?

Atlanta: The City in a Forest

atlanta: the city in a forest

Atlanta
the city in a forest

atlanta
the city in a forest

Atlanta: the city in forest

Atlanta
The City in a Forest



When including "other things/attractions," what you think of something like this (each one is different based on upper case/lower case lettering)?

Peachtree Street
Atlanta: the city in a forest

Where skyscrapers sprout among trees
Atlanta: The City in a Forest

Diversity in plant & people
atlanta: the city in a forest

The Perfect Climate for human, plant, and business habitation
Atlanta: The City in a Forest

Take a stroll through our canopy
atlanta: the city in a forest

Come See Hawks, Thrashers, and Falcons in their Natural Habitat
Atlanta: the city in a forest



I am interested to know more of your opinions and ideas.