Branding Utah

If you’re looking for a branding firm in Utah click here. However, this is a post about the process of creating a new brand for the state of Utah, as covered in this latest article from the Deseret News.

It’s a process fraught with danger as well as potential payoff, although in my opinion the potential payoff is mighty slim compared to the relative danger. Past taglines for the state have included “Utah, the Friendly State,” “Utah, Land of Color,” “Utah, the Unique,” “Ski Utah,” “A Pretty, Great State,” “The Greatest Snow on Earth” and Utah’s current tagline, “Utah! Where Ideas Connect.” That last tagline was introduced just as the dot-com boom was crashing down, and the imagery used in advertising for the state included a printer cable and the cord for a computer mouse, not exactly symbols of the high-tech industry, at least not since 1987.

Out of the past taglines, I would probably say that “The Greatest Snow on Earth” did more good for Utah than anything else, although that’s purely speculative and I have no evidence to back that up.

This from the article:

Obviously, ideas abound. But consider that nearly every state has a brand, and thousands of cities, regions, associations, organizations, counties, foreign countries and corporations also have conjured up some of their own.

That can lead to trouble. In fact, Utah had a brand picked out but found during a registration process that it was too similar to one used by the Colorado Ski Association. The association’s was “Enter a Higher State.” Utah folks aren’t saying what their near-doppelganger was.

I don’t have any insider information, but I’m guessing that the “near-doppelganger” was either identical to the title of the song produced by the Chemical Brothers’ known as “Don’t Depend on Us to Get You High” or a simpler “Get High,” either of which would obviously be shot down in this state, although I’ve heard rumors over the years that Utah is the meth capital of the world. Hey, it’s on Wikipedia, it must be true.

Some suggestions for the new tagline include “All Five Senses In One Place,” “Good, Clean Fun,” “As Close To Heaven As It Gets,” “Get Out Here,” “Connect With Yourself,” “Expanding Horizons” and “The World Is Still Welcome.” These were submitted by the general public, and do not necessarily represent submissions that have risen to the top.

What are your suggestions? Here are some of mine that I think could work if taken one way, but for other reasons will probably never be adopted:

Utah – Get Away

47th in Teen Pregnancies

Meth? Yeth! – In case meth is ever legalized, I can see a hilarious campaign using this tagline and a child with two missing front teeth, although I suppose if the child had teeth she’d be saying “Mess? Yes!” which doesn’t make too much sense.

Lots of White Stuff – Unfortunately this is already being used by a South American country.

We’re Cheap! – A tact at attracting outside investment and businesses to relocate.

Land o’ Churches

No, Moab is Not in Colorado

I-15, Where Bumpers Connect – I guess that’s more of a tagline for the freeway, but hey, it could work.

The Blair Witch Project Got Big Here – You know, promoting the Sundance Film Festival. C’mon, who wouldn’t want that on their license plate?

MLMmmm Good

Pretty, Close to California

Ok, I’m done.