North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau’s logo
North Little Rock’s marketing organization is getting a brand overhaul.
When you go to the North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau’s website, you will now see a brand new logo. In addition, there is new digital advertising and print advertising to go along with this dramatic brand shift.
The North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau has unveiled a new logo and positioning statement this week that is intended to reflect the city’s outlook. The new logo, dubbed a “NLR Happy Face,” was designed to present the city as a “friendly, casual but upbeat destination,” according to a NLR CVB news release. Meanwhile, the “Up to Something” brand was designed to emphasize the city’s “bold, creative, can-do attitude.”
The new marketing was developed after conducting a market research project with Gray Research Solutions of Nashville and a six-month rebranding effort with Stamp Idea Group of Montgomery, Ala. During the process, guests at North Little Rock hotels and attractions were interviewed and given surveys to provide a baseline for the bureau’s marketing efforts.
“An example of a baseline established through the research is visitor awareness. Only 38 percent of first-time area visitors knew they were in North Little Rock,” Stephanie Slagle, Marketing Director of North Little Rock CVB, said in a statement. “That is something we can come back to in the coming years to see if our efforts are moving the needle. For our stakeholders, we are going to focus on educating about the impact of tourism, how the CVB can assist each partner and facilitating more conversations about how we can all work together to create new experiences.”
According to David Allred of Stamp Destination Marketing, North Little Rock was often perceived as a “friendly and charming place” but was also called a “quirky” place. The subsequent marketing was developed with these consumer insights in mind.
“The genius of this mark is that it is so simple,” Slagle said. “It easily can be translated across multiple platforms and audiences. For foodie events, we can say, ‘We’re up to something savory’ and turn around and say ‘We’re up to something creative’ when marketing North Little Rock’s arts and entertainment. There’s room for flexibility and growth. We can customize our messages to different groups while maintaining a consistent, identifiable image.”
Looking forward, the new North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau offices and North Little Rock Welcome Center will incorporate the new branding and feature retail items with the new logo. The new offices are scheduled to open in April 2020.
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