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New Saranac Lake region branding effort underway

SARANAC LAKE – The communities that comprise the Saranac Lake region, in conjunction with the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, are embarking on a process to build a new unified brand and will be seeking input from all stakeholders, residents and visitors in the upcoming months.

A brand is a unique image and message that increases awareness of the community for both tourism and economic development when adopted and integrated consistently. A brand reflects the customer’s impression of a product, destination, or organization.

“There have been multiple tag lines for Saranac Lake over the years – Green Side of the Big Apple, The Little City in the Adirondacks, The Capital of the Adirondacks, The Adirondack’s Coolest Place” said Kelly Brunette, ROOST’s Saranac Lake regional marketing manager. “Different brands or logos is confusing and dilutes our position in the marketplace. We want to put in the time and effort to identify one cohesive message that resonates with the community and visitors, and that will represent the area as a great place to visit, live and do business.”

Building a new brand is a five-step collaborative process said Michelle Clement, director of marketing at ROOST.

“To be successful, we need to reach out to local government entities and organizations, residents and visitors for their participation,” she said. “All stakeholders should be engaged in the process so they will be happy with the final product. The process will include public meetings, surveying residents and visitors, and a comprehensive study.”

ROOST will compile the results and find the recurring threads, then work with the stakeholders on a final brand. After establishing the region’s core identity, a logo and tagline will be created and encouraged to be used by local organizations and gradually incorporated into the visual landscape in ways such as entry signage. The new brand will be integrated into the destination website for the community, SaranacLake.com.

Recently, ROOST led a similar process to re-brand Tupper Lake, and found visitors did not think of it as the, “Crossroads of the Adirondacks,” a former tagline, or as a place to experience the rich lumberjack heritage. Rather, through a process that included a series of public meetings, surveys of both residents and visitors, and a virtual focus group of local stakeholders, key trends emerged. That culminated in the resulting Tupper Lake brand message, Connect & Discover, and logotype treatment that is currently being implemented.

Research for the process is currently underway, and Kelly Brunette will be facilitating and posting future public meetings.

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