Public input is being sought about Union City that will help “brand” and market the community to the outside world.
“Union City doesn’t have a purposeful identity around which to create marketing in a strategic and consistent way,” said Borough Manager Cindy Wells. “We’d like to change that.”
The borough is working on the branding and marketing initiative with students at PennWest Edinboro, through what’s called the Northwest Pennsylvania Innovation Beehive Network. Wells and Steve Bishop, project manager for the Union City Community Foundation, have videoconferenced with the students to begin discussing the elements that could be contained in the project.
One of the first considerations is to gather the public’s input, through a short online survey. The survey will be available through Sunday, Sept. 28, and can be found at surveymonkey.com/r/RNLN6SH. It consists of only four open-ended questions, and should take only five to 10 minutes to complete.
Those questions include asking for input on colors that area residents feel reflect Union City for use in future marketing, adjectives that favorably and accurately describe the community, “feelings” that come to mind when thinking of Union City, and input on community qualities and assets.
“This public input is vital, and we would like as many people as possible to participate,” said Wells.
The PennWest Edinboro students will work with the borough to develop the thematic colors, a Union City logo that can be used across various marketing platforms, and perhaps a marketing brochure and consideration of the borough’s social media presence, time permitting. The project must wrap up by the time Edinboro’s semester ends in December.
The Beehive Network consists of six centers that collaborate to encourage business growth in northwest Pennsylvania. Those centers include Edinboro, Erie County Public Library, Penn State Behrend, Gannon University, Mercyhurst University and Allegheny College. Each center operates in its own specialized area of expertise, which for Edinboro is through its Center for Branding and Strategic Communication.
The six Edinboro students working on the Union City project are doing so as part of a Contextual Design course under the direction of Cassandra Reese, an associate professor of graphic and interactive design.
The students, Skyler Ed, Paige Edwards, Garrett Conway, Brooklynn Gore, Trent Renelli and Morgan Price, each have specific roles in the project. Price is the communication lead, who handles the communication between the team and the borough.
“This project is a great way for us to gain valuable skills in working with real clients that we will need as we move forward after getting our degrees,” said Price, “and working with one another in a team-based format where we all take on lead roles that give us insight into different parts of the process.
“From the perspective of assisting a local community, I see it as a meaningful way to give back to the surrounding areas of Edinboro for all the wonderful time I have been able to spend in this portion of Pennsylvania while going to school,” she added.
As for the survey input she and her team are seeking from the community, Price called it “a meaningful step in being able to ensure that we can accurately reflect the area and its residents as a whole in this branding so that everyone can feel as though their voice has been heard and they have made an impact on their home.”
