After eight months of research and discussions, the town of Bluffton and the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce are set to reveal a new branding of Bluffton campaign aimed at attracting tourists, new residents and businesses to the town.
Charleston-based marketing agency Rawle Murde will present the new brand to the public at noon Feb. 19 at Oscar Frazier Park. The chamber will then begin a four-month marketing campaign across the region. A more in-depth presentation will be held the same day at 9 a.m. at Town Hall.
Rawle Murde was selected to lead the branding project last year by a branding task force consisting of representatives from the town, chamber and other stakeholders in the community.
"We're very excited to be unveiling this and pleased with how the process went," said Susan Thomas, executive vice president of the chamber's visitor and convention bureau. "This was a thorough, transparent and collaborative effort, which is what all community branding projects should be."
The three-phase project, which consisted mainly of qualitative and quantitative research by Rawle Murde, the University of South Carolina, USC Beaufort and Clemson University, began in June.
The cost of the research project was $94,200, with $20,000 coming from a town contribution and the other $74,200 stemming from town and Beaufort County bed tax money. The chamber automatically receives 30 percent of Bluffton's state accommodations tax money annually, because it serves as the town's official marketer.
The first phase of the project, Thomas said, was qualitative-based. Rawle-Murde organized four public meetings and conducted more than 40 one-on-one interviews to gather input from community stakeholders on the importance of Bluffton.
"We wanted to know what comprises Bluffton - what its values and priorities are, where these stakeholders see Bluffton today and where they see it heading in the future, relative to visiting, working and living here," Thomas said.
The qualitative phase also had a social media component, in which Rawle Murde and Clemson scoured social media sites for discussion centering around Bluffton.
"That research found that a lot of key terms kept coming up," Thomas said. "Those terms included things like 'Southern,' 'friendly' and 'natural,' for example. The researchers found both some affirmations from the interviews and differences."
In the more quantitative second phase, researchers analyzed five segments: Business leaders, the business community at large, residents, visitors and regional economic development leaders. Thomas said more than 500 surveys among those groups were completed.
"These phases gave the research team the input needed to develop a creative platform for the Bluffton brand," Thomas said. "We want the brand to represent the community across all marketing components, be it residential, business or tourism."
Once the brand is revealed, the chamber will market it aggressively through television, radio, digital media and billboard platforms throughout the Southeast.
"We're going to be hitting cities like Columbia, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Charlotte and Greenville, etc.," Thomas said. "So we're excited about having that widespread exposure. We think we will have a brand that will speak to all those segments and be timeless in its message about the overall appeal of Bluffton."
Mayor Lisa Sulka said she was impressed with the preview of the branding she saw.
"It hits on everything we're trying to get out about Bluffton - not just to the local public, but regionally and even nationally as well," Sulka said. "It focuses on our May River, the economy and our lifestyle to help draw people and businesses here, and it communicates what makes our community unique."