PORT ANGELES — The slogan that defines this port city’s identity in the eyes of the world is all washed up, the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce says.
The chamber’s 7-year-old tag line for Port Angeles — “The Center of It All on the Olympic Peninsula” — will be replaced later this year by an as-yet undetermined new slogan the chamber will use to promote the area, said Executive Director Russ Veenema.
Contest to be held
The chamber board decided Friday to sponsor a contest for a new city slogan, Veenema said.
Details must still be worked out, such as whether a prize will be offered for the winning entry.
Veenema hopes to collect suggestions in July and August, have a board subcommittee review them and have the board decide in time to produce printed promotional materials for distribution by Jan. 1.
The Center of It All slogan is not on any outdoor signs, he added.
“The biggest reason is there is a move afoot on using something different because this has been used now for several years,” Veenema said.
When he thought up the slogan three years into his tenure as chamber director, Veenema wanted to emphasize Port Angeles as the focal point for visitors camping in the Olympics, visiting Victoria, and engaging in any number of activities — but whose starting point is Port Angeles.
“It’s actually working pretty well,” Veenema said.
A destination, not a gateway
Now, City Council members who prompted the slogan change seem inclined to focus on Port Angeles as a destination unto itself, Veenema and other council members said.
“There is a push, mostly by the City Council, to revisit the positioning statement or marketing statement or branding message or whatever you want to call it, to see if there is something better that describes Port Angeles,” Veenema said.
“There are folks who are interested in trying to have something more jazzy, more exciting, and we’ll find out if anyone can come up with that. Marketing-wise, it’s very good to do this at this time.”
Mayor Dan Di Guilio said he might even submit an entry of his own.
“There were those [on the City Council] who were suggesting they thought it was too vague,” Di Guilio said.
“The center of what? What is something that’s more identifying of the area that might be a better slogan? I tend to agree.”
Diane Shostak, executive director of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau, said it’s a good idea to periodically examine marketing plans and assess their effectiveness.
“We all have opinions,” she said. “The proof is in the pudding.”
Something more exciting
City Manager Kent Myers, who sits on the chamber board with council member Cherie Kidd, recently e-mailed Veenema that some council members wanted a slogan “that was more exciting,” Veenema said. “That was the term.”
Board members took up the issue Friday on Myers’ suggestion and voted unanimously to move forward.
Veenema said the new slogan might be employed by “the economic development folks” as a cross-marketing tool to generate interest in the area.
Some City Council members have said the current slogan “has become somewhat dated,” Myers said.
“This is an exciting opportunity to redo something that is very important that’s the focus of marketing.”
The possibility of changing the slogan change came up at a City Council retreat in January, Kidd recalled.
“We were just focused on the vitality of Port Angeles and focusing on it as a destination city, painting downtown, working on our signage,” Kidd said.
“It’s part of the branding of Port Angeles as a destination location and helping people think of us more specifically.
“We would like to have an identity. We are now finding people who do not have a clear identity of who we are.”
Myers said City Council member Pat Downie also was a strong proponent of the change.
“It’s time to recreate ourselves a little bit,” Downie said Tuesday.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
