After two years, an $85,000 rebranding effort for East Hartford has produced a new logo and narrative focused around the slogan “Elevate Here.”
The slogan and campaign messaging pay homage to East Hartford’s deep historical ties to Pratt & Whitney and the aerospace industry, as well as the forward momentum the community is building with a slate of large-scale redevelopment initiatives.
Over the past four years, the town has seen Massachusetts-based National Development add two massive logistics centers at Rentschler Field, totaling 2.5 million square feet of new industrial space.
Developers have also advanced several high-end apartment and mixed-use projects, including the roughly 470-unit Concourse Park development off Silver Lane and the redevelopment of the Founders Plaza riverfront office park into a mixed-use community with about 1,000 apartments, plus retail, restaurants and other commercial uses.
The new logo — a nod to the town’s connection to the Connecticut River — and accompanying brand message will soon appear on town communications and reports. It could also be displayed on prominent downtown wall spaces, trash receptacles and other public-facing locations.
The logo and message will also be incorporated into social media content and media stories throughout the year.
“For us, it was about changing the narrative of East Hartford, both from within and without,” Mayor Connor Martin said Friday.
Town officials said the branding effort is intended to emphasize East Hartford’s range of public services — from schools to recreation — and to promote the community as a place for families and businesses. The campaign also ties into recent economic development activity.
“In a way, it holds us accountable,” Martin said. “If we are really going to say you can ‘elevate here’ in East Hartford, then our services, our programs and the way Town Hall operates needs to reflect just that. We’ve already started to set a new direction, we just have to continue to live up to it.”
The branding was developed with Jacksonville, Florida-based Star Place Branding + Marketing, which led interviews with stakeholders and other research.
That included 30 interviews with stakeholders and residents, five focus groups, two townwide presentations and a community survey with 319 responses, as well as a consumer awareness study of 300 respondents from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.
The $85,000 consulting fee was funded through community impact fees paid by National Development.
For more information, visit easthartfordct.gov/elevatehere.
