In the aftermath of 9/11, a group of Northeast Wisconsin business leaders met to discuss the economic damage brought on by the terrorist attacks. The group pinpointed the need for increased collaboration between private and public sectors to improve the region’s economic climate.
From these conversations more than two decades ago, New North, Inc. was born.
The regional marketing and economic development organization officially launched in late 2005, and as founding member Bob DeKoch explains, its marketing and branding committee has been core to its success.
“From the beginning New North has always had a marketing and branding committee, and its first task was to figure out what to call the damn thing,” says DeKoch, who co-chairs the committee with former corporate marketing executive Donna Rippin.
A strong brand and marketing message was essential for the organization to gain traction throughout the 18-county region. The committee worked with a Chicago-based branding agency to develop the New North name, logo and tagline: “North of what you expect.”
Today the volunteer committee consists of 12 professionals representing various industries and communities within the region. Renee Torzala, New North’s vice president of marketing and investor relations, says the committee provides an important sounding board for the organization’s staff of seven.
“They are an extension of our staff, and it’s fun to hear all the different ideas they come up with and to have people to bounce ideas off of,” she says.
While New North was initiated to support business development, Rippin says today the committee focuses strategically on talent attraction and retention — one of New North’s key pillars. Subcommittees work to create evergreen campaigns that support the overall New North brand and drive talent attraction.
“About five years ago, we started implementing a subcommittee structure where we break into smaller teams and take the macro strategy of attracting and retaining talent and break it down into piece parts through different campaigns and initiatives,” Rippin says.
New North’s successful “more YOU in NEW” campaign was developed through a subcommittee, having been inspired by WEDC research on attracting millennials to the state.
Another example is New North’s “Cool Stuff” campaign, which highlights interesting products, people and places in Northeast Wisconsin.
“We think what we’re doing is working because we are one of the fastest-growing regions in the state,” Torzala says. “We’ve brought more than 4,000 people [to the region] over the last few years and it just continues to grow.”
This spring New North will be launching a new campaign — “Find your True North” — highlighting the region’s abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities. They will also be implementing new social media channels, like TikTok, to reach a younger audience.
But DeKoch says that, regardless of the campaign or media channel, New North’s value of deep regional collaboration will remain the loudest message.
“What we have with this brand management — this brand allegiance — and having all of the campaigns fit into the brand is longevity,” he says. “And when you get that in the market, you can turn the volume knob on the amplifier up because the message is always to the same drumbeat.”
More on the web thenewnorth.com
