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Home My WebLink About(2) North Star: BrandPrint InfoPort Arthur BrandPrint Proposal April 3, 2007 Port Arthur BrandPrint INTRODUCTION PHILOSOPHY SCOPE OF SERVICES - The Four Stages Understanding Insights Imagination £valuat~on TIMELINE INVESTMENT REFERENCES CLIENT LIST THE TEAPI CONCLUSION 3 5 6 6 8 9 I0 II 12 13 20 21 27 NORTH ~ STA~. 2 Port Arthur BrandPrint Just as the North Star has guided individuals for centuries, we help communities guide visitors, businesses and residents to their destinations. We provide complete, research-based branding solutions specifically for communities. This is the only reason we are in business. We have a proven approach we call Community BrandPrintTM. It combines research, strategy and creative direction to assist communities in discovering their optimum brand positioning, and then leveraging their equity in that brand through communications and strategic initiatives. NO~TH ~ STA~ 3 North Star Destination Strategies Corporate Office 220 Disspayne Drive Nashville, TN 37214 888.260.'7827 Colorado Office 2119 Larimer Street Denver, CC) 80205 303.296. I 150 Florida Office I 1840 69th Way Largo, FL 33773 727.373.2591 North Star Destination Strategies, Inc was established in 2000 and is owned by: Don McEachern - CEO We are over two dozen professionals committed to building strong community brands, NORT½ 4 STA~ 4 We believe that through research, strategy and creativity, your brand can connect the soul of your community to the heart of your consumers. Through the Community BrandPrint process, we determine Port Arthur's most distinct promise by triangulating your competitive situation, the vision of your stakeholders and the perceptions of your consumer. From that promise, we craft a brand strategy that positions Port Arthur in the minds of residents, visitors and economic development influencers. Then, we develop powerful brand-building ideas and effective communication, all of which reinforce the positioning and assure brand equity and growth. Vision of Community Port Arthur BrandPrint Positioning Perception of Consumers & Influencers Competitive Situation NORTH ~ STAB 5 I. Understanding Where the Brand Has Been and Why This stage addresses the current brand positioning of the community, how the brand is perceived by stakeholders, residents, businesses, visitors and prospective consumers. We evaluate the environment, the competitivE.' situation, community attitudes, current communications, and perceptions of target audiences and their influencers. COMMUNITY Situation Analysis: Document prepared in collaboration with Port Arthur to understand your primary objectives, general history, political landscape, resources, competitors, etc. Research and Plannin_~ Audit: Comprehensive review of research and planning documents from the past 24 months Communication and Media Audit; Review of existing marketing materials and media plans F miliari tion T ur: In-market tour of area attractions, commercial/industrial sites, business parks, housing developments, etc. Key Stakeholder Interviews: One-on-one interviews with key stakeholders to gather perceptions Stakeholder Focus Group: An in-depth group discussion with the individuals responsible for driving the branding initiative Vision Survey: An open-ended questionnaire distributed to the community leaders of Port Arthur Online Community. Survey: A quantitative version of the Vision Survey posted online for community-wide participation Unde~iews: Informal discussions with residents, visitors, and local merchants Geo-demo_~raphy Resident Profile: A detailed market segmentation report created with ESRrs Arcview, Tapestry and Business Analyst software - including U.S. Census Bureau data and consumer buying behavior data from Mediamark Research Information (MRI) · Who Report' Resident socio-economic classifications · What Re~ort' Profile of resident lifestyle habits such as media usage, travel behavior, household buying preferences, recreational interests, civic involvement, dining choices, retail preferences, lodging tendencies NORTH ~ ST^~ 6 CONSUMERS ~ Origin information from existing databases Geo-demography Consumer Profile: Detailed report describing Port Arthur's target consumers (visitors, merchant customers, new home buyers, etc.) · Who Repo~; Consumer demographic and socio-economic classifications. This report also compares your consumers to the profiles of your community. For example, are your residents like or unlike your visitors? · What Report: Profile of consumer lifestyle and media habits such as media usage, household buying preferences, recreational interests, civic involvement, dining choices, retail preferences, lodging tendencies, travel behavior and more · Where Report: Grid showing relative comparisons of feeder markets based on the highest concentration of core consumers Oualitative Perception Study: Telephone interviews to gather insights from · Economic Development Prospects/Site Selectors/Relocation Executives · Meeting Planners/Group 'Tour Leadersl Travel Agents · State-level and Regional Executives Ouantitadve Consumer Awareness and Perception (CAP) Study: Survey conducted using a random sampling of consumers from Port Arthur's key visitation markets. Specifically, the survey measures: · Overall awareness and perceptions of Port Arthur · Overall awareness and perceptions of the competition · Whether consumers have visited Port Arthur · Attitudes regarding Port Arthur's strengths and weaknesses · What consumers would add or take away from/to Port Arthur to make it a more exciting place · Whether consumer perceptions changed after visiting · Measurements of Port Arthur's delivery of hospitality and quality of life indicators COMPETITION Competitive Positionin_~ Review.: A brand message assessment to evaluate Port Arthur's position relative to the competition Competitive Opportunity. Analysis: An in-depth analysis of Port Arthur's top five economic development competitors, uncovering strengths and weaknesses in the current business landscape according to national standard industry classifications NOP, TH ..~ STAA 7 2. Insights Where the Brand Should Be The goals for Port Arthur may involve a number of elements: cohesive community identity and consistent marketing efforts, business recruitment/retention, gross receipts, overnight guests and bed-tax collected. Branding influences these goals by influencing expectations and affecting attitudes, thus affecting behavior and usage. The most successful brands establish an emotional - not simply an intellectual - connection. Our insights come from asking a number of thought-provoking questions. What emotional attachments can the brand hold? How does the brand fit into his or her lifestyle? It: is from these insights that we determine the overall positioning of the brand. Situation Brief: review of all research findings Blue Sky Meetinz: internal session for developing insights "Understanding and Insights" presentation: review of all relevant research and recommended strategic dire~on ~ Insights that affect the development of your brand identity 4 Brand Essence (reason for being) Brand Truths (the undeniable truths about who you are) Brand Promise (what can you provide better than anyone) Brand Benefits (the emotional and rational reasons for consumer appeal) Brand Personality (tonality that refiects your character) Brand Platform Statement: the guiding statement for the management and development of your brand 3. Imagination What Will Get Us There In this stage, we consider elements of communication that need to be created (or changed) to influence responses and behavior toward the brand. A number of brand- shaping issues often must be confronted: overall positioning, synergy within the community, packaging, stakeholder participation, sponsorship association, co-operative efforts and, of course, advertising and promotion. Strap lines and Iogos are created. Foundation creative is developed. Brand building ideas are generated. 4 ~: three different creative concepts for communicating your brand Creative Expressions Guide: two distinct options for communicating the approved brand concept Each creative expression will contain the following: · Logo and strap line · Color palate & environmental applications · Community messages page · Tourism messages page · Economic development messages page Brand Buildin~ Ideas: initiatives for ge~ng your brand off the page and into your community such as: · Events · Outdoor art · Aesthetic overlays for redevelopment · Civic awards · Wayfinding · Merchandising 4. Evaluation How the Brand is Performing Evaluation yields new information which may lead to the beginning of a new planning cycle. Information may be gathered from concept pre-testing, campaign impact in the marketplace and tracking studies to measure a brand's performance over time. Ideally, two basic questions will be answered: have responses to the brand among target audiences changed in the way the Community BrandPrintTM intended? And have these changes resulted in action that will achieve the desired objectives of the brand? Turnkey or do-it-yourself programs are recommended depending on the needs of the community. Recommended Measures of Accountability Three Annual Branding Check-Ups Geo-demography consumer profiling: Who, What, and Where reports (three- year update) NO~TH .~ ST~R 9 In-market visit (lam tour, focus groups, interviews) Vision Survey sent, received and entered Consumer record collection Competitive economic development data Inquiry Origin data sent and report mapped *Data compiled and mapped *Geo-demography who, what and where reports *Perception Study (Qualitative) CAP Study *Understanding and Insights development *Blue Sky - Strategy Meeting Understanding and Insights presentation Imagination and Evaluation development Creative Brief (internal) Brand Concept development **Approval of brand concept Creative Expressions Guide development Final report development Week I Weeks 2 - 7 Weeks I - 5 Weeks 2 - 6 Weeks 4 - 6 Weeks S - 8 Weeks 5- 8 Weeks 6 - 10 Weeks 8 - I I Weeks II - 12 Weeks 12 - 13 Weeks 13 - 14 Weeks I 5 - 28 Week 15 Weeks 15 - 17 Week 18 Weeks 19 - 25 Weeks 26 - 29 Projected Timeline Weeks 26-29 * = Time dependent upon how quickly records are received ** = Dependent upon how quickly approval from client is received ?~ORTN ~ STAR I0 Your investment for the Port Arthur BrandPrint is $76,000. Any additional requests of North Star beyond the agreed upon Document and designated hours will be billed at the rate of $125.00 per hour. Payment schedule: · We request 50% of the payment prior to initiating work. Another 25% is due at the completion of the Understanding & Insights presentation. The remaining 25% is to be paid monthly in equal payments over the following three months. Additional costs not included in contract amo~Jnt stated above: · Items such as shipping, long distance telephone charges, required manual data entry and travel will be billed at net out-of-pocket cost to the client when incurred (mileage will be billed at the rate of 40.5 cents per mile). NOB. TH-4 II An h r Al ka 245 W 5* Avenue, Ste 124 Anchorage, AK 95501 Contact: Calhoun County., Alabama 1330 Quintard Avenue AnnJston, Alabama 36202 Contacc Ms. Becky Beck Executive Director Anchorage Downtown Partnership 907.279.5660 Ms. Sherri Sumners President Chamber of Commerce 256.237.3536 Ms. Karen Kluesner VP Client Services The Nerland Agency 907.274.9552 Mr. David Lyons Tourism Director Chamber of Commerce 256.237.3536 Augusta. Geor_~ia P.O. Box 133 I Augusta, GA 30903 Contact: Cape Girardeau. Missouri 100 Broadway Cape Girardeau, MO 6370 I Contact: Mr. Barry White Executive Director Augusta CYB 706.823.6600 Mr. John E. Mehner President Chamber of Commerce 573,335.3312 Bay City.. Michigan 901 Saginaw St. Bay City, MI 48708 Contact Mr. Chuck Martin Director Cape Girardeau CVB 573.335.1631 Ms. Patti Stowell Economic Development Mktg. Mgr. City of Bay City 989.894.8227 Ms. Shirley Roberts Executive Director Bay City CVB 989.893.1222 Chandler. Arizona 215 E. Buffalo St. Chandler, AZ 85225 Contact: Ms. Kimberly Janes Tourism Director City of Chandler 480.782.3037 NO~d~'~H ~ STA~ 12 Charlottesville. Virginia P.O. Box 178, 600 College Drive Charlottesville, Virginia 2290 Contac~ Mr. Mark Shore Director Charlottesville/Albemarle CVB 434.293.6789 Columbus. Georgia 100 Tenth St. Columbus, GA 31901 Contact: Mr. Carmen Cavezza City Manager 706.653.4029 Mr. Peter Bowden Director Columbus CVB 706.322.1613 Mr. Mike Gaymon President and CEO Chamber of Commerce 706.327.1566 I mbus In' n 506 Fifth Street Columbus, IN 47201 Contact.: Mr. Rick Johnson CEO John Ventures 813.373.4039 Ms. Lynn Lucas Executive Director Columbus CVB 812.378.2622 Conyers. Georgia I 184 Scott Street Conyers, GA 30012 Contact: Ms. Harriet Gattis Tourism Manager City of Conyers 770.929.4270 Dothan. Alabama P.O. Box 8765 Dothan, AL 36304 Contact: Mr. Bob Hendrix Executive Director DothanCVB 334.794.6622 Douglasville. Georgia 6694 Broad St. Douglasville, GA 30134 Contact: Ms. Collin Cash-Smith ExecudveDirector Douglasville CVB 770.947.5920 Dublin. Ohio 9 South High Street Dublin, OH 43017 Contact: Mr. Scott Dring Executive Director Dublin CVB 614.792.7666 STAR 13 ~ Florida City Hall, Mail Station 6 P.O. Box 490 Gainesville, FL 32602-0490 Contact: Mr. Bob Woods Public Information Officer City of Gainesville 352.334.5017 2504 Church Street Galveston, Texas 77550 Contact Mr. Brian Distefano Marketing Manager Galveston Island Park Board 409.797.5149 Geor_~etown Renaissance I ncoy_p_qEa[e~ 160 E. Main St. Georgetown, KY 40324 Contact: Ms. Darlene Albin Main Street Director 502.863.5424 Mr. John Simpson Director Tourism Commission 502.863.2547 118 East Public Square Glasgow, KY Contact Mr. Bobby Lee Hurt Chairman Glasgow/Barren Co. Tourist Comm. 270.646.2151 Glendale. Arizona 5850W. Glenn Dr. Glendale, AZ85301 Contact: Ms. Elaine Scruggs Mayor 623.930.2260 Grand Rivers. Kentucky_ P.O. Box 102 Grand Rivers, KY 42045 Contact: Mr. Bill Gary Chairman Grand Rivers Tourism Commission 270.362.8364 G vi Te One Liberty Park Plaza Grapevine, TX 7605 I Contact: Mr. George Kakos Assistant Executive Director Grapevine CVB 817.410.3185 Mr. Paul W McCallum Executive Director, CVB 817.410.3185 ~rado 902 7* Avenue Greeley, CO 8063 I Contact: Ms. Sarah MacQuiddy Executive Director Greeley CVB and Chamber of Commerce 800.449.3866 NORTH ~ STAR 14 Hattiesbur_~. Mississippi P.O. Box 16122 Hattiesburg, MS 39404 Con~c~ Mr. Richard Taylor Director Ha~iesburgCVB 601.268.3220 Henry. Counw. Georgia 1709 Highway 20 West McDonough, GA 30253 Con.cc Ms. Kay Pippin Executive Dirertor Chamber of Commerce 770.957.5786 Jackson. Mississippi 921 North President Street Jackson, MS 39202 Contact Mr. John Lawrence President, Jackson Downtown Partners 601.353.9800 Ms. Wanda Perry Director, Jackson CVB 601.960.189 I Ms. Janet Scott Executive Director, Jackson Arts Alliance 601.960.1557 L n' Mich' n 1223 N. Turner St. Lansing, MI 48906 Contact: Mr. Lee HladH President Greater Lansing CVB 517.377.1404 Ms. TracyPadot Directon Mktg. Communications Greater LansingCVB 517.377.1419 Lawrence County_. Tennessee P.O. Box 86 Lawrenceburg, TN 38464 Contact: Mr. Randy Brewer President Chamber of Commerce 931.762.491 I Lowndes County_. Georgia I Meeting Place Valdosta, GA 3160 I Contact: Ms. Evelyn Langdale Volunteer for Image Campaign Valdosta -Lowndes Co. CC & Tourism 229.245.9521 Mesquite. Texas I 515 N. Galloway Mesquite, TX 75149 Mr. Tom Palmer Economic Development Manager City of Mesquite 972.216.6340 McKinne?. Texas 222 N. Tennessee St. McKinney, TX 75069 Contact: Ms. CoCo Good Dir. Of Mktg. and Communications City of McKinney 972.547.7508 STAR 15 Mobile. Alabama I 0* Floor Government Plaza Mobile, AL 36633 Contact: Mayor Mike Dow City of Mobile 251.208.7395 Mr. Landon Howard Vice President Mobile CVB 251.208.2003 Piano. Texas 2000 E. Spring Creek Pkwy. Piano, TX 75074 ContacC Mr. Mark Thompson Executive Director Piano CVB 972.422.0296 Readin~ and Berks County_. 352 Penn St. Reading, PA 19602 Contact: Ms. Crystal Seitz President Visitors Bureau 610,375.4085 402 Civic Center Drive Rome, GA 3016 I Contact: Ms. Lisa Smith Executive Director Rome CVB 706.295.5576 ~ California 265 S. Main Street Sebastopol, CA 95473 Contact: Ms. Teresa Ramondo Executive Director Sebastopol Area Chamber of Commerce 707.823.3032 Seward. Alaska P.O. Box 749 Seward, AK 99664 Contact: Ms. Laura Cloward Executive Director Seward Chamber of Commerce 907.224.8051 Ms. Vanta Shafer Mayor City of Seward 907.224.8060 145 West Broad Street Spartanburg, SC 29304 Contact: Mr. Randy Barnett Mayor City of Spartanburg 864.596.2020 Mr. Mark Scott City Manager City of Spartanburg 864,596.2026 Ms. Jules Bryant Director Spartanburg CVB 864.594.5051 Springfield. Massachusetts 1141 Main Street Springfield, MA 01103 Contact: Ms. Mary Kay Wydra President Greater Springfield CVB 413.787.1548 Mr. Craig Rydin CEO Yankee Candle Company 416-665-8306 Sumner County.. Tennessee P. O. Box 947 Gallatin, TN 37066 Contact: Ms. Kaye Ireland Executive Director Sumner County CVB 615.230.8474 Texarkana. Texas P. O. Box 1468 Texarkana, TX 75504 Contact: Mr. Jim Cherry President Chamber of Commerce 903.792.7191 Tulare County.. California 4500 South Laspina Tulare, CA 93274 Contact.: Mr. Paul Saldana President/CEO Tulare County Economic Development Corporation 559.688.3388 Uvalde. Texas 300 East Main Street Uvalde, TX 78801 Conl~cC Ms. Joanne Nelson Executive Director Uvalde CVB 800.588.2533 Warrensburg, Missouri 100 South Holden St. Warrensburg, MO 64093 Contact: Ms. Tammy Long Executive Director Chamber of Commerce and Visitor's Center 660.747.3168 Williamsburg. Virginia 6665 Delmar Blvd., Suite 300 St. Louis, MO 63130 Contacc Mr. Terry Herbert Momentum Advertising 314.290.8628 Williamson County.. Tennessee P.O. Box 156 Franklin, TN 37065-0156 Contac~ Mr. John Whisenant Vice President of Tourism 615.794.1225 STAR 17 Yarmouth. Massachusetts 424 Route 28 West Yarmouth, MA 02673 Con.ct: Mr. Bob Dubois Executive Director Chamber of Commerce 508.778.1008 xl I tls. Karen Greene Director of Community Development Town of Yarmouth 508.398,2231 x278 NOP~TH ,~ STAR 18 Alliance, Nebraska Anchorage, Alaska Augusta, Georgia Bay City, Michigan Beaumont, Texas Cape Girardeau, Missouri Calhoun County, Alabama Chandler, Arizona Charlottesville, Virginia Columbus, Georgia Columbus, Indiana Concord, North Carolina Conyers, Georgia Corinth, Mississippi Dayton, Ohio Dothan, Alabama Douglasville, Georgia Dublin, Ohio Fairbanks, Alaska Fort Collins, Colorado Gainesville, Florida Galveston Island, Texas Georgetown, Kentucky Glasgow, Kentucky Glendale, Arizona Grand Rivers, Kentucky Grapevine, Texas Greeley, Colorado Hattiesburg, Mississippi Henry County, Georgia Hopkinsville, Kentucky Jackson, Mississippi Kenai Peninsula, Alaska Killeen, Texas Lancaster, California Lansing, Michigan Lawrence County, Tennessee Lowndes County, Georgia Madison, Alabama McKinney, Texas Meridian, Mississippi Mesquite, Texas Missouri City, Texas Mobile, Alabama Overland Park, Kansas Peoria, Arizona Piano, Texas Reading, Pennsylvania Rome, Georgia Saint Paul, Minnesota Santa Rosa, California Sebastopol, California Seward, Alaska Shenandoah, Texas Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana Spartanburg, South Carolina Springfield, Massachusetts Sumner County, Tennessee Texarkana, Texas Tulare County, California Uvalde, Texas Warrensburg, Missouri Williamsburg, Virginia Williamson County, Tennessee Yarmouth, Massachusetts Don McEachern and David Bohan founded North Star Destination Strategies in 2000. This venture combined two extensive backgrounds in branding packaged goods, economic development and tourism destinations. Don E hern Don McEachern has been growing brands and leading teams for more than 20 years. His experience includes working for multi-nationa~ advertising agencies as well as nationally recognized creative boutiques. During his time in the ad world, Don put his stamp on some of the world's most famous brands including Goldkist, Hawaiian Tropic, Suntory Bottled Water Group, Trump Plaza, Panasonic and Lanier Worldwide. For his efforts he received numerous awards, including a prestigious national Effie for marketing effectiveness and a Clio for excellent creativity. Don has become the recognized expert in the exploding field of community branding. With a process that combines research, strategy and creative, he has helped create unique and effective brands for big-name cities like Anchorage, Alaska; Monterey, California and Williamsburg, Virginia. That same process and passion has also been applied to small cities that will soon be household names such as Uvalde, Texas and Warrensburg, Missouri. He is a sought-after speaker on the topics of branding and the formation of private-public partnerships to fund branding. Don lives on a horse farm in Nashville, Tennessee, where he spends time with his wife and three children riding horses, paddling kayaks and playing tennis. As of yet, no member of his family has been branded. 2O Steve Chandler. President A self-proclaimed ad geek, Steve Chandler has more than I 0 years experience in strategic planning and advertising development for regional and national brands. Prior to joining North Star he enjoyed stints at a few of the South's premiere advertising agencies as well as international branding agency BBDO. Steve's diverse branding experience includes Bayer Advanced, Lava Soap, Citicorp Diners Club, Angel Soft bath tissue, Sparkle paper towels, the Grand Ole Opry, and over thirty communities across the U.S. ranging from Galveston Island, Texas; Anchorage, Alaska; Charlottesville, Virginia; Reading, Pennsylvania; and yes, Chandler, Arizona. Steve remains true to his advertising roots by serving as Past-President for the Nashville Advertising Federation, a contributor for Create magazine and a member of the Program Advisory Committee for Western Kentucky University's Department of Advertising and Journalism. As president of North Star, Steve combines his background in strategic planning with a passion for marketing to guide North Star's many clients to their ideal community brand. He is also passionate about his wife, two children, running and playing the guitar at work (a habit his co-workers are less than passionate about). David Bc~han. Strategic Advisor Bohan started his early working career in advertising and served as the Advertising Manager for the State of Tennessee, Department of Economic & Community Development. David has worked in tourism and economic development marketing for nearly three decades. He helped organize the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development (the nation's first cabinet-level tourism department) and was its first assistant commissioner for marketing. He and the department did well, because the Travel Industry Association of America recognized Tennessee's tourism marketing program as the country's most innovative. Outside of state government, Bohan has worked with some of the biggest names in American travel and tourism. Among them: the Grand Ole Opry, the Opryland Hotel, the Opryland theme park, Diner's Club, Pigeon Forge Tourism and Beaches of South Walton. In 2002, the Tennessee Tourism Roundtable saluted Bohan's multi-faceted career by naming him a "Knight of the Roundtable," the state's highest tourism accolade. He was the first recipient whose background is in marketing. David received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. BOIYT'H ~ S~t'AB 2.1 Christi McEachern. Partner For more than 20 years, Christi McEachern has made her mark as a marketing writer, editor and strategic planner. Her primary areas of emphasis include health care, travel and tourism, and community branding. Christi applies her writing skills and keen strategic sense to the development of communication and direction for community branding projects. Prior to joining North Star in 2003, Christi worked with a wide variety of clients including Days Inn, Ramada, American Express, UPS, UPS Worldwide Logistics, Cellular One, AmSouth, Parisian, BellSouth Business Systems, the Arthritis Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, HealthNet, TennCare, Physicians' Mutual, HCA, Matria Healthcare, Schering-Plough and Merck. She has received numerous awards for writing and editing. She received her BA from Whitman College, a private liberal arts institution in Walla Walla, WA and her master's in Communications from the University of Georgia. Always up for a challenge, Christi is currently training for an iron woman competition (or at least talking about it), much to the amusement of her three children. Tom Pe~ler. Community_ Brand Supervisor Tom's career has focused on building brands in areas ranging from politics to retail products. Just prior to joining North Star he worked for Brand Developers Inc in Atlanta, GA with a client list including green space communities, equine products, and companies in the food service industry. Whether he is branding a person, place or thing, Tom's broad-based experience and strategic mindset help him hone in on any entity's distinguishing feature and the best way to promote that feature to its target markets. As community brand supervisor for North Star, Tom will be building both brands and relationships as he guides his clients through every aspect of the BrandPrint process from research to strategy development to creative work. Tom received a BA from the University of the South, a private liberal arts institution located in Sewanee, TN. He believes strong communities start with civic-minded residents and has done his part by volunteering for organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Hands on Atlanta. Of course, all work and no play would make Tom a dull boy. Luckily he is also an avid outdoorsman, having recently returned from a "life-altering" salmon fishing trip in Alaska. And his coworkers can attest that he is a music enthusiast who loves to tell anyone willing to listen about up-and-coming artists. Samara Hu_~hes. Marketin_~ Director After beginning her career as the Marketing Manager for a Nashville Landmark, the Corner Market, Samara joined the North Star team in 2004. As North Star's Marketing Director, Samara Hughes is responsible for leading business development efforts. A certified Tourism Marketing Professional, Samara is a savvy account planner capable of submerging herself in the business of tourism and community development. This not only gives North Star clients someone who can speak their language, but a valuable asset in understanding their community's strongest opportunities. Samara is a member of the Economic Development Committee for the Largo-Mid Pinellas Chamber of Commerce where she serves as an advisor for the many marketing and branding issues that play an important role in the economic growth of her community. Samara is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where she earned her Bachelors of Science in Advertising with a minor in Business. As a U.T, alumni it's no wonder she's a classic football fan. Her business acumen -- honed in North Star's halls comes in handy for her after-hours role as the commissioner of a "killer" fantasy football league. Be careful, she plays to win. Greg Fuson, Director of Research For more than 18 years, Greg Fuson has been helping businesses understand their market through research. He has developed his skills in research design and management for both quantitative and qualitative research. Greg has managed research studies for a number of national clients including Nortel Networks, Cisco Systems, Starbucks, Lowe's, Ruby Tuesday, O'Charley's Restaurants, and Coca-Cola. Greg also has extensive experience in the tourism industry working with clients such as The City of Pigeon Forge, East Tennessee Marketing Partnership, Clarksville Montgomery County Economic Development Council, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Gaylord Entertainment, Nashville Shores Water Park and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. Greg has also worked with other travel and tourism destinations such as Charlottesville, Virginia; Valdosta, Georgia; Warrensburg, Missouri; Williamsburg, Virginia and Anchorage, Alaska. Greg received his Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in the field of Marketing from Belmont University. Despite his impressive resume, Greg is not a dry numbers guy. His self-described dream vacation involves riding a train, salmon fishing and lots of good food. NORTH ~ STA~= 23 Ted Nelson. Creative Director A native New Englander, Ted started his fifteen year career in Boston, MA. He was trained at such respected creative agencies as Arnold Advertising and Pagano, Schenck and Kay, under the watchful eye of several industry legends. He has also served several stints as Creative Director at the renowned creative factory Babbit & Reiman, award winning agency Earle Palmer Brown and southeastern powerhouse West Wayne. Ted's extensive tourism and travel experience give North Star a creative foothold unmatched by many. Some of his past work includes Days Inns of America, the Bahamas Plinistry of Tourism, USAir, Pinellas County, FL., Georgia Department of Tourism, Orient-Express Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, and Wild Dunes Resort, SC. Ted is one of North Star's strongest advocates for the idea of having a single collaborative team work on research, strategy and creative. According to Ted, an amazing thing happens when the people who develop the strategies work hand in hand with the ones who develop the ideas based on them - the transition is seamless; the work reflects strategy and the strategy is inherent in the work. Gre~? Boling. Creative Director Gregg Boling has spent more than 20 years in the ad business getting his clients noticed. His work has been recognized on the local, regional, national and international levels by virtually every industry publication and professional organization. He has worked as Creative Director and Associate Creative Director for agencies like The Buntin Group and Bohan giving him an experienced perspective on building strong brands and the ability to deliver a multitude of creative solutions to support that brand. Gregg's unique talents have helped mold community brands from Uvalde, Texas to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. In addition to his mega-creative skills, Gregg multi-dimensionality makes him a key player for North Star and its clients. He is equally comfortable providing ideas and direction in all facets of North Star creative, business and management. In his spare time, Gregg creates commissioned paintings that can be seen in private and corporate collections throughout the Southeast. ~ORT~ ,~ gTAR 24 Dori Nicholson. Graphic Desi_~ner One of North Star's most talented graphic designers, Dori has regional and national experience developing Iogos and brand identity packages for an impressive roster of corporate clients including American Express, Cellular One, BellSouth, Parisian and Schering-Plough. To North Star clients, Dori is known as the brains behind many of our community Iogos. She has developed brand identities for Glasgow, Kentucky; Gwinnett and Henry Counties in Georgia; l~lountain Longleaf Region, Alabama; Mesquite, Texas; Warrensburg, Missouri; I'lcKinney, Texas and others. Dorrs experience expands beyond identity development to include marketing collateral such as brochures, annual reports, advertising:, newsletters and direct mail. She has won numerous awards for her work through the Public Relations Society of America and the American Plarketing Association. Dori received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Communication Design from Purdue University. She considers her greatest works of art to be her two young children who recently cheered her on as she ran her first marathon. Katie Hollenkamp. Research Planager Organization is the name of the game for Katie Hollenkamp. In this capacity, Katie coordinates and controls the voluminous quantitative and qualitative research that serves as the foundation for each North Star client's BrandPrint process. She also serves as Account Manager for a number of clients, guiding them through each step in our 24- week program. In addition, Katie applies her considerable computer, analytical and design skills to preparing high-tech three-dimensional presentations of the research. A graduate of Western Kentucky University, Katie has a degree in Advertising with a concentration in Account Services. Her passions include running, sunning, cooking and organizing the North Star offices. Having worked with more communities in more states than any other branding company, North Star is the industry leader in community branding. We are the only company to combine research, strategy and creative in one program. At the completion of the Port Arthur BrandPrint, we will have discovered together: the optimum brand positioning, the best use of resources to leverage your equity in that brand and the ideal creative message to positively influence residents, visitors, and businesses. We are delighted with the opportunity and would consider it an honor to work with you and Port Arthur. Don McEachern CEO Date NO~TH ~ S'~AR 26