Saranac Lake and the regional tourism office are working to create a unique marketing brand for the village in the center of the Adirondacks. A meeting is planned this evening to update residents on the effort.
The Lake Placid-based Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, or ROOST, promotes the Adirondack region. Last fall it began astudy on Saranac Lake with the goal of creating a unified message that would increase awareness of the village for tourism and economic development. Franklin County Industrial Development Agency CEO Jeremy Evans is a member of the Brand Study Advisory Panel. He says right now there are too many brands identifying Saranac Lake. “They all have their purpose. They all have their use. But we don’t have one single brand message that is effective for marketing Saranac Lake to potential visitors. At least that ROOST can use effectively for their targeted demographics. So the purpose of this exercise is to find what single brand can the community and ROOST use to effectively do destination marketing.”
Roost Saranac Lake Marketing Manager Kelly Brunette agrees. “It’s the first time that I know of that Saranac Lake has gone through more of a methodic to a brand where we have spent the past four months doing some pretty detailed research into why Saranac Lake. Like why people why choose to visit here and why people choose to open a business here. Why people choose to live here. It’s really getting into that why Saranac Lake specific.”
Brunette explains creating a unique brand is a multi-step process and Saranac Lake is in the early phase of crafting its own. “We kind of identified back in August that the community wants to move forward in finding a brand for Saranac Lake. Then we’ve spent the past few months doing some research. And the research does involve the perception of Saranac Lake for residents, for visitors, for travelers that have never been here, for travelers that have been here. And with that kind of feedback we are establishing a brand message and that’s what we are going to present at the brand study meeting.”
Evans says the brand must consider residents’ and visitors’ perceptions. “It’s critical that the brand capture the imagination of potential visitors. We as residents certainly understand that Saranac Lake is a great place for hiking and water sports, you know, canoeing and kayaking and things like that. The trick is to help folks who may visit understand what all of the assets are that are here.”
Evans hints that the ROOST and the Advisory Panel will reveal the proposed brand statement during their public meeting this evening. “I think the brand statement that will be introduced is pretty much spot on. Capturing the essence of Saranac Lake I think is different because although we share the Adirondacks with many other communities in the Park there’s something different with Saranac Lake that’s unique in its physical form and architecture and history. But I think this brand statement actually captures that pretty well. And it’s really important to have everybody who has an interest in this to take a look at it and provide their feedback.”
The branding meeting is set for 5:30 at the ROOST offices on River Street in Saranac Lake.
