ROGERS — What’s in a name? A lot, according to members of the Rogers Advertising and Promotion Commission.
“We’re changing the name of the Rogers Convention and Tourist Bureau to ‘Visit Rogers,’” said Allyson Twiggs Dyer, executive director.
The commission supports the Rogers Convention and Tourist Bureau with a 2-percent tax on hotel room rentals.
“The name ‘bureau’ sounds like a boring government bureaucracy. The name lacks punch. ‘Visit Rogers’ has the action verb ‘visit’ and is more friendly and inviting than ‘tourist bureau,’” Dyer said.
The Visit Rogers logo was designed by Martin Thoma, who made the logo match the Rogers branding logo, “Where possible lives.”
At A Glance
What's In A Brand?
"Brand" is the "name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's product distinct from those of others." An example of a brand is "Coca-Cola" which belongs to the Coca-Cola Company. Destination Branding is the work of cities, states, and other localities to promote to themselves. This work is designed to promote the location to tourists and drive additional money into a tax base.
Source: American Marketing Association
“The two logos will work together to keep the branding icon, and should help bring more people to the area,” Thoma said.
Branding and having the proper name is critical to an organization’s success, said Elise Mitchell, chief executive officer of Mitchell Communications Group.
“When executed well, branding communicates the promise, the organization delivers on the promise and audiences become true brand ambassadors,” Mitchell said.
A progressive brand or name is one of the most powerful results of good branding, because what other people say about a brand — especially with the pervasiveness of social media today — is far more meaningful than what a brand says about itself, Mitchell said.
Changing the name of a bureau to a shorter phrase is a national trend, Dyer said.
“Several cities have changed the name of their convention and tourist bureau to a simple phrase,” Dyer said.
The Fayetteville Visitors Bureau hasn’t changed its name, said Marilyn Heifner, executive director of the advertising and promotion commission.
“We have a brand name we use for the bureau and other advertising for the city, ‘Experience Fayetteville,’ which accomplishes the same thing as a name change,” Heifner said.
Steve Arrington, chief executive officer of Visit Hot Springs, said changing the name of the convention and tourist bureau has made a difference.
“We changed our name about a year ago. The name change is simple and is attracting more leisure travelers,” Arrington said.
The shorter, more friendly name is progressive and it looks better on a billboard, Arrington said.
“We still do the same thing we’ve always done, try to bring conventions and leisure travelers to the area, but we have a much shorter and active name for the bureau,” he said.
“I agree with Allyson. I think this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, it will help us attract more people to stay in our hotels, and shop and dine in Rogers,” said Buddy Wright, a member of the promotion commission and an alderman.