A marketing campaign has been launched to give Gloucester a new identity
A CAMPAIGN to give Gloucester a unified identity and increase civic pride has been launched.
Your City is a £130,000 campaign being described as "the people's campaign".
-
A new brand: Gloucester
Its focus is to highlight the city's strengths to both residents and visitors and remind people what Gloucester has to offer.
The first step is a big welcome sign greeting people arriving to Gloucester's bus route, being finished today.
The campaign was set up after a survey found that residents liked the city's heritage and history, its Cathedral, Docks, and its people, but did not think the city was clean, were concerned about anti-social behaviour, did not like the city's parking facilities and were negative about King's Square.
Visitors, who found the city friendly, also thought the city was dirty, had bad toilets, no parking and poor signage.
Kelly Ramsay, project manager of the campaign, set to run for two to three years, said: "We will facilitate the campaign but it's not our campaign. It's for the city.
"The reports that were done before Marketing Gloucester was set up showed there were so many messages going out about the city. They were all doing their own thing, whether the city council, or businesses in the city.
"This campaign means we'll all be singing from the same hymn sheet. We'll be looking at what's best for the city.
Campaign
"People will realise that as long as it's good for the city, it will have a knock-on effect and be good for them. But this will take some time. It won't happen overnight."
The campaign took shape through consultation with 26 business champions, including Davies and Partners, Gloucester City Centre Community Partnership, Gloucestershire College, Gloucestershire NHS Trust, Gloucester Rugby, Holiday Inn Hotel, and King's Walk Shopping Centre.
Business champion Chris Oldershaw, chief executive of the Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company (GHURC), said: "The most important thing for the city is that we have a unified campaign that everyone agrees on.
"In the past this hasn't really happened. Now, for the first time in many years, we have an opportunity to undertake a professional and comprehensive approach to the city's marketing which will boost Gloucester's image further afield, encouraging inward investment and higher visitor numbers to boost the local economy."
Another business champion, Anne-Marie Delrosa, an independent marketing contractor, said: "Gloucester is a city that perhaps often stands on the sidelines whilst others take the glory.
"It's got history, sport, wonderful waterways, the retail and restaurants are improving, there are some great events being held.. It's got potential."
21 Comments
View all
by D7 Church, Gloucester
Friday, July 30 2010, 11:45PM
“Gloucester is a city worth investing in. It is rich with beauty and history. The docks make it quite different from many other cities and if we all decide to love this city then when others visit they will love it too :)”
by John, Glos City
Friday, July 30 2010, 11:42PM
“Could this new evaluation of Gloucester accordingly follow such effects as the Gay Parade when the remnants of this once proud city should have been celebrating Gloucester armed forces day? No... I am not racists nor am I homophobic but was perhaps wondering when we will have a day to celebrate Heterosexuals marriage day as desiring one of the opposite gender or must I wait until we have sacked all these no job diversity officers who have wrecked the social and moral order of this country and cost us a fortune in the process?”
by Dont Ya Know, FoD
Friday, July 30 2010, 5:57PM
“Unfortunately post war developments in Gloucester have got us where we are now. 100's of years of history wiped out in a couple of decades.
Gloucester was a very important city for nearly 2000 years and now it's just another run down clone city.
Romans, The Domesday Book, Humpty Dumpty, Numerous Kings and Queens, Dr Foster, Beatrix Potter, Harry Potter to name a few bits and pieces from Gloucesters past.
Now all we have is Cromwell Street, a shoe bomber and too much water to our name.
What a Shame.”
by bogey man, up yer nose
Friday, July 30 2010, 4:28PM
“As the saying goes " You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig"”
by Pat Custard, Glos Bus station
Friday, July 30 2010, 4:08PM
“Geraint,
Yes I would happily represent GB at the Olympics in the moaning event!!
My comments are based on facts / observations.
The bus station is a no smoking area ... but you can always spot people smoking there. Why isn't the no smoking ban enforced ?? Hardly the impression for visitors arriving in the city.
Despite the public drinking of alcohol being banned in the city this doesn't appear to apply to Kings Square The area is not inviting.
Of course if you like the city as it is then you are very easily pleased. I take pride in where I live and maybe if others did the same I would not need to moan
I think the £130,000 would have been better spent on public services ... hey how about employing people to enforce the smoking ban in the bus station and the drinking ban in the city centre.”