Downtown Fort Collins Business Association (DBA)
Fort Collins, Colorado
A multi-faceted organization that combines events and promotions to drive traffic to old town Fort Collins.
the problem
Downtown Fort Collins represents hundreds of businesses, and needed a diverse brand.
Cody developed a brand that reflected that aim.
Prior to his current role within kico Marketing, owner Cody Johnson worked extensively at the Downtown Fort Collins Business Association (DBA) to establish a strong visual identity for the large variety of projects, promotions, and events that the DBA was responsible for. Working with hundreds of stakeholders and designing by committee was commonplace at the DBA, and the brand strategy had to reflect the organization’s strategic goals. As a part of the DBA’s long-term strategic plan, three key focus areas were established and a shared visual language was developed to mirror this development.
prescribed services
Brand Design Services
Marketing Strategy
Website Design Services
New Logo
Old Logo
Three Key Focus Areas:
Economy, Experience, and Environment
While the visual identity of the DBA shared the same fonts and style, the colors were an area that allowed flexibility with the brand.
Blue was used for economic initiatives such as business communications, marketing, and business development publications. Blue conveys trust and friendliness, and the tone conveyed a sense of professionalism to the DBA’s identity. Green was used when it came to environmental initiatives such as activations of the built environment or projects related to sustainability. Green has a strong connection with the environment and is a trademark visual of Fort Collins. Orange was used for experiential initiatives, which were composed of the variety of events that the DBA produced. Orange has a sense of energy to it that was very common to the vibe the DBA set out when gathering crowds for events in Old Town.
Implementing the brand
The Key to a Great Brand is Consistency.
Implementing the Brand Across All Mediums
The branding standards were used across everything the Downtown Fort Collins Business Association was responsible for, including but not limited to, event signage, promotions, rack cards, business cards, sponsorship materials, banners, apparel, advertising, website assets, newsletters, and more. Due to the diversity of roles that the DBA plays within the community, Cody developed a brand that had flexibility in its usage while sharing similar traits. The target audience was always being measured when developing different materials; business owners would see a consistent identity, community members would see a consistent identity and DBA staff would see a consistent identity.
website design
DowntownFortCollins.com Redesign
Collaboration is key when hundreds of stakeholders are involved.
While at the Downtown Fort Collins Business Association, Cody redesigned the Downtown Fort Collins website and served as project manager on the development of this complex site with hundreds of pages. The brand was extended throughout the entirety of the newly designed website, depicting the three key focus areas with the trademark colors while extending the visual language of the brand online. This website services hundreds of downtown business owners, acting as a landing page and marketing tool for small businesses throughout the region.
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