Branding Montrose: Survey results to aid in community philosophy

MONTROSE  — The Montrose Visitor and Convention Bureau decided Montrose needed a “brand.”

A philosophy which it and others could utilize, be proud of, and one that would identify Montrose on the map.

“Ideally it would be a community brand. A brand is not just a slogan, it is the whole philosophy,” MVCB director Michelle Gottlieb said. “As Montrose grows and as our budget grows ... we wanted a brand for a more consistent message.”

The MVCB just concluded one of the first steps in the branding process by releasing the 2007 Montrose Summer Visitor Research results Thursday night at the Montrose City Council Chambers.

After the group decided to go ahead with the steps of the process at its Fall 2006 board retreat, the group hired RRC Associates out of Boulder, Colo. Through a three-prong approach, RRC collected more than 1,000 surveys from visitors and locals.

“We spoke to other communities that had gone through the branding process,” Gottlieb said. Those communities, such as Pagosa Springs and Greeley, directed the group and helped them avoid the pitfalls they experienced. “One of the pitfalls — the research wasn’t conducted before the brainstorming for branding came into place. They hadn’t done enough research into demographics. That’s why the research is so important,” Gottlieb said.

The Montrose visitor survey was conducted from July to October through various methods. From those, 1,400 surveys were collected.

“There was a very broad, very diverse visitor base,” said David Belin, RRC director who presented the results.

From those surveyed, the average age was 47.6 years old. The average gross family income was $107,000 and 41 percent were without kids. Only 25 percent of visitors were traveling to Montrose with kids.

“I had the perception there were more family visits,” Mayor David White said. The high-income level also surprised him.

Other numbers showed reasons behind visits. Results showed many visitors were in Montrose as part of a longer vacation. Only 40 percent of visitors stayed the night while 60 percent were here only for the day. Those that did stay averaged 3.5 nights — a number Belin said was reasonably high. Of those who stayed the night, 77 percent were utilizing local facilities such as hotels and campgrounds, while 19 percent were staying with family and friends.

Belin said visiting family and friends was a big factor to consider because locals can be the “cheerleading section.”

Because locals were also surveyed, but separated from visitor results, the study was able to show that what locals were telling their friends was consistent to what visitors had heard about Montrose. Half of those surveyed had never visited Montrose before.

Gottlieb said it’s important to have locals involved in the branding process for this reason.

“Another pitfall a lot of communities indicated ... is that in developing a brand, if you don’t have the community buy in or have ownership with the community, you won’t be successful. The best sales team is our local people, to be true to that, they need to feel ownership and that’s why to achieve is to involved them in the plan.”

From here, she said the group will take bids for a marketing firm who will then take the data and help develop a brand. Gottlieb said the group will also be doing a winter survey and include those results in the development process.

Because she is stepping down as director at the end of this year, she is not sure of a timeline. It depends, she said, on the new director, but hopes a firm will be chosen by early next year.

When the branding process begins, she said there will be open meetings and focus groups where the public can get involved.

“It will be a collaboration — a real community involvement activity,” Gottlieb said.

Contact Kati O’Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com