Portfolio

When Mitchell, South Dakota, needed to take charge of its identity and brand, it turned to AMPERAGE Marketing & Fundraising to help show it is more than the home of the World’s Only Corn Palace. AMPERAGE worked with Mitchell community leaders to rebrand Mitchell, as the vibrant, business- and family-friendly community it is.

Connect

Discovering an A-Maizing Community

AMPERAGE conducted Creative Fusion^SM sessions and gathered qualitative and quantitative research to determine Mitchell’s brand identity. The resulting identity and brand core was divined through a process designed to foster ownership of the brand by key partners — developed with an eye toward the future and a nod to its heritage. And we knew we needed to differentiate Mitchell from Brookings and Sioux Falls, Omaha and Des Moines, St. Paul and Milwaukee.

This process called for collaboration, facilitated by AMPERAGE, between representatives from the City of Mitchell, Mitchell Chamber of Commerce, Mitchell Area Development Corporation, Mitchell Main Street, the Corn Palace and community leaders. Using the collected data and qualitative input as a guide, AMPERAGE developed a new brand that was in line with the community as a whole.

Mitchell’s brand and logo redesign began with a complete repositioning, acknowledging the region’s main attraction while establishing it as so much more. Mitchell’s core word is “Possible,” and the city’s new tagline is “Outside Expectations.”

Motivate

Building the Brand

AMPERAGE worked with Mitchell community leaders to design a new city logo, build branded social media platforms and a new website landing page, produce a community video, develop a new workforce development site and create new marketing materials. Our commitment, and a key component of our agreement, was to provide community leaders with the elements they needed to fully roll out the new brand, while remaining part of their implementation team to facilitate processes and progress.

Measure

Outside Expectations

The new brand instilled an energized sense of pride and passion for the community.

AMPERAGE implemented a digital media campaign for the Mitchell Area Development Corporation to track interest in Mitchell from targeted markets outside the area. Detailed monthly reports provided analysis of trends and patterns, as well as suggestions for improving visibility and interactivity with the digital ads. Mitchell and AMPERAGE used the reports to adjust and make decisions about the campaign strategy. Also, Mitchell has installed visitor counting technology in its most popular attraction, the Corn Palace, to gauge effectiveness of the marketing efforts led by AMPERAGE and implemented by Mitchell groups.

AMPERAGE continues to consult with the city as brand implementation efforts carry on, providing marketing strategies, tactics and guidance to ensure their community continues to be “Outside Expectations.”