Two South Carolina brothers who came to Springfield to create a community branding for the town unveiled the results of their efforts today in a presentation very well received by an audience of community leaders and involved citizens. Tripp and Ben Muldrow are representives from Arnett-Muldrow Associates, a marketing firm out Greenville, South Carolina.
Tripp was introduced by Steve Plunkard of Springfield On The Move who had attended a similar presentation some time ago they had done for Rutland. He was sufficiently impressed to get Springfield interested in hiring them. He mentioned a few attending that Rutland PowerPoint presentation were so moved that tears welled up in their eyes. He said he was hoping ours would be so good as to generate a few tears too. A couple ladies did admit afterwards to teary eyes while Tripp read aloud the words on the screen of the new written introduction for the town. Here it is reproduced in its entirety:
We are Springfield, Vermont.
Started as Eureka in the 1700's, we soon moved to the banks of the Black River where we used ingenuity to capture energy from the rushing waters of Comtu Falls to power our early mills. Our town grew around these spectacular cascades that remain a stunning part of downtown to this day.
We cultivated our discoveries to become the heart of Precision Valley. It is Springfield where inventiveness created the machines that led our nation through the perils of war and the instruments that let us explore the slendor of the nighttime sky.
Today we are poised at a crossroads of history. Although our traditional economy is part of the past, we remain a full-service community with all the amenities of a larger city packaged in a Vermont small town.
We are reinventing the way we think about a healthy community with a remarkable renovation of the Gear Shaper Plant into a state-of-the-art medical services facility, an innovative recreation center that uses solar power to heat our indoor pools, and a bike and recreation trail along the banks of the Black River.
We are reinventing the way we think about education with two new schools ti teach our youngest children, creative programs to engage at-risk youth, and a collection of New England teaching institutions under one roof at the dynamic Howard Dean Education Center.
We are reinventing the way we think about our downtown with a renovated theatre representing a unique collaboration among partners, a weekly market bringing together farmers and producers from across southern Windsor County, and an artisans gallery that is one of three State Craft Centers in Vermont.
We are even reinventing the way we think about the river on which we settled. We have exciting plans for a new recreation trail through downtown that will open spectacular vistas to Comtu Falls alongside creative reuse of our
This is only the beginning. We invite you to be a part of this reinvention, to discover Vermont life in a place that is transforming, to engage in the excitement as we unlock our potential.
Link to a slideshow which features some of the visual presentation:
http://springfieldvt.110mb.com/reinvented/
(Advances automatically to the next slide every ten seconds.)
I hope Springfield didn't spend a lot of this poor town's money on that advertising/marketing project. The result is something I would expect from a High School project. Tag lines. Reinvented. In fact, the whole "reinvented" thing appears to have been rehashed from an example in a college textbook if I remember correctly. This isn't edgy or reinventing Springfield... that has to be done by getting businesses in this town to stay, then attracting new ones. Not a dollar store, but something of value that people will come see. I'm not surprised that Springfield is the mess that it is, the answer is bigger than a cartoon or a really bad marketing project that nobody outside of a meeting of "very important people" will ever see.
ReplyDeleteWho are they kidding with that boring load of baloney that anyone could have cobbled together? Where is the accounting, what did it cost?
ReplyDeleteWas there any announcement anywhere at any time, that the town was looking for someone to do this work? With all the artists and graphic design teams in Vermont, did they have to outsource? The article says - "We invite you to be a part of this reinvention, to discover Vermont life in a place that is transforming, to engage in the excitement as we lock our potential." How many springfieldonians really feel invited? How absurd. What were they serving for refreshments at that presentation that made the old logs so teary-eyed? I can't believe that that insipid logo moved anyone to tears for a second. What a load of horse hoowie. -Anonymous? yes, anonymous.
Oh and thanks, thanks a lot, to the meeting of very important old logs, for outsourcing! What did it cost??????
ReplyDeleteI don't think its productive to poo-poo every aspect of this slideshow... but the picture quality is really awful, and there is no fluidity to the concept. 'Memories. Reinvented.' What is that even suppose to mean? When I hear 'memories reinvented' I think of something being misremembered, or lying. or old people. Nothing positive or even nostalgic. That being said, its not all trash; I like the idea that we're fresh and new while respecting the traditional(if thats even true), but as it stands currently, it looks pretty half-baked.
ReplyDeletethis project was paid for by a grant that was given to springfield on the move. no tax dollars were spent on this project.
ReplyDeleteFirst Rutland, then Springfield, abandoning Vermont's own marketing firms/graphic design groups for South Carolina? Someone dropped the ball twice, and I can only wonder at the connection between South Carolina and Vermont. A bit of nepotism? I agree with you, Kimberly, the tagline seems a bit disingenuous...like revisionist history?
ReplyDeleteThis group never even excavated the basement under the park they built.
ReplyDeleteThey never put in surface water drains either.
The water is destroying their neighbors property.
The damage to the neighbor's foundation also part of the superstructure that makes up the retaining wall to the Black River is estimated to cost over $350,000.00 to repair.
But you won't here about this when they take your $20,000.00 in Tax money, $30,000.00 new grant money, or $10k ++ in private donations.
Re-brand Springfield? and walk on the history of our fathers? another great idea..
What about sending YOUR $$$ to SOUTH CAROLINA !!!!! how about a SPRINGFIELD MARKETING COMPANY.
GOOD JOB ELITIST FACIST SWINE
I HEREBY DECLARE THE NEW NEW BRANDING OF SPRINGFIELD TO BE PRECISION VALLEY
Get rid of the arrogant group that thought they even needed to do a re-branding.
STOP GIVING THEM YOUR MONEY
WAKE UP
Qoute from previous post...When I hear 'memories reinvented' I think of something being misremembered, or lying. or old people.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly the truth! SOM is trying to misrember, lie, and it is run by the old folks of this good town who have their own ideas for this town that have never worked!
Are you telling me that now these people are NOW going to do something different. I agree with the last post "STOP GIVING S.O.M. YOUR MONEY" !!! SOM hurts more people, businesses, and property owners than it helps. It is absolutely the truth, just ask around. SOM is a bunch of arrogant Liers and thiefs that take donated and grant money to hurt other people
Why don't we bring back the Precision to Precision Valley? Seriously. My business needs precision tools that I'm not buying because I'm saving to move out of Springfield. If we had that grant money, we could buy precision manufacturing CNC equipment, torchmate CNC cutting system etc and share it among Springfield businesses.
ReplyDeleteImagine if we could build this area back to what it used to be? Rapid prototyping for defense, aerospace, automotive industries... Figure out the operating cost per hour and charge a wholesale rate for access to the equipment.
No- that would make sense. I'll just move my business to New Hampshire along with the million dollars in revenue. My new company is projected to create 11 jobs and generate 2 million in the first year... it'll be in New Hampshire too. Sorry Springfield, I gave it a chance. Too bad I can't sell my house now that nobody wants to live here.
Oh and seriously- why do the restaurants in this town suck so bad? Seriously... the worst ever.
The restaurants "suck" because the Town uses too much fluoride in their water. 100% of the restaurants use Town Water. The garden grown veggies are tainted, even the bread has fluoride in it. It is like cooking with water from your swimming pool.
ReplyDelete