City in line for "more powerful" marketing campaign after Positively Plymouth slogan ditched

THE city can launch a "more powerful" marketing campaign after ditching its Positively Plymouth slogan, the council says.

Plymouth City Council said an "updated approach" would be taken when a new brand aimed at attracting tourists is unveiled.

The Positively Plymouth branding has been dumped just under three years after a marketing company was paid £53,250 to create it.

It was launched in May 2010 as part of a project funded by the council and the Plymouth City Development Company (CDC).

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International brand consultants Lloyd Northover were hired to help give Plymouth a new marketable identity, despite the company being based in London.

Lloyd Northover came up with the Positively Plymouth brand after a three-month consultation with city residents, businesses and officials with the aim of "capturing the best of Plymouth, by Plymouth."

There were accusations the name was inspired by the town of Plymouth in Wisconsin, in the United States, which also used the term 'Positively Plymouth'.

But at the brand launch the CDC said Positively Plymouth had a "long term future".

The CDC was terminated later that year but handed over responsibility to Destination Plymouth, a partnership body which continues to use the branding to market the city.

The council defended the decision to scrap the slogan saying: "Brands need to evolve over time to remain fresh and current and much has happened over the last three years to provide Plymouth with a more powerful external narrative.

"Positively Plymouth was created nearly three years ago as the first stage in an evolving long-term brand initiative. It has been used extensively to support visitor, inward investment and events marketing in Plymouth."

Lloyd Northover said at the time that they hoped they had finally managed to create an "optimistic" brand, after a series of failed attempts to sell the city.

"Positively Plymouth was about revealing the real, positive strengths of a city that had experienced 10 years of failed attempts to launch a brand," they said.

"[We wanted to] tell the world 'There's plenty to be positive about and positively nowhere quite like it.'"

The Positively Plymouth website went live in March 2011 to promote events and attract investment – but is no longer available to view.

A council spokeswoman said: "The Positively Plymouth website itself was set up as a time limited exercise for the purpose of engaging the community.

"It was never designed as a long term exercise, or as a key external marketing tool for the city.

Core messages and themes identified in the Positively Plymouth strategy will be retained and amplified in an updated approach that will be reflected in the materials and plans developed for the city's 2013/14 marketing activities."

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