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Baltimore Region Branding Initiative

In May 2024, GBC announced the selection of the place-branding experts Resonance Consultancy Ltd. (Resonance), the market research firm Ipsos, and the Baltimore-based strategic communications firm Timbre Strategies to undertake a business investment and civic oriented messaging, branding, and earned media initiative for the seven-jurisdiction Baltimore region following a thorough vetting and selection process.

The Baltimore Region offers highly-educated and hardworking talent, unique culture and some of the world's greatest businesses and academic institutions. All set against an amazing and fortuitous geography, the region presents a special combination that drives rare opportunity. Resonance brings wide-ranging industry expertise, which will help accentuate that story in a manner that inspires, excites, attracts and amplifies the potential of the region.

—Sashi Brown, Co-Chair of the GBC Regional Branding Initiative Steering Committee and President of the Baltimore Ravens

Key Accomplishments

  • Merged with the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore (EAGB) to align our regional economic marketing work with best practices in the field.
  • Secured funding support and consensus around the branding initiative from all seven Baltimore-area jurisdictions.
  • Launched a competitive process for a branding and public relations partner that garnered interest from nationwide firms.
  • Elevated awareness of the Baltimore Region’s assets at major thought leadership events such as City Nation Place and the Site Selectors Guild National Conference.

The Need for a Clear Narrative

The need for a clear and consistent narrative that communicates the story of the Baltimore Region’s strengths while amplifying the region’s civic progress was identified as a core need among our partnership base. Due to our merger with the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore and the existing financial support provided by the jurisdictions in our region, GBC was well-positioned to address this area of opportunity.

A Global Call for Partners

In November 2023, GBC issued a request-for-proposal for creative agency and public relations partners to establish a new regional brand narrative oriented around business investment. The brand narrative is designed to serve as the creative foundation for how GBC and its partners position the region’s economic strengths for local, domestic, and global audiences. A selection committee comprised of marketing leaders and economic development officials reviewed nearly two dozen proposals from area-based and international firms.

An Experienced and Capable Choice

After a lengthy and thorough selection process, GBC arrived at a creative team comprised of the place-based branding firm Resonance, the marketing research firm Ipsos, and the Baltimore-based strategic communications firm Timbre Strategies. Founded in 2007, and with offices in New York, Vancouver, Montreal, and Austin, Resonance specializes in creating transformative strategies, plans, brands, and campaigns for destinations, cities, and communities worldwide. Their multidisciplinary team has executed wholesale place-based branding and market research efforts for locales that include Houston, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Columbus, Ohio; Christchurch, New Zealand; Calgary, Canada; and Brussels, Belgium – among dozens of other cities across the world.

 

Media Coverage

8 Things to Know: GBC Woos Investors with better Baltimore 'brand'
The Baltimore Business Journal

Jeremie Feinblatt, vice president of strategy for Resonance Consultancy Ltd., talked about how his organization was working with the GBC on raising Baltimore’s profile — and changing its reputation by creating a better brand. “Brands matter,” he told the packed auditorium at Maryland Institute College of Art’s Brown Center. Read More.

GBC's Mark Anthony Thomas calls for better Baltimore brand
The Baltimore Business Journal

Greater Baltimore Committee CEO Mark Anthony Thomas writes about his group’s goals for establishing a better economic narrative for the region. Read More.

Interview with Greater Baltimore Committee
Brand Finance

With the launch of our Regional Branding Initiative, we are setting the table to frame and amplify the overarching economic narrative and the many points of light contributing to the current momentum and efforts underway. There has been a long standing appetite for this type of initiative, so we have received tremendous support and I am excited about the impact. Read More.

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