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