Waupaca, Wisconsin

One community. Three organizations. One shared brand.

When multiple organizations are responsible for promoting the same place, fragmented messaging can dilute a community’s identity. In Waupaca, CivicBrand brought together the City, Chamber of Commerce, and Convention & Visitors Bureau to develop a single place brand that could support tourism, economic development, talent attraction, and civic pride without sacrificing each organization’s individual mission.

A year-long engagement process combined community workshops, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and regional research to identify Waupaca’s most authentic and competitive strengths. The final brand platform gave partners a shared strategy, visual identity, and messaging system they could use together, creating greater consistency across every touchpoint.

Public Engagement & Competitive Area Research

Everything we do at CivicBrand starts with public engagement. This is meaningful, roll-up-your-sleeves and get out there public engagement — not just a survey and a public meeting. Over the course of a year we conducted multiple trips to the community where we held numerous round tables, 1-on-1 interviews, workshops and focus groups that cut across all ages and demographics. We participated in tourism activities, attended community events and brought our film and photography crew along to produce a documentary about the entire process.

In addition, we researched and visited communities that may be considered regional competitors to understand their message and value proposition to residents, visitors and businesses in order to get a sense of how Waupaca is different.

Brand Strategy