In the real estate business, it’s said to be all about “location, location, location”. But as almost 100 downtown Belleville business people learned Tuesday night, in the marketing business it’s all about “perception, perception, perception”.
That the was the main focus hammered home by Sean Patriquin of They, a full service advertising agency located in the downtown, as the Belleville Business Improvement Area Board of Directors officially launched a new brand, logo, slogan, and associated other marketing materials to be used across all media platforms.
After months of consultations and surveys with stakeholders and the public, the new brand is built on “The Downtown District – Belleville” and “Be a part of it since 1816”.
Patriquin says the rebranding was all about setting up a bright future for the Downtown District. “It’s not about what the downtown is now, it’s all about what it’s becoming.”
Patriquin said that despite lingering negativity about the downtown being desolate and a little dangerous there was a huge amount of optimism amongst stakeholders that the future looks much better. “We aim to make people want to come down and check it out.”
“Our ultimate goal is to change the perception some people have about the downtown from negative to positive. A lot of people haven’t even been downtown for years. And we’ve learned during some of our recent successful events that when they finally do visit they are very surprised and pleasantly so!”
Sean Patriquin of They. (Photo: Quinte News)
The website is chock full of information of all kinds, is user friendly and will be easy to update for BDIA members as well as the staff.
Mayor of Belleville Mitch Panciuk told the crowd at Capers that the city had already invested millions of dollars in beautification in the core, had purchased the Cabaret property and had big plans for revitalization of the waterfront.
“Council will support good ideas and the new board is making great strides toward making the Downtown District a real people place. Don’t listen
to people spewing negativity. There’s a lot optimism that the downtown is on the cusp of a big comeback. Believe it and tell everyone about what the District has to offer. It has a lot, and there’ll be a lot more coming.”
The new website can be seen here.
