North Star Chosen to Brand Lansdale

is one step closer to having its own brand.

At Monday’s joint Communication Commission and Economic Development Committee meeting, Borough Manager Timi Kirchner announced that the selection committee has chosen North Star Destination Strategies to create Lansdale’s very own brand.

The committee reviewed 13 different groups for the job, interviewed three, and chose the Tennessee-based group in the end due to its expertise and excitement.

“We were blown away by them and their presentation,” said Communications Commission Chairman Denton Burnell.

He added that the company eased the committees' concerns that the company was based too far away because representatives explained how they engage community members and research the town before creating a brand image and tagline.

Burnell said the company will spend five months coming up with a brand. Most of that time is spent researching the town and getting to know the community. The group will also stay in touch with the town after the brand is created to make sure it is received well.

He also said North Star is the best company for the job because branding towns is the core of its business model. The company has designed over 138 different town brands. To see some of the brands, visit its website, www.northstarideas.com/index.php.

The branding project will cost $68,000 plus expenses, which are capped at $5,000, Kirchner said. She said the cost was right in the middle of all of the companies; some were more expensive, and others were less.

The committee unanimously voted to bring the decision to use North Star for the brand before borough council at Wednesday’s action meeting.

The Economic Development Committee also discussed Discover Lansdale, Founders Day and the Town Hall meetings.

Discover Lansdale is now an official 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, said council member Mary Fuller. The nonprofit status enables the group to fundraise more, and all donations will be tax deductible.

The committees discussed the idea of creating an events coordinator for the group to continue organizing more events, like Founders Day. Kirchner also stressed the need for a group like the downtown investment district in Lancaster, which promotes the town and its businesses and events.

The group also discussed the idea of having a visitor’s center or a place where people visiting Lansdale can go to find out more information about the town.

Mayor Andrew Szekely brought up the idea of having a bag to hand to visitors with a Lansdale-related image decorating it and information inside the bag about the town, similar to bags he received while recently visiting Hungary.

The committees discussed combining an events coordinator and a downtown investment district into one group whose job would be to help coordinate events in town and inform visitors about all that the town has to offer. Fuller said the issue will be discussed more at tonight’s town hall meeting at 7 p.m. at the

Kirchner said she will come back to the Economic Development Committee next month with a proposed budget for Discover Lansdale and a more detailed outline of what this group could be.

Founders Day T-shirts have been designed and can be bought during the presale at the Lansdale Farmers Market this Saturday, Fuller said. She also said their will be a dunk tank at the event and is looking for volunteers.

In additional news, the Communications Commission discussed its social media endeavors and the town’s website.

Burnell said the town has around 12 percent more “likes” on Facebook and about 28 percent more followers on Twitter since the last meeting. He said the website is still being worked on and redesigned.