Recent Press
Branding Helena
By JOHN HARRINGTON - Independent Record - 03/05/08
A fall kickoff is eyed for formally launching the “The West’s Learning Center for the Arts” brand for Helena in an effort to extend the tourist season, draw more visitors to town and create additional economic development.
At a meeting Tuesday night, about two dozen people honed ideas and pored over calendars, looking for the perfect combination of date and event to begin marketing the community as an arts learning center.
Organizers are still compiling a comprehensive list of artistic performances and learning opportunities scheduled between August and October. Once the list is complete, a date will likely be chosen to formally launch the brand, with a series of events to be marketed.
“The idea is not to expect institutions to create new things, but rather to package them to move them up to a new level,” said Alan Peura, a city commissioner and member of the Advantage Helena committee that’s driving the branding effort.
One possible “anchor” event, though, is brand new, and being started by the Myrna Loy Center in late August, with an eye toward a much larger event in 2009. On August 21 and 25, the center is hosting Future Memory, a two-day video and dance installation; and Elko and Koma, major American choreographers performing live dance.
“It offers an opportunity to build things around it,” said Myrna Loy director Ed Noonan. “What we want to do is get funding and create an anchor event that other things can happen around. And we will tie in educational opportunities.”
Noonan said both performances are of national caliber, and he hopes to expand the event significantly next year.
Representatives of several arts organizations were on hand along with interested citizens. Marshall Mayer said the Myrna’s “end-of-summer festival” is exactly the kind of event that can help build the brand.
“This is tailor-made for this group,” he said. “How do we fill in these days with educational activities for people we draw from out of town?”
Michael Rissman cautioned that unless the learning opportunities are popular with Helenans first, they won’t be attractive to out-of-towners. The “learning” aspect has to matter to locals, he said.
“If the community isn’t visceral about these courses and the value they offer us, we’re never going to be able to sell this to anyone else,” he said.
Consultant Roger Brooks is expected back in Helena next month to provide more technical direction for the branding effort.
