Toledo Region Branding Initiative

I say, credit media mogul EconCat88 for igniting this latest trend in branding Toledo's image.

Last fall and this winter, Blade columnists and the Blade editorial board seemed to take a greater interest in the Toledo branding initiative after "The Hunt for EconCat88."

Nov 25, 2013 - Toledo must be defined by those who build

What happened to our branding effort? Where is the Chamber of Commerce?

Nov 29, 2013 - Nationwide, most people don’t quite know what to think about Toledo

Give “EconCat88” this much: His narrated videos of Toledo on YouTube, many of them portraying an urban wasteland, have done more to spark discussion of the city’s image than all the work of a branding initiative formed in 2009.

That's a jab directed toward the branding effort led by http://toledoregion.com

As for Toledo’s branding committee, maybe it should find the reclusive man behind “EconCat88” — and hire him.

Dec 15, 2013 - Human assets elevate Toledo

I was still pondering all this when I went to see Keith Burwell at the Toledo Community Foundation. I wanted to talk to him about the Toledo branding initiative.

Dec 20, 2013 - Local firm revising efforts to market the Toledo region

Jeff Schaaf, the Toledo native hired last December [2012] to sell the “Toledo Region” brand, said the effort up to now has painted Toledo and northwest Ohio as the heart of the “New Manufacturing Economy.” It was a narrative designed to tell outsiders the truth about the Toledo they only thought they knew.

“Our DNA is strong with manufacturing. We know how to build things,” Mr. Schaaf said Thursday in an interview with the editorial board of The Blade.

So the Toledo Brand Initiative has hired North, which has expertise in branding and logos, in an effort to tweak both its message and the current “TR — Toledo Region” logo, Mr. Schaaf said.

Dec 27, 2013 - Building the brand