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Town of Milton-Freewater (OR)

www.milton-freewater-or.gov

What's special about Milton-Freewater, Oregon? Frogs. That's right, frogs. Not that the area has more of the amphibian creatures than neighboring towns. In an effort to stand out in the crowded tourism market, however, this agricultural community of 6500 people nestled in the foothills of the Blue Mountains of Oregon has "branded" itself "Muddy Frogwater Country." So images of frogs populate its website, from its logo to the headers on its pages.

The area around Milton-Freewater boasts skiing, fishing, hunting, boating, hiking, snowmobiling and camping. And a number of wineries have opened recently. Festivals dot the town's calendar year round. Yet, some businesses have closed, and increased tourism is seen as the key to needed economic growth.

The impetus for using frogs as a theme did not come out of the blue – or the mud, as it were. For several years, Milton-Freewater had already been hosting the "Muddy Frogwater Festival," a popular summer country music event at which frog jumping contests are among the attractions.

A Toadly Awesome Place to Live

According to the local News-Herald, some 50 residents and community leaders attended a meeting at which a representative of Polaris Corporation, the branding company the town had hired to the tune of about $2800, educated the group on branding and marketing concepts. Attendees brainstormed how they could apply a frog brand in their activities. Ideas included:

• Sponsoring frog festivals
• Selling frog memorabilia
• Putting frogs on business stationery
• Wearing frog T-shirts when representing the town at meetings
• Handing out frog souvenirs
• Floating frogs down the nearby Walla Walla River

As ideas arose, so did enthusiasm for the concept.

Already the town has adopted a slogan. It tells everyone it is a "Toadly Awesome Place to Live." A large statue of a multi-colored frog balancing on two wheels of a skateboard already adorns the Milton-Freewater's newly opened skatepark. Plans are under way for bronze frog statues on the lawn in front of the city hall and for new welcome signs at highway entry points.

The New York Times reported recently that the frog branding idea is not universally popular with Milton-Freewater citizens and merchants, but that some are embracing the concept. There are cartoons of a frog drinking at the local bar and a frog on crutches at the town's chiropractor. ''I couldn't sell this town,'' Delphine Palmer, Milton-Freewater's City Manager told The New York Times reporter. ''We're having a lot of problems like other cities. And we can sit here and do nothing, or we can try something different.''

Other than frequent sightings of frogs, Milton-Freewater's website looks like that of many cities and, in fact, is quite content-rich for a town of its size. In addition to the descriptions of departments, their personnel and responsibilities, there is a menu of forms in PDF format citizens may use to request various services from the Financial Department. The website is still under construction, as pages under the City History and Community Development and Finance Department headings are empty.

Government Branding Trend

States are jumping on the branding bandwagon, and many small towns all over the US are reinventing themselves in an effort to stand out from the crowd. A few examples:

• The State of Kentucky has a Help Brand Kentucky campaign and solicits branding ideas by asking for comments on "What makes Kentucky different from other states?' and "What makes Kentucky special to you?" on its Commerce Cabinet website.
• In Minnesota, the community of New York Mills (2002 population 1175) put itself on the map with its Regional Arts Council and sponsorship of the now 12 year old Great American Think-Off, a philosophy debate, as did Lanesboro (2002 population 786) with its Kid's Philosophy Slam.

Kentucky's governor Ernie Fletcher summarizes the rationale behind the branding movement on the Help Brand Kentucky website, as follows:

"Our goal is to harness the pride and the passion Kentuckians have for our state, and showcase that pride to the rest of the world, so more businesses will want to locate here, more visitors will want to vacation here, more people will want to live here, and more business will be conducted here."