Maitland works to find a way to market itself

Maitland is going through a bit of an existential crisis this week, with city officials, staff and residents being plagued with the question: What is Maitland?

The team of Arnett Muldrow & Associates has scoured the city this week with the goal of answering that question, and coming up with a marketing plan and brand for the city. They’ve met with the City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, cultural partners and residents. They’ve seen the lakes, and driven the brick-paved streets.

“We’re really trying to get a feel for Maitland,” Ben Muldrow said.

On Monday, Muldrow and his partner Aaron Arnett met with the City Council to get their definition of Maitland now, and what it should be in the future. The next day they hosted a public meeting getting feedback from residents about the image of downtown, and on Wednesday, they met with west-side residents to define what makes their side of the city special.

On Thursday, July 14, Muldrow and Arnett will present their findings, along with a new brand statement, logo and tagline for the city to the City Council.

The goal, Maitland CRA Director Charles Rudd said, is to come up with a cohesive plan of how to market Maitland and define it as a city.

“We have to have a cohesive look and feel, and to use this opportunity of growth to tell people what Maitland is and why it’s important,” Rudd said.

In their meetings around town, Muldrow said it’s become apparent that Maitland residents are proud of their city, but they have a hard time explaining what exactly they’re proud of.

“It’s like we don’t know how to communicate our greatness,” Rudd said with a laugh.

A high quality of life, top schools and a strong family focus, Muldrow said, are the three most common themes they’ve heard from Maitland residents throughout the week when they were asked to define the city.

Once they figure out what defines Maitland, Muldrow said, the city can then work towards promoting and preserving those key elements.

“You have to define what you value before you figure out how to preserve it,” he said.

And as the city works to redevelop its downtown, he said, it’s important to know what residents value so that the new projects align with what the people want.

Right now, that downtown is tens of piles of dirt that will eventually rise into Maitland City Centre stretching from Horatio to Packwood Avenue between Independence Lane and U.S. Highway 17-92. But as you drive down 17-92, Rudd said, there’s nothing that tells you that you’ve entered a downtown district or that you should want to be there.

The new marketing plan, he said, will help provide branding and logos for street signs that locals will come to identify with downtown Maitland. There will also be a variation of that branding designed specifically for the west side of the city, which will identify each area as two parts of a whole.

“Everything will be tied together,” Rudd said.

Be among the first to see how all the plans come together by attending the special Maitland City Council/CRA meeting at noon today, July 14, in City Council Chambers. The meeting will also be live-streamed on the city’s Facebook page, and posted to YouTube.