Star Democrat — Choptank Communications has created a new branding campaign — “Water Moves Us” — for Dorchester County Economic Development (DCED) in conjunction with Dorchester County’s Tourism Office and Chamber of Commerce.
The campaign was unveiled Oct. 1 at the Dorchester County Council meeting as part of a Dorchester Economic Development Week presentation.
Created by Cambridge firm Choptank Communications, “Water Moves Us” serves as DCED’s new brand identity as well as a multi-platform, cooperative marketing campaign to promote Dorchester’s assets and opportunities. The word mark, logo and creative executions emphasize stories of innovation and industry against a backdrop evoking Dorchester’s beautiful environment and water-shaped landscape.
“Water Moves Us symbolizes how people feel about Dorchester; it captures resident pride, embraces visitor appreciation, and reinforces the positive and critical position the landscape plays in our economy and culture.” said Andrea Vernot, president of Choptank Communications and former assistant secretary and chief marketer for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.
The brand will be the platform for all Dorchester County communications including digital/website, display, public relations, advertising, printed materials, outreach, exhibits and events. For the Council meeting, Choptank Communications wrapped water bottles with the “Water Moves Us” logo and displayed posters portraying creative executions of the campaign.
“It’s more than a logo or a tagline, branding unifies and strengthens our economic development marketing efforts,” said Keasha Haythe, DCED director. “It gives us a solid foundation to build clear, consistent and compelling messages to communicate our many assets.”
Choptank’s work on the marketing initiative was launched as soon as the Dorchester County Economic Development Advisory Council and County Council approved DCED’s strategic plan earlier this year.
Learn more about the campaign and see examples of the creative designs in Dorchester County Economic Development’s brand style guide. Choptank produced a second phase for the water moves us campaign in 2015.
