A festive atmosphere fills the air in downtown Hartwell as women carrying tote bags bearing the city’s new logo stroll from store to store to enjoy local art, snacks and boutique shopping for a ladies’ night out.
It’s just the vibe economic and community development director Jason Ford wants to promote for his city, and one reason Hartwell and Hart County engaged the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government for its Community Branding services.
“Everyone’s really bought into it,” he said of the new brand. “It provides an opportunity for us to connect the dots in our community and put out one message, which is really something we were missing.”
That message, “Live Well Play Well,” highlights the community’s commitment to quality of life and celebrates its connection to Lake Hartwell, a nearby recreational hub visited by more than 10 million annually. The branding also honors Hart County’s rich Native American and Revolutionary War history.
“When people think of Lake Hartwell, we want them to think of Hartwell and the other parts of our story,” Ford said. “It’s important to us, and the brand does a great job of capturing that and communicating it out.”
For years, city leaders and community stakeholders have focused on the revitalization of historic Hartwell, recognized as Georgia’s Downtown of the Year in 2023, and its importance to long-term economic growth. With the help of a long-term partnership with UGA through the Archway Partnership, Hartwell now has a new brand and also a marketing plan created by students from UGA’s Terry College of Business to help boost tourism and identity.
“Downtown is the gateway to outdoor recreation, so we needed a unifying message to connect it to the lake and our agribusiness,” Ford said.
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Downtown Hartwell rolled out its new brand with special events, including a Ladies Night Out shopping experience. The award-winning Community Branding services at the Institute of Government focus on community input and buy-in. PHOTO CREDIT: Daryl Lewis of Lewis Media/City of Hartwell |
Helping communities communicate
Since 2018, the UGA Institute of Government has offered branding services to communities statewide. The nationally recognized program helps small cities and counties tell their own story, increasing hometown pride and economic development.
Institute of Government faculty member Kaitlin Messich leads the service and has partnered with 16 communities since its launch.
“Smart branding enhances what a community is trying to achieve, whether it’s tourism, economic development, or attracting more people to downtown and local events,” she said. “It’s really fun to see how much people love where they live, and branding brings that out.”
However, after completing the branding process, small communities like Hartwell often lack the resources or bandwidth to support implementation through professional marketing plans, according to Messich.
“Many communities need help launching the brand and developing strategies to continue buy-in and adoption. Luckily, we can help by reaching out to the many resources at UGA,” she said.
Applying classroom learning
When Hartwell leaders sought help marketing their new brand, Messich connected with Hartwell Archway Professional Rosanna Cruz-Bibb. Since 2020, Archway has supported more than 90 projects in Hartwell and Hart County, engaging UGA students and faculty and generating an estimated $6.8 million return on investment.
Cruz-Bibb introduced Messich to Stacy Campbell, Synovus Director of the Institute for Leadership Advancement (ILA) at the Terry College of Business.
“Students have already made an impact through landscape design and murals that have breathed new life into Downtown Hartwell, so it’s great timing for a marketing plan to boost tourism,” said Cruz-Bibb.
The ILA certificate program blends coursework with real-world projects to prepare future business leaders. Under Campbell’s guidance, students spend a year fine-tuning project management skills with nonprofits, community organizations and local governments.
“It’s always interesting with these longer projects, because students get to see that not everyone moves at the same pace,” Campbell said. “In the end, I want them to learn about what it’s like to work with different clients and stakeholders.”
The Hartwell curriculum included visits to the community to assess branding and marketing needs, conducting market research, and handling surveys and interviews.
Students who worked in Hartwell said one challenge of the yearlong project was handling a lull in engagement over the summer, a similar dynamic to client work in the real world.
“After being off for three months, we came back in August and asked, ‘What can we do now? Where do we go from here?’” said Molly Rencher, a senior from Nashville, Tennessee.
In November, students presented marketing guidelines to the community. Their analysis includes research on similarly sized communities and recommendations for next steps in brand management and marketing. The 62-page guide includes sample content calendars and best practices for using AI and Google Analytics. Paired with the brand lookbook from the Institute of
Government, it’s a resource the community can use to develop campaigns and events to engage residents and attract visitors.
“One of the things about working with students is they’re bringing the latest, greatest ideas from the world they concentrate in, whether it’s marketing or business development. They’re really the best and brightest, and it creates a lot of legitimacy by having a connection to the University of Georgia,” Ford said.
A Lasting Impression
The Hartwell branding project shows how UGA Public Service and Outreach serves as a bridge to communities and across university departments.
“Tapping into student knowledge and enthusiasm is an asset to our efforts,” Messich said. “It’s been a great way to boost the branding work and further develop the community buy-in necessary to make an impact.”
Equally significant is that UGA students recognize the impact of their work, according to Campbell.
“They’re getting these great skills to talk about an actual project that they’ve worked on, but I also want them to be able to say, ‘Well, did it make a difference?’” she said.
Terry College student Jack Turner, an Atlanta native who graduates this spring, said participating in the ILA program provided an excellent primer on the university’s land-grant and sea-grant mission.
“To use what I learned at the University of Georgia and give back to the community was something I didn’t expect going into school,” he said. “This project made me realize that we’re learning not just for ourselves, but to teach others and actually help out in the community.”
(Photo by Cameron Pearce) Terry College of Business ILA Students in Hartwell to present their Marketing guidelines for Hartwell's new community branding. (Left to right: Emily Taylor, Maddon Sime, Jack Turner, Giovanna Palma, Lindsey Hildrum, Molly Rencher)
(Photo by Cameron Pearce) Students exploring downtown Hartwell and learning about the county namesake Nancy Hart.
(Photo by Cameron Pearce) Terry College of Business ILA Students in Hartwell to present their Marketing guidelines for Hartwell's new community branding.
(Photo by Cameron Pearce) Students joined by their professor, Stacy Campbell (right), Synovus Director of the Institute for Leadership Advancement (ILA) at the Terry College of Business.
(Photo by Cameron Pearce) Students worked closely with Jason Ford (right), Hartwell's economic and community development director, on a marketing plan to showcase the city's offerings.
For more information about the Institute of Government’s Community Branding program, visit https://www.cviog.uga.edu/services/community-planning-resilience/community-branding.html
For more information about the Archway Partnership, visit https://www.archwaypartnership.uga.edu/
For more information about the Terry College of Business Institute for Leadership Advancement, visit https://www.terry.uga.edu/ila/