By Adam Allington, KWMU
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwmu/local-kwmu-642462.mp3
St. Louis, MO – The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission unveiled a new marketing brand for St. Louis on Monday.
Ads on billboards and in travel magazines will now include the catch phrase..."St. Lou Is: all within reach".
Kitty Ratcliffe is President of the St. Louis CVC.
"It's not geography, although it can be," says Ratcliffe.
"It's designed to inspire the citizens of our region, everything that we have in St. Louis is within reach and that can be geography but it means more than that."
Ratcliffe says the CVC did not pay to develop the new brand; rather marketing experts from regional companies donated their time.
Ratcliffe says the continuous slogan changing illustrates just how hard it is to develop a brand that people connect with.
"It has to be simple, it has to be emotional and somebody who is working in a cab or a convenience store or is a business prospect needs to be able to articulate that."
The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) also has a St. Louis brand.
But Kitty Ratcliffe says the RCGA's brand targets businesses while the CVC's is universal.
But how does the brand measure up to the likes of "the Windy City", or the "Big Apple"?
"Not too well" says Randy Vines, owner and co-founder of "STL Style", a website that sells St. Louis neighborhood branded apparel.
To hear an interview with Randy Vines click on the "listen" link above.