Parks & Recreation
Branding Traverse City to lure tourists, businesses
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By AMELIA HAVANEC
Capital News Service
LANSING – Creating a community’s brand is more than a logo and a few billboards along the highway. An effective branding strategy promotes recognition and can also unite community residents. “Some people have an impression in their minds of what a city sort of is, and by branding you develop this image and have some control over what that image is going to be,” said Suzeanne Benet, Seidman Marketing Department chair at Grand Valley State University. In the case of Traverse City, the area is designated as one of the “most beautiful places in America” by Good Morning America. But there’s more beyond the dunes.