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October 17, 2023

CT unveils $1.5M rebranding, marketing effort; aims to boost home-state pride

Michael Puffer | Hartford Business Journal Anthony Anthony, Connecticut's chief marketing officer, at the CT rebranding launch in the Bristol Bazaar on Tuesday.
Contributed These Out of Home ads -- which will appear on billboards, at Bradley Airport and on Metro North -- are part of the state's new rebranding effort.
Michael Puffer | Hartford Business Journal Gov. Ned Lamont at the marketing launch for the state's new logo at the Bristol Bazaar.
By Michael Puffer

From high-tech helicopters to “the country’s best pizza,” medical breakthroughs and aerospace, Connecticut’s innovative culture and quality of life makes it an ideal place to live, work and grow a business, according to the state’s new marketing campaign.

Gov. Ned Lamont launched a $1.5 million campaign Tuesday to hammer home Connecticut’s best qualities. It is as much an attempt to instill home-state pride in residents as it is to convince those beyond Connecticut's borders.

The “Make It Here” campaign will use advertising and digital media to highlight Connecticut’s position as an innovative hub of arts, sciences and manufacturing, as well as a great place to live, work and enjoy life. 

Advertisements will begin Nov. 1, in traditional and digital media, streaming services, billboards and placements in travel hubs like Bradley International Airport and the MetroNorth Railroad.

Contributed
More billboard ads that are part of the state's new rebranding effort.

“There is no better place to live and work in the U.S. than in Connecticut, and it’s about time that everyone knows it too,” Lamont said in a released statement. “We make the most complex machines in the world – submarines, helicopters, and jet engines. We’re home to Fortune 500 companies and game-changing start-ups. The quality of life here is unmatched with our public education, health care systems, and public safety consistently ranked among the best in the nation.”

The new brand replaces the “Still Revolutionary” moniker and tagline, which the state largely retired from use in 2019. All marketing materials will flow to a new website, www.CTmakeithere.com, which features stories of Connecticut’s best qualities and assets.

The need to improve some portions of Connecticut’s self-image was hammered home earlier this year as New Haven-based marketing firm O’donnell Co. performed market research ahead of the campaign for the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

One of the state's new logos.

A survey of 406 residents found nearly 70% agreed the state has a high quality of life, and nearly 77.6% see it as a great place to raise a family. But the state’s perception fell sharply on the topic of business climate, with only 45% agreeing Connecticut is an “ideal place to start, grow or move a business.”

DECD Commissioner Alexandra Daum said Connecticut has emerged “stronger-than-ever” following the pandemic but needs to “accurately portray” its story if it wants continued business, population and employment growth.

The state's new logo.

“This campaign will work in concert with other economic development initiatives to accelerate growth by showing the real Connecticut and changing perceptions of who we are and what we’re about,” Daum said.

A new logo, graphics, themes and other elements of the new campaign were developed by Glastonbury advertising agency Cronin.

Anthony Anthony, the state's chief marketing officer, said the first year will target as its audience Connecticut residents aged 20 to 50 years. He anticipates spending another $1 million next year to expand the campaign with advertising beyond Connecticut's borders. 

"The deeper, richer, meaning here is this is my story; it's the story of tens-of-thousands of families who are moving here and it's the story millions of people living here: Connectcut is a place where you can make it," Anthony said. "This is your home, this is where you should lay down roots, this is where you can find success, whether its starting a business, finding a meaningful career or investing some amazing product that's going to make you a billionare." 
 

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