The Greater Keene and Peterborough Chamber of Commerce has released a survey to start its project to brand the Monadnock Region to attract more people.
The ultimate goal of the project, according to project manager Julie Schoelzel, is to “create a cohesive brand for the region” that can then be sued to market Monadnock and attract workers, families, tourists and students.
“The survey is to help us understand the brand of the region that’s already here,” said Schoelzel.
The survey was generated by North Star Ideas, a marketing group that has done place-branding for many communities nationwide, including New Orleans. The group will also be helping with the development of a marketing strategy based on the survey results, according to Schoelzel, although the chamber will perform the marketing themselves.
The research phase of the project has been underway for months, and Schoelzel said the hope with the survey is to get as many responses as possible.
“The more people who take it, the better, because every town is different,” she said. “And we need to come up with something that captures it all, somehow.”
The survey, which is also available through the chamber website, asks residents a variety of questions, including what their connection is to the region, why they live there, how they would describe the region and what its greatest assets are.
Schoelzel said that it’s too soon to anticipate what the data might be used for, but that it will be helpful to get a sense of who is already thriving in the region and therefore who to target with marketing, such as entrepreneurs or student populations, potentially.
Additionally, she said, since the survey asks respondents for what they wish was in the region, some of the feedback might be used to develop programs that the current community might benefit from in projects separate from the branding project.
The survey will be open through the end of January for all who want to participate. Schoelzel said she encourages everyone to do so, and to see it as an opportunity. Drawing on her own experience since moving to the area in 2017, she said that the project and the research that comes with it has helped her reconnect with the region.
“You move somewhere, and then life kicks off and you’re busy and everyone gets busy, and I’ve found that doing this project, doing this research, it introduces me to why I love it here,” she said. “So I think that people should have fun with it, and it’s a nice way to be reminded of all that we do have to offer and to share what they wish that they could find. They should speak honestly, and enjoy it.”