Tom Koenninger: Past vital to Vancouver’s future brand

Red, white and blue are the official colors of the Port of Vancouver for a specific reason. Those colors identify the port as an American, not Canadian, agency, Nelson Holmberg, the port’s communications manager, has confirmed.

It’s part of branding, helping a community, a region, or a city, stand apart from other areas.

Vancouver is newly engaged in branding efforts, and some people have revived enthusiasm for changing the name of the city to Fort Vancouver. But it’s more than branding Vancouver, it’s putting a distinctive label on a region.

Wenatchee, in Central Washington on the power-generating Columbia River, has two monikers: “Apple Capital Of The World,” and the “Buckle Of The Power Belt Of The Great Northwest.”

Seattle is the “Emerald City;” New York is “The Big Apple;” San Francisco the “Baghdad By The Bay,” according to the late Chronicle columnist Herb Caen.

“We’re really trying to develop a brand for the region, not the city,” said Alisa Pyszka, Vancouver’s business development manager, who is “coalescing” the volunteer, zero-budget group working on the project. The group initially gathered Oct. 23, and plans another meeting Friday at the Port of Vancouver, with greater attendance.

Other members of the initial strategy group include Addison Jacobs and Holmberg, Port of Vancouver; Ron Arp, Brush Prairie marketer; Maya Muller, Design Studio; and Jill Bingham, city of Vancouver.

The branding group’s goal is to have a new logo, “brand” and description of this area now called Southwest Washington by June 7, 2010.

What is distinctive about our area, and what stands out? History, for one thing. Vancouver is the birthplace of European civilization in the Pacific Northwest. Vancouver is the southern gateway to the state of Washington. As the largest city on the river, we could become the “Gem Of The Columbia.” Our patriotism, and support of the military, might lead to a branding label, too.

Mayor Royce Pollard popularized the term “America’s Vancouver,” which seems to set us apart very nicely from that other Vancouver in a foreign country up north.

Too old-fashioned?

My own enthusiasm for “Fort Vancouver” peaked a few years ago, and has waned ever since. “Fort” seems to align us with a bygone era. Yes, there are Fort Collins, Colo., Fort Myers, Fla., and Fort Worth, Texas.

Elson Strahan, president and CEO of the Fort Vancouver National Trust, and part of the branding coalition, favors changing Vancouver to Fort Vancouver because it highlights the history represented in this area. Are we Washington’s most historic city?

Vancouver residents have rejected a name change to “Fort Vancouver” in three different elections, the most recent in 1975. Is it time to sample sentiment again? Maybe so.

But even if Vancouver’s name is changed, it won’t eliminate the need for branding, or rebranding.

What do we do best? We provide quality education at all levels, but so do a lot of other areas, such as Seattle, home of the University of Washington.

Again, tapping into our history, we are a melding place of cultures: Native American, British, and American, and we were British before we were American. Considering the many levels of history, from before Lewis and Clark to the present day, we have earned the title “One Place Across Time.” Ulysses S. Grant, who later became president, resided here, as well as General George C. Marshall of World War II fame, and George McClellan and Phil Sheridan from the Civil War. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, a proponent of higher education for blacks and founder of Howard University, was military commander here. The world’s first trans-polar flight, a Russian achievement, touched down on Pearson Field in 1937. The principal hangar at Pearson Field is considered the oldest of its kind still active in the United States.

Are we the premier place of American history on the West Coast? We could make a good case for that distinction. Our past is the key to our branding future. Our legacy must receive careful consideration.