Councillor Evans OBE (Leader of the Council) introduced the item and highlighted:

a)    Plymouth’s need to better market itself nationally and internationally;

b)    £4.4 billion investment and 25,000 new jobs over the next decade required a strong brand to attract talent;

c)    The need to brand Plymouth as a great place to live, work, visit and invest in;

d)    Research by Bloom consulting showed that perception affected 86% of willingness to live, work, visit or invest in a place, but that if a city improved perception by just one decimal point, it would equal a 15% increase in tourism, 21% increase in talent attraction and 17.5% increase in foreign direct investment;

e)    The extensive engagement process, including 2,000 hours of meetings with local communities, partners and organisations, 250 public responses, 100 UK-wide surveys, and 100 street conversations and workshops, resulting in overwhelmingly positive feedback;

f)     Research by PRD, commissioned by Destination Plymouth, found that the city had improved over the past 20 years, but perception lagged, and suggested ways in which the city could improve its perception, which would be taken forward in the branding work;

g)    The new strapline was “Make Life an Adventure,” supported by six key narratives;

h)    The launch of the promotional film, which received over 119,000 Facebook views and 3,200 LinkedIn views in its first week.

Councillor Laing (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Culture and Communications) added:

i)     Outlined the engagement process and listed key partners involved including: Princess Yachts, Babcock, The University of Plymouth, Arts University Plymouth, Marjon University, Plymouth City College, DBI, Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, Real Ideas Organisation, Plymouth Growth Board, Plymouth Manufacturing Group, Plymouth Culture, Plymouth Community Homes, Ocean Conservation Trust, Theatre Royal Plymouth, The Box, University Hospitals Plymouth, Plymouth Active and Plymouth Sound National Marine Park;

j)     The brand reflected Plymouth’s personality: bold, collaborative, and ambitious;

k)    The brand had received a positive response locally, nationally and internationally;

l)     The brand used a new visual approach, shaped by Plymouth’s place, between two national parks alongside a vivid colour palette to contrast against the natural tones of the city’s landscape, mirroring the city’s energy, whilst rooting it in the physical environment;

m)  A brand toolkit was available online for all to use;

n)    Funding had been provided through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund as well as business partners from across the city.

Amanda Lumley (Chief Executive of Destination Plymouth) added:

o)    It was important through research to understand why people choose to live and move to the city, to help inform the branding;

p)    Princess Yachts and Plymouth City Bus were already using the branding to support their work.

Supported by David Draffan (Service Director for Economic Development), in response to questions, the following was discussed:

q)    A webinar and outreach were planned to reach smaller businesses within the city;

r)    Concerns were raised about the logo design and public perception;

s)     DNCO, a global branding firm, led the design;

t)     The logo was one part of the brand;

u)    Praised the strapline but suggested future videos include local accents;

v)    Targeted campaigns were planned to reach individuals and businesses that were outside of engaged networks;

w)   Value for money in the branding process;

x)    The brand development group were involved in the procurement process to decide which company to work with on the branding;

y)    The artwork, sound and visuals had all been produced with companies from the South West;

z)    Disappointment that a Plymothian voice had not been used to narrate the video;

aa)  The next phase for Destination Plymouth was how to use and promote the brand;

bb) A negative post about the brand had received significantly less engagement than a positive one from the same news outlet;

cc)  25,000 jobs would be created in Plymouth from 2025-2035;

dd) Possibilities for future funding of the future work of Destination Plymouth;

ee) The toolkit link would be sent to Councillors ACTION;

ff)    The branding had been developed with partners, not just by the Council.

The Panel agreed to note the report.