I was (and continue to be) a supporter of the idea of Brand Oregon long before Governor Ted Kulongoski promoted it as an official initiative last year (here is a cached version of a post I made in 2002 on the topic). The goals of Brand Oregon are to:
- create a set of branded messages with a unified look and feel that works for varied industries and state communications;
- to be in charge of our own story;
- to sell more Oregon products and create more business opportunities through branded marketing efforts; and
- to deploy a multi-faceted, long-lasting campaign and with staying power.
This initiative is one of the Governor’s top economic development priorities and also one of 12 key initiatives identified in the Oregon Business Plan adopted at the Oregon Business Summit last year.
But, alas, it doesn't look like it was so important to the Governor afterall. This week's Portland Business Journal is reporting that the initiative is without funding in the Governor's budget. The best sound bite?
"Regardless of whether there is an actual line item in his budget, the governor is very supportive of Brand Oregon," said MardiLyn Saathoff, business policy and economic development adviser to Kulongoski.
I sure hope so.
Learn more about Brand Oregon after the jump.
