Some pretty, great state slogan ideas

From touting its inspirational magnificence to its status as "not Las Vegas," a few people gathering in Salt Lake City Monday had divergent notions about how to brand Utah to out-of-state tourists.

About 70 people attended Monday's "branding" meeting — one of several scheduled throughout the state by the Office of Tourism — at the Salt Palace and proffered ideas for a tourism slogan.

Some promoted Utah's grandeur: "Outdoors and So Much More." "It's the West." "Where Magnificence Surrounds You."

Others aimed at derailing misperceptions or played on humor: "Less Weird Than You've Heard." "It's Not What You Think." "What Happens Here Doesn't Have to Stay Here."

"We hope at the end of the day that we can not just brand the state but differentiate ourselves from certainly the surrounding area and other states," said Leigh von der Esch, managing director of the tourism office.

The state has allocated $10 million for the current fiscal year to promote Utah to outsiders. The tourism office and Salt Lake agency W Communications are working on the branding strategy that will be unveiled in November.

"I think the thing that happens is people tend to think of their state for its essence and then try to put the words around it, and then, as you could see in the room, then they start to get excited," von der Esch said. "It's something that states are doing all the time, and there's an evolution. Some are changing all the time, but it's too expensive. We've got to grab it and hold onto it and make it something that speaks to us and resonates for everybody."

Input from people throughout the state will be used to develop the strategy. Branding meetings already have taken place in Vernal, Ogden and Logan.

"It's beneficial because the tourism office doesn't want to operate in a silo," von der Esch said. "We've been entrusted with a lot of money from the state, which comes from all the taxpayers, and we have a lot of different partners marketing a lot of different products, and as a result, we want to make certain we hear from them."

Other branding meetings are:

• Today: Health and Justice Building, 151 S. University Ave., Provo, 9 a.m., and Hotel Park City, 2001 Park Ave., Park City, 1:30 p.m.

• Thursday: Richfield, Sevier County Administration Building, 250 N. Main, 1 p.m.

• Friday: Price City Hall, Room 207, 185 Main St., Price, 8:30 a.m., and Moab Valley Inn, 711 S. Main, Moab, 1:30 p.m.

• Sept. 22: Heritage Center Festival Hall, Room 1, 105 N. 100 East, Cedar City, 1 p.m.

• Sept. 23: Dixie Center, Museum Auditorium, St. George, 9 a.m., and Kanab, location to be determined, 2 p.m.

Ideas may also be submitted online at travel.utah.gov. More information is available by calling the tourism office at 801-538-1900.

---

E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com