Utah County's new slogan is 'Bringing Everyone Together'

LEHI — Joel Racker believes Utah County is an adventure, but he's not sure that's what visitors want.

For the past seven years, Racker and others working at the Utah Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau have been marketing Utah County with the slogan, "Adventure Awaits."

But now, after a year and a half of research and more than 600 interviews, the bureau has a new slogan for the state's second-largest county — "Utah County: Bringing Everyone Together."

" 'Adventure Awaits' was a little too narrow," said Racker, the bureau's president and chief executive.

Utah County may be adventurous, but it's hard to compete with other nearby outdoor-enthusiast areas such as Zions and Moab or even neighboring states such as Colorado.

" 'Bringing Everyone Together' is much more broad and can appeal to a much larger base," Racker said.

During the surveys of out-of-state visitors staying in the county, Racker and his team were surprised to learn that only 18 percent of visitors participated in some type of outdoor recreation. The vast majority said they visited family or friends.

While some people came for the golfing, skiing, rock climbing or fishing, most said they liked the nice people, family-friendly activities and nostalgia of living or going to school in the area.

"The problem with Utah County is the same problem as the state of Utah," said Leigh von der Esch, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism and Film. "You have an abundance of riches, so how do you narrow the field?"

After all the research, Racker and his team decided to narrow — or broaden — to a family and friends angle. Utah County may have great outdoor recreation, but it's an even better place for family reunions or meeting up with old friends.

"It sounds cheesy reading over (what people liked in Utah County)," Racker said, "but these were consistent responses we got."

Von der Esch said the new brand was a good move for Utah County and really plays to some of the area's strengths.

"Other counties have slogans or brands," she said, "but they're going to own this in Utah County, and it's going to help them in attracting people from up and down the state and across the country."

The Utah Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau will start pitching its new identity to conventions, companies and travel magazines, hoping to attract visitors. Meanwhile, Von der Esch joked that Utah County is not bringing everyone together in every case.

"Doggone it, Georgia, for taking the remake of 'Footloose,' " she said. "That movie belongs to this county."

e-mail: ashaha@desnews.com