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July 25, 2012
Terrebonne Parish stakeholders on Thursday unveiled the parish’s new brand, a silhouetted man paddling a pirogue ahead of the setting sun atop words that read “Louisiana’s Bayou Country.”
A branding committee led by Lafayette-based Graham Group started working aggressively toward the product early this year through interviews, focus groups and surveys of business leaders and parish residents. The result was derived from this research and drew full committee support, according to one of its members.
“Terrebonne Parish provides rich and fulfilling experiences for visitors, investors, businesses and residents,” Parish President Michel Claudet said. “The beauty, vitality and energy of this region offer those who live, work and play and invest here a bounty of rewards. Our bayou is a part of what we are, it is in our DNA, it is the focal point of our communities, the source of great beauty and the witness of deep history.”
Stakeholders hope the “Bayou Country” moniker will resonate with potential and past tourists while accurately reflecting the parish’s lifestyle and characteristics.
“If you played a game with somebody, you probably couldn’t go a day without saying bayou at all,” said Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center Director Janel Ricca. “I bet you probably every one of us in the course of a whole day has probably said ‘bayou’ at least once.
“Whether it’s ‘We’re going to Bayou Blue,’ whether it’s ‘Oh, it’s up the bayou’ or ‘down the bayou,’ it’s everywhere. It’s transportation, it’s our culture, it’s recreation – it encompasses our whole lifestyle.”
The bi-colored design is a combination of yellow-orange and “opaque couché,” an earthy shade of blue. The first “S” in Louisiana closely resembles a fishing hook in the brush-like font.
Graham Group interviewed business and community leaders, facilitated the focus groups and interviewed parish customers and partners, said Sharon Alford, administrator of the Houma-Terrebonne Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Bayou Country was a recurring theme to come out of the research, not a preconceived idea tested among stakeholders.
“A community brand represents the essence of a community,” Alford said. “It’s how a community sees itself, and it also delivers the actual and true experience a visitor is going to have when they come to our area. Those visitors may be prospective business clients, they may be conventioneers and they may be friends and relatives who come to visit you.”
After the 10-minute ceremony in the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum parking lot concluded, Cajun Sunrise began playing music from the museum’s porch. Attendees then matriculated inside to socialize, view a PowerPoint presentation, eat a brand-themed cake and enjoy other refreshments.
The revelation was the culmination of about a months-long process funded with Louisiana Office of Tourism BP tourism recovery dollars stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.
The parish budgeted $80,000 for the branding initiative, all of which will be funded with the earmarked money. The exact cost is not yet known because the parish is still waiting on invoices to come in.
The announcement does not end the process. Parish stakeholders will now work to integrate the logo and wording into advertisements, tourism pamphlets, street signs and any other media that can serve as a glimpse of the parish.
Flag-style signs pointing out the direction of the Waterlife Museum, parish courthouse, civic center and other landmarks will be posted in downtown Houma, maybe as soon as next spring.
Stakeholders handed out a media packet containing 39 images that will be used in various advertisements. The images include seafood, swamp tours, an aerial shot of a bayou and various museums and restaurants in addition to other Terrebonne features.
The brand’s utility will differ greatly from Lafourche Parish’s “Dig In” campaign, which leans heavily toward advertising. Dig In, managed by W.L. Gaiennie Co., has commissioned feature writers, constructed billboards, posted daily events throughout the parish and launched social media presences.
Claudet referenced the “Five Fingers of Terrebonne” (bayous Dularge, Grand Caillou, Noir, Petit Caillou and Terrebonne) as a source of the brand.
“I’m hoping that in the future, we’ll be able to go ahead and really distinguish Terrebonne Parish from other communities,” Claudet said. “I can name here, probably, 30 bayous. … I just think that bayou connotes a whole lot of things throughout the parish – serenity, beauty, south Louisiana and things like that.”
Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet unveils the parish’s new brand at a ceremony last week. Bearing the moniker “Louisiana’s Bayou Country,” Terrebonne Parish is represented by a man paddling a pirogue ahead of a setting sun.
