Consultant presents Brentwood communications audit, recommends brand guidelines and targeted outreach; committee gives logo feedback

Matt Whittern, consultant with Raftelis, presented the results of a communications assessment and the draft strategic communications plan to the Communications Committee on June 17. He said the firm conducted stakeholder interviews, benchmarking with similarly sized municipalities and a brand audit and recommended a style guide, targeted outreach for changing demographics and modest digital adjustments.

"Many of our clients where we do services like these, we come in and it is, it is an effort to get to a place where we feel like they're doing a good job," Whittern said, adding that Raftelis found Brentwood staff already produce strong work and the plan aims to move the city "from good to great." The plan recommends a style guide, clearer priorities for what to communicate, writing at lower reading levels for accessibility, and guidance on when to use outside consultants for crises, websites, video production and other specialized tasks.

Raftelis also presented three initial logo concepts developed after a January branding workshop and stakeholder interviews. David George, creative director at Raftelis, described options that ranged from a stylized "B" with a Missouri outline to a more illustrative mark showing homes, trees and a nod to the existing logo's overlapping letter treatment. The consultants proposed a condensed typeface to address the long city name and color palettes that nod to the current green but modernize the look.

Committee discussion centered on usability in digital and social formats, distinctiveness, and local visual cues to include. Several committee members recommended exploring icons that reference Brentwoods wooded parks and the local creek/watershed, and urged the team to produce a square/stacked version usable as a social media avatar. Rod Wright and other members said they preferred concepts that could be distinctive rather than generic; another member cautioned that a sunburst icon could read like retail brands and suggested avoiding yellow if that design is retained.

Whittern and George said they will return with revisions. Bola (Staff member) reported a remaining balance of about $19,000 from a $66,000 budget for the project and said the committee should decide whether further exploration requires a change order. "If it does require funding, we'll bring it back," Bola said. The committee asked the consultants to provide more reference logos, a mood board of preferred design signals and any additional mockups that better reflect Brentwoods natural assets and role as a county hub.