Huntersville consultants present 'Thrive Here' town-branding proposal after multi-month outreach

Consultants from Haven Creative presented a proposed town brand and marketing identity for Huntersville during a pre-meeting presentation to the town council and staff. The package includes a brand story, three brand pillars (Connection, Quality of Life, Future), a marketing logo using the existing town mark, and a tagline presented as “Thrive Here.”

The consultants said the branding work grew from roughly four to six months of outreach that included three surveys (12 town staff respondents, 19 community leaders and 381 community members), a panel of 19 interviewees, one-on-one conversations and a community activation booth at Halloween in Huntersville attended by about 250 people. Consultant Ian Redmond, Haven Creative’s strategy director, said the top words residents associated with Huntersville were traffic, family and home, and that parks, recreation and the greenway network were frequently cited as local assets.

Redmond summarized the brand story the firm drafted: “The promise of Huntersville is best told by the people who call it home.” He said the work is intended to clarify the town’s public messaging for residents, businesses and prospective visitors, and to give town staff a working guide for communications and implementation.

Gemma Pisano, Haven’s creative design manager, reviewed visual elements. She said the project keeps the existing official Huntersville logo for government purposes and adds a marketing logo that pairs the mark with the new tagline for tourism, social media and promotional uses. The consultants also proposed an expanded color palette that draws on local references such as the caboose in Veterans Park and the town’s established dark green, plus guidance on when to use the town versus marketing logos.

For implementation, Haven said it will deliver a comprehensive brand report and a brand book with usage guidelines, a one-year launch plan and templates for town staff (15 branded templates were mentioned). Consultants described an upcoming two-day branded video shoot with a vetted external partner; additional editing and revisions would follow before handoff to town staff.

During a brief public Q&A, one attendee praised the team’s community engagement and noted personal stories tied to quality-of-life findings. A council member asked whether municipalities typically adopt branding the same night it is presented; Redmond replied, “in almost every case that we've done branding like this, we have presented and then it's been voted on that same night,” and added the consultants believed they had already completed substantial community engagement. The presentation excerpt contains no record of a council vote or formal adoption.

If the council approves the brand in a subsequent agenda item, the consultants recommended that elected officials act as “brand champions” to help staff and the community share the new narrative. The consultants said the brand pillars can be used as a decision filter for future proposals and events (for example, whether a proposed project advances the town’s stated quality-of-life or future pillars).

Background and next steps in the consultants’ timeline included finalizing the brand report, producing deliverables for communications staff, completing the video shoot and then transferring assets to town staff for launch and ongoing use. The presentation emphasized that the new materials are meant to be practical tools for communication, marketing and modest implementation work rather than changes to town ordinances or building codes.