What does North Carolina mean to you?
A new project to officially brand North Carolina is asking residents that question as it seeks to define the state.
The N.C. Department of Commerce is partnering with UNC’s Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise in the Brand N.C. Project.
David Rhoades, director of marketing for the department, said the project targets a wide range of audiences, including college students in the UNC system.
“The Brand N.C. Project is trying to engage the university community, particularly the 16-campus university community but also citizens statewide, to provide us their perspective and their input on what they think makes North Carolina, North Carolina,” he said.
Rhoades said the brand will hopefully be used to market the state.
While North Carolina has been associated with branding in the past, Rhoades said that based on his research, he thinks the project might result in the state’s first official brand.
Nicholas Didow, a professor at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School who is working on the project, said five UNC graduate students and 17 undergraduates are involved with the effort after the commerce department contacted UNC for assistance.
“We have gladly partnered with N.C. Commerce to help compile basic research findings, core concepts and examples of creative expression for the statewide brand,” he said.