New Boston Creative Group

What We Did

This branding and community-engagement campaign energized residents of Newton, Kansas, and inspired them to participate in a comprehensive planning process designed to outline a vision for the community’s growth over the next two decades.

Building upon the city’s use of PMS 144 (orange) and a clever name (Re-NEW-ton), The ReNewton Project caught a lot of eyes and motivated more than a thousand people to participate in the process. (Never underestimate the power of a good pun, people.)

The campaign was designed to drive people to a website, where they were asked to become a member of the project. Once registered, participants could respond to online polls and continue discussion outside official public meetings. The registration process also allowed us to track demographic information about participants, giving us additional insight as to who was and was not involved in the process.

At the end of the project, a ReNewton 2030 website and magazine were produced for local residents to overview the comprehensive plan and its vision for the community. The website included video interviews of people involved with the project explaining why the plan is important for Newton’s future.

Results

Between February 2010 and February 2011, more than 1,600 citizens took part in public meetings, focus groups, surveys, and open houses to discuss their vision for Newton’s future with the project team. Anecdotal feedback found that the catchy name and bold design got new people in the room who might have otherwise pooh-poohed the idea of attending a public input session.