The Newport and Bristol County Convention & Visitors Bureau will now conduct business as “Discover Newport” with the tagline, “Nine Coastal Towns, One Big Experience.”
“There have been more than 200 destination marketing organizations nationwide that have moved beyond the cumbersome ‘convention and visitor bureau’ moniker to embrace a more accurate, user-friendly name that better reflects the destination and the visitor experience there,” says Discover Newport President & CEO Evan Smith.
The process began last summer when Discover Newport appointed Robert J. Leaver, principal of New Commons, a consultancy think tank based in Pawtucket, to undertake a study to consider a new name and tagline. Leaver facilitated a stakeholder engagement process to evaluate external views which included representatives from all facets of Newport and Bristol County’s travel and hospitality community. In addition, he moderated the conversation among Discover Newport’s 18-member board to best extract the key goals of the organization. After much review, “Discover Newport: Nine Coastal Towns, One Big Experience” was ratified at the August 2011 board meeting.
“The process worked. We evaluated input, logically debated the research and discussed many options,” says Smith. “I am really excited about the name and about what it does to reflect our identity. It brought us together both as an organization and industry, and the name we felt worked with all of our stakeholders. ‘Discover Newport: Nine Coastal Towns, One Big Experience,’ is a proactive call to action that conveys positive thoughts about our destination. ”
Discover Newport turned to Newport’s own Lakuna Design, a graphic design studio founded by Misi and Dave Narcizo, to create the visual identity that will be used in marketing efforts and branding materials including but not limited to media placements, collateral for the leisure and corporate meetings markets, the GoNewport.com website and social media networks.
“The new name and new look opens a new chapter for Discover Newport,” says Smith, “but our mission remains the same. We’re committed to promoting Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth, Jamestown, Tiverton, Little Compton, Bristol, Barrington and Warren because all nine towns have something extraordinary to offer travelers.”
