Mount Pleasant named ‘All-America City’

Post & Courier Staff report

Mount Pleasant has joined other South Carolina towns as an “All-America City.”

The National Civic League on Friday announced winners of its 61st annual All-America City awards. Mount Pleasant was one of 10 cities honored for 2010, taking its place among other honorees including Acworth, Ga.; Gastonia, N.C.; and North Miami, Fla.

Town officials in April announced plans to send a delegation to Kansas City to compete for the honor, which they said could be used as a marketing tool.

“It’s a big deal,” Deputy Town Administrator Eric DeMoura said then. “It’s one of the most prestigious awards.”

The award recognizes places, cities and towns for outstanding civic accomplishments. To win, National Civic League officials said, “communities have to demonstrate an ability to address serious challenges with innovative, grassroot strategies that promote civic engagement and cooperation between the public, private and nonprofit sector.”

“These All-America Cities represent what is working in American communities,” said Gloria Rubio Cortes, president of the National Civic League. “They are taking on challenging issues and finding innovative ways of creating a better future.”

Charleston won the award in 1977-78. Other past South Carolina winners include Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Hartsville, Aiken, as well as Anderson, Orangeburg, Georgetown and Richland counties.

Mount Pleasant is One of the Best Places to Live!

Marketing Initiative Debuts

Mount Pleasant aims to draw young families
BY PRENTISS FINDLAY
The Post and Courier
Thursday, May 27, 2010

MOUNT PLEASANT — Town Council approved a new strategic marketing initiative Wednesday night aimed at getting 25- to 49-year-olds to move here.

More young adults with families are needed because, without them, 41 percent of the town will be people over age 55 by the year 2025, Town Administrator Mac Burdette said.

“A healthy community is a diverse community. We’re going to need to recruit young folks in order to remain diverse,” Burdette said.

As part of the marketing plan, council approved a new town logo. The old one, which has represented the town for decades, is an oak tree with the Latin phrase “Cresco,” which means “We grow.” The new logo shows the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge towers and features the slogan “Come On Over.”

Council voted 8-0 in favor of the plan, which was the result of a $100,000 study researched and created by Gil Shuler Graphic Design, Blue Ion, Foster Associates Marketing Group and The McNair Group.

“We don’t need to change a whole lot about Mount Pleasant. But we need a new face-lift,” Mayor Billy Swails said.

Now that a plan has been developed, the hard work of implementing it begins, Burdette said. One goal is to build a new business-friendly Town Hall image. “We’re going to take this thing and run with it. That’s our job,” he said.

The town hopes to reach 60 million people annually with its message and achieve a minimum 1 percent growth within the next year in leading economic indicators that relate to residents, businesses and tourism.

“Recent studies … have shown an aging population trend and potential for a static tax base,” the study says.

Town positives include its safe and pleasant neighborhoods, friendly people and natural beauty. It is close to beaches and downtown Charleston and has quality schools. Negatives include traffic congestion, a high cost of living, a perception that Town Hall is unfriendly to business owners and a lack of cultural diversity.

Commercial real estate agents interviewed for the study cited difficulty in doing business with Town Hall. The cost of developer impact fees was another key item they would like to change to make Mount Pleasant more attractive to their commercial clients.

Residential real estate agents told researchers they feel that families with school-age children are the type of client most likely to choose Mount Pleasant. The real estate agents also reported that most of their clients, 74 percent, relocated to Mount Pleasant from out of state, most frequently the Northeast, Ohio, North Carolina and Georgia.

Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.

Telling Our Story

Tell us what you think of Mount Pleasant’s new Strategic Marketing Initiative, which was launched yesterday with unanimous Town Council approval at Waterfront Park.

The project includes a robust market research effort that gives direction and inspiration to the marketing program. A comprehensive Strategic Marketing Plan for the town includes internal training, alliance building, paid advertising recommendations, public relations and events, a digital media plan and web enhancements, plus evaluation and return on investment criteria used to judge the plan’s effectiveness.

Simply put, this initiative is about telling Mount Pleasant’s story in unique and compelling ways.

Take a look at the “Brand Story” video posted here.

Tell us what you think and please share other ideas for the Town.

Strategic Marketing Initiative Presentation

Town of Mount Pleasant Identity

Town of Mount Pleasant Story

Mount Pleasant Rocks in Readers’ Poll

Readers of The Charleston City Paper have given top rankings to dozens of Mount Pleasant businesses, parks and places in its current Readers’ Poll issue.

Where’s the best place to live in the Lowcountry? Mount Pleasant of course. It’s ranked as the Best Suburb in the region. Plus, the Town’s new Memorial Waterfront Park took top honors as the Best New Thing and Wando High School was voted Best Public School.

Click the link below and find kudos to more than 40 Mount Pleasant businesses and places.

http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com

Mount Pleasant Attractions Lead Examples of Regional Tourism

The Post and Courier, Your Lowcountry, Jan. 28, 2010

More than 4 million tourists come to Charleston each year. Many of them also cross the Cooper River to see Patriots Point and Boone Hall Plantation, and the Ashley River to see the gardens.

But why don’t more of these visitors, and their money, also head up the road to places such as historic downtown Summerville, Cypress Gardens in Berkeley County or downtown Georgetown?

Lowcountry attractions, hotels and restaurants must do a better job of referring their guests to the region’s other historic and beautiful sites, said Robert Cleverdon, a consultant hired by the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

Cleverdon, international projects director for Tourism Development International, was hired to draw more tourists to the Palmetto State and get them to enjoy more places while they are here.

Though tourism is already a major industry in South Carolina, it can do much more to bring in revenue, grow communities and create jobs, Cleverdon said.

While the state has no ‘natural lead destination,’ it offers unique regions people want to visit, he said. Each region can be further developed, and for the Lowcountry, that includes mining the potential of the planned Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and S.C. National Heritage Corridor, he said. ‘There are no rigid formulas; you work with what you’ve got,’ he advised.

Cleverdon identified the Lowcountry region as Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Georgetown counties, and said among its untapped potentials are the new Sweetgrass Basket Pavilion in Mount Pleasant and the Old St. Andrew’s Parish Church in West Ashley.

Cleverdon has been playing tourist himself locally, assessing the region’s assets and meeting attraction promoters and local officials, as well as seeking ideas for making the region a better draw.

He recently held public meetings, gathering input and sharing his vision.

Increased cooperation among attractions is vital to boosting tourism efforts, Cleverdon said. Visitors to any one site must be provided information and encouragement to see other sites in the region while they are here.

‘Without it, you will not realize your full potential,’ he said.

Perrin Lawson, deputy director of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the bureau has long advocated such cooperation, and added it is coming about. Local attractions ‘generally understand there is an advantage in working together,’ Lawson said. ‘They do so based on compatible interests or compatible geography.’

Lawson said he’s seen a growth in combination passes issued by local attractions, and an example is the Heritage Passport being sold at the Charleston Visitor Center.

The passport combines passes to nine historic sites, letting visitors see two plantations, two museums and five historic sites for one discounted price, he said.

Rick Benthal, director of mar

keting at Boone Hall Plantation, said the plantation benefits from the referral efforts of downtown Charleston attractions, and vice versa. He said he is asked often about what to see other than the plantation, and, based on Cleverdon’s suggestions, will include downtown Summerville and Cypress Gardens in his referrals. ‘We’re all in this together, and it’s better for everyone’s well-being to help each other,’ Benthal said.

Benthal said Boone Hall has boosted its attendance in the past two years by working closely with the state’s visitor centers. The centers are kept informed of the schedule of events at the plantation and are provided the latest in plantation brochures, he said.

A new visitor center on Interstate 26, on the outskirts of the tri-county area, might be a good way to promote tourism in the region, Benthal said.

Ashley McKenzie, community development and tourism director for Mount Pleasant, said it’s important that area attractions work to promote each other. She said she met with PRT’s consultants recently and toured East Cooper sites with them.

She welcomes the state’s efforts to further develop tourism. ‘Tourism is a significant revenue source for us, and we want to maintain it at that strong level,’ she added.

See www.charleston.com, www.sc-heritagecorridor.org andwww.discoversouthcarolina.com.

Realtors – We’d Like To Hear Your Experiences!

We are looking at real estate purchase patterns and client decision-making in our tri-county area, and Realtor insights are very valuable. The online surveys we’ve set up for Realtors are brief and should only take 5 to 8 minutes to complete. We value your perspectives, and the results will be shared back with the Charleston Trident Association or Realtors in March. This survey is being conducted by an independent research firm for the Town of Mount Pleasant. All input is 100% confidential, and no individual survey information will be shared.

Thank you for your time, input, and support in forwarding this site information to other realtors in your organization. We truly appreciate everyone’s participation! Gathering the information will help the Town of Mount Pleasant ensure the current and future quality of life and work in Mount Pleasant.

“The Apprentice” Gets Real for Wando Students

Several Wando High School students are getting a dose of “research reality” as official apprentices on The Town of Mount Pleasant’s Strategic Marketing Initiative.

Wando’s student chapter of the international professional marketing business organization known as DECA (Delta Epsilon Chi) are now official partners with the Town’s marketing initiative. Wando’s Principal Lucy Beckham has approved the group’s involvement and teacher Kirk Beilke is DECA’s advisor at the school.

The students will be involved in survey collection, data tabulation and other processes. David McNair of The McNair Group in Mount Pleasant is leading the town’s research program and is working closely with the Wando group. McNair said the program is giving students an inside look at how market research impacts marketing program planning, design, creative processes and consumer behavior change.

Students may also end with with research of their own as they write papers on the project.

It’s Resolution Week

We’ll say goodbye to 2009 and the decade of the O-Somethings in just a few days.

Time to start making the resolution list. We suggest keeping things simple and achievable. Here are a few ideas from local Mount Pleasant folks:

* Take the kids fishing at the trolley bridge.

* Invite a friend to lunch at least once a week at the Waterfront Park.

* Start training now for the springtime Cooper River Bridge Run.

* Stop drinking bottled water; Mount Pleasant has the best tasting water found anywhere and costs 1,000-times less than bottled brands.

* Learn to fly-fish.

* Keep a bike at work and enjoy a 30-minute ride a few times each week.

* Volunteer for East Cooper Community Outreach.

* Coach a youth sports team at the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department.

Please share your resolutions here too.