451 Marketing Expertise Used to Advise Officials on Route 3 Branding Project

Golann, David (August 13, 2008) "Communities along Route 3 look to promote area." Westford Eagle.

Phrases like Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley instantly call to mind images of advertising agencies and software companies now some area officials hope to bring the same name cache to Route 3.

If the publicity campaign picks up steam, the thoroughfare will soon represent a prosperous high-tech and biotech community. These towns hope to give Route 3 what advertisers call a brand: a consistent public image embodied in logos, slogans and other communications.

"It's really a marketing tool and part of an effort on the part of the state and communities to capitalize on the recent improvements to the route," said Beverly Woods, executive director of the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments. "They want to make the area attractive so companies will come and relocate."

Representatives from Burlington, Bedford, Billerica, Chelmsford, Lowell and the state of Massachusetts met several times recently to begin talks on the campaign. The formal discussion of branding began when the state invited marketing specialist A. J. Gerritson to present ideas at the most recent meeting.

"The core message has be relevant and reach out directly," said Gerritson. "We need to create some type of visual identity and a positioning statement, a short statement almost like a tagline."

According to Inbound Marketing Specialist Gerritson, these communities must find a succinct, powerful way to communicate their best qualities to curious companies. Many businesses want what Route 3 offers: good office buildings, nearby universities, broad highways and desirable bedroom communities, but they also desire less tangible things, he said.

"You have to find out what is important to these people," said Gerritson, owner of Boston Marketing Agency 451 Marketing. "Is it work-life balance? Is it to be in an area where they are surrounded by like-minded people? We do many focus groups about this."

Nearby Route 128 is one of the most successful examples of high-tech business branding, though it is often overshadowed by California's Silicon Valley. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy defines Route 128 as "a synonym for high technology."

According to Chelmsford Town Manager Paul Cohen, the Route 3 branding campaign will require a slightly different model.

"There is also Route 3 south of Boston and that is why we are trying to stay away from Route 3 as a name," said Cohen. "The first issue is trying to figure out what we would call the corridor."

Most people involved in the branding process believe traditional advertising will play a small role in spreading the campaign's message. Instead the campaign may use professional channels ranging from traditional trade shows to online videos and blogs.

Of course this campaign would not be possible if Route 3 hadn't improved substantially over the past decade. The state added an extra lane a few years ago, reducing the thoroughfare's once notorious traffic problems.

"Route 3 was improved in every fashion: capacity, safety, and interchanges," said Chelmsford Community Development Director Evan Belansky. "We basically brought it up to current interstate standards."

Despite improved financial and permitting incentives for companies, many communities are experiencing a downturn in business occupancy. Chelmsford now has about 650,000 square feet of vacant office space along Billerica Road and Apollo Drive, space that was largely filled only a few years ago.

These problems lend a sense of urgency to many involved in the branding process.

The campaign is still a fledging effort and lacks definition, but participants expect the group will start to generate more specific ideas in the fall.