A community’s brand identity, like Virginia’s Blue Ridge or RVA, can often be a key marketing tool to attract visitors, businesses and new residents.
That’s why a rebranding effort is being considered in Hampton Roads.
Back in the 1980s, people in Tidewater decided that they no longer wanted to be called Tidewater. It was a name that conjured images of mud flats or parochialism. And so there was an effort to rebrand the region using another name evoking the maritime history of the area: Hampton Roads. Now people are rethinking that. Should it be called Coastal Virginia? What about 757, the region’s area code?
"757, there’s a culture that goes with that,” says Delegate Cia Price. She represents Hampton and Newport News. "And there’s this energy and pride. But it also comes from this sense sometimes of communities that don’t generally get the best reputation because of issues they may be facing.”
Rachel Bitecofer at Christopher Newport University says rebranding Hampton Roads to 757 reminds her of the campaign to call Richmond RVA. “RVA has been a very effective branding effort by Richmond, and that is very similar to 757 and it’s about trying to reach out and be more attractive to millennials.”
Next week, a task force looking at how the region is branded is expected to outline findings that might end up reimagining how people think about and talk about the region.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
