The new logo— stage two

Now that the County has settled on a new logo, stage two of the branding exercise can begin in earnest— unless, that is, the Fruit of the Loom underwear people seek an injunction to prevent it. Stage two, of course, is the introduction of County-branded products.

Barring legal catastrophe, we will soon be inundated with key rings, tshirts, hats, beach balls and postcards, all showing off our distinctive new logo featuring sand, water, grapes, a barn and a silo. But some products are proving a little harder to nail down.

Take wine, for example. At last count, there were 35 members of the Prince Edward CountyWine Growers Association. This has given rise to complaints that there are too many wineries for people to keep track of. “How am I supposed to show all my friends what County wine tastes like?” sighs a visitor, “I can’t afford to buy 35 bottles of the darn stuff!”

One solution now in the works is to develop a blend of all 35 wines, to serve as a single, representative homogeneous product. In the works, because the technical challenge is significant, “To begin with,” says a County staffer, who asked to remain anonymous, “we’ve got some whites and some reds, some dry and some less dry, as well as cider, beer and liquor. It’s tough to come up with a single blend that is palatable.”

Palatability will be tested by a panel established by the highly visible and well respected Priority, Planning, Development, Growth and Policy Procedures task force. That task force reports to the Economic Development Commission, which in turn re ports to County council. “With any luck,” says our source, “we’ll be ready to go with a recommendation to council in April, 2016. I anticipate that council will really want to get its feet wet on that one. They know they can’t afford to make the wrong decision or to dilly dally.”

One difficulty with the blended, County-branded wine is the price point. “We are seriously considering a vin ordinaire and a vin superieur approach,” says our source. We’re thinking of Chateau Murray Canal for the lower price point, and County Cellar Reserve Cachet for the upmarket stuff. Although, frankly, by the time people are halfway through an all-day wine tasting, I’m not sure any of them could tell the difference. We might just make the one blend and put it in two different bottles, to lower costs.”

Another County product that staff hope to bring off the drawing board shortly is a County scent. The challenge, of course, is to come up with a blend that is both representative and evocative. “Grapes, sand and water we can do somehow,” says our source. “It’s when you have to come up with a pleasant smelling scent that evokes the barn and the silo that things get a little tricky. Perhaps we can combine it with a mosquito repellent.” County staff hope, however, that the scent can be marketed as “Eaud’OutletBeach” in the not too distant future. The perfume will be packaged in a distinctive and stylish sandbucket- like container. “Perfume—with or without mosquito repellent—is a very high-margin commodity, so it’s worth throwing a few million into this thing, whether or not it takes off,” says our source, confidently. A men’s after-shave scent is also in the works. Our source would not confirm details, but did nod with approval indicating we were on right track when we suggested it could be a Barley Days scent, with a predominant odour of hops, in a County branded beer bottle shape.

And finally, a County-branded product seemingly stuck on the drawing board is the tattoo. “Don’t think we haven’t noticed how popular the ‘sleeve’ is becoming,” says our source. “We’d love to find a way to get on teeenagers’ arms, but the liability issue is holding us back. We don’t wan’t to be on the hook if someone gets a lousy job done or if we change the logo before the tattoo fades. We might have to try getting at that market with County-branded flip-flops instead. After all, flip-flops are what County council does so well.”

With so much revenue potentially at stake, it’s gratifying to hear that County staff are, in fact, sweating the small stuff to get it right. Who knew that stage two would prove to be a challenge that would bring out the best from those involved? What exciting times we live in.

dsimmonds@wellingtontimes.ca