Marketing Bellevile

"Belleville is a small town in North Eastern Ontario. It is nothing more then a 'gateway' town; the place that one is born but not expected to live all their life because it has nothing to offer."- Urban Dictionary

This quote is a sad but true statement for Belleville. Our little city was once a safe and beautiful place to live with minor incidences of crime here and there, but now it's on the map and known for drugs and murder. The question in mind now for PR professionals is "How do you market Belleville to attract businesses and residences?". The solution is destination branding and it will take a lot of work to repair the negative reputation Belleville currently holds.

Belleville is my home town so seeing it in such rough shape and hearing what people say about it gives me a sense of sadness. I grew up here and am sad to say that I too have had the desire to want to leave because I felt that Belleville had nothing to offer me anymore; I was wrong. Belleville has started taking steps towards rebranding itself into "The Friendly City". After visiting Peterborough and Kingston, I must say people here are far more polite and nicer than in the larger cities.

To start the rebranding process, Belleville has updated it's city logo and made all the affiliated images and/or sayings more appealing. The city's website has undertaken a far more modern and professional look while making it easier for tourists to navigate. Over the past few years Belleville has started updating points of the city such as The Quinte Wellness Centre and the Court House. The specific team that is running the remodelling of Belleville is slowly but surely making a difference. They are using social media to keep locals up to date and to reach out to prospecting visitors or businesses looking into the area. By updating the technology used to advertise Belleville and convey information, the project to rebrand Belleville is successfully underway and I hope to spot the progression over time.

http://www.belleville.ca/