By Brian L. Gray

The voting was not met with unanimous approval, but local government entities have agreed to help pay for a new marketing strategy for the city of Mandan.

The Mandan Park Board, school board and city commission have all agreed to pay a portion of the marketing plan behind the city’s new slogan, “Made in Mandan.”

Last Tuesday the city commission agreed to pay for $8,000 of the anticipated $45,044 costs of the marketing strategy, which was created by the Leadership, Pride and Image Committee. This action followed two previous approvals from both the park and school districts, who agreed to pay for 10 percent of the plan, for a total of $4,500 each. The remainder of the funds plan to be acquired through grants and the private sector.

Business Development Director Ellen Huber, who acts as a liaison between the Leadership, Pride and Image Committee and the city, said although the $42,500 price tag is the committee’s expected minimum, the spending connected to the marketing plan will be frugal. She said the question of implementing the slogan comes down to one simple question – “Do you think Mandan has an image problem?” And if the answer is yes, then should we try a marketing plan that will work to change that,” she said.

The committee, which was formed from the Mandan Tomorrow plan, originally asked the commission to cover 25 percent of the costs, at $11,250. Commissioner Dennis Rohr was the only city commissioner that voted against the approved $8,000 plan. He said he spoke with a number of Mandan residents, many who were not in favor of the proposed slogan.

Rohr said while slogans are helpful to spread a specific message, they do not encapsulate what a community represents. “Many of the people do not have a confident view of the logo or are in favor of it… trademarks are beneficial, but not necessary. I’m no stranger to marketing, and I think in most cases logos reflect what they (citizens) are, but they don’t reflect who they are,” he said.

Rohr said he takes a practical approach to issues, and asked what visible differences this logo would do for Mandan.

Commissioner Dot Frank said she had constructed a survey, which yielded opposite results from Rohr’s feedback. She said the majority of the respondents were in favor of the marketing theme. “I think this is an opportunity for the residents, to give them a reputation that they can live up to… the whole of the community is understanding that this is an opportunity to pull together the separate entities in Mandan,” she said.

Commissioner Sandi Tibke, who was present at the meeting via conference call, said there is a chance the marketing plan could help boost Mandan’s economy. “A lot of work was done to build this theme without doing away with our existing theme,” she said, adding that the town she was calling from, Madison, Wisc., was using a similar citywide logo, which has helped to boost sales of locally made products in the town.

Commissioner Thomas Jackson said he was torn between both sides of the issue, pointing out that most of the feedback he has heard was not in favor of the new slogan. “How do I balance all the negative comments against all the work that has been done?” Jackson asked. “We have to give this marketing plan a chance, and that’s how I feel.”

The city commission agreed to scale back the amount it was being asked by the committee, in order to see how it develops in the future. The majority of the funds will come from the city’s 2011 budget.

Mayor Tim Helbling said that after hearing both sides of the issue, “I look back to some of the things in the past that people were against, like the settlement with Burlington Northern. But if the leadership at the time hadn’t taken some bold steps, I don’t think Mandan would be in the shape it is in today. If you drive by Mandan today, it’s a much better place than it was 10 years ago,” he said.

The school board, in a split decision, voted to approve 10 percent of the costs. Board members LuAnn Nider and Lee Fleischer voted against the motion.

Fleischer said the board should receive input from the finance committee before the plan is approved. “That’s the reason we have these committees, and I believe we should put them to use,” he said.

Superintendent Wilfred Volesky said when the city started the Mandan Tomorrow plan, there was talk that the city needed to change its image. “I think that has gotten better, but I don’t think that implementation is over,” he said.

He added that if the marketing plan attracts one student into the school district, the district will have almost earned its investment, citing that the district receives $3,700 from the state for each student.

The “Made in Mandan” marketing campaign is scheduled to begin on Oct. 1, and the majority of the projects promoting the slogan will take place in 2011.