Overview
The City of Isle of Palms brand refresh initiative is much more than creating a new logo. It is an opportunity to clearly define what makes the island special, protect the qualities its residents value, and ensure the City and its tourism partners are representing the Isle of Palms consistently and responsibly.
Blue Ridge Creative Marketing was selected from more than 30 agencies through a competitive process. Headquartered in Wilmington, NC, the firm brings destination branding experience and strong ties to the coastal Carolinas.
Most importantly, the City’s brand refresh will not be shaped by an agency alone. Community and stakeholder input are central to the process, with listening first as the priority – in order to understand what makes the Isle of Palms irreplaceable and build a brand that can serve the community for years to come.
Why does the Isle of Palms need a branding project?
This evolution of Isle of Palms’ brand identity is less about looking toward a different or accelerated future and more about creating a guardrail for preservation. It is about clearly defining what makes the island distinctive so that, as the Isle of Palms evolves, residents and visitors can sustainably coexist while the character and qualities the community values most remain protected.
This is bigger than a new logo
The brand refresh scope will examine how the Isle of Palms is perceived, what residents value most, what visitors return for, and how the City can communicate those qualities consistently for years to come. The goal is a brand system that preserves the character of the community while supporting sustainable, responsible tourism that respects both the island and the people who call it home.
Why Blue Ridge Creative Marketing
Blue Ridge Creative Marketing was selected through a competitive process from 30+ agencies worldwide. The team was chosen by City leadership for its approach to research, community engagement, branding and creative strategy, and long-term implementation as well as a commitment to understanding and genuinely caring about the people this work is meant to serve.
Blue Ridge Creative Marketing’s team has strong ties throughout the Carolinas. Several members of the project team also have longstanding personal familiarity with Isle of Palms and coastal communities. Blue Ridge’s Strategic Marketing Advisor was raised in Greenville, SC and has family throughout the Charleston area. Their Head of Brand Strategy & Messaging previously lived on Hilton Head Island, working as a lowcountry ecology naturalist and serving on the Town of Hilton Head’s Advisory Board as a representative of the environment for the development of the 2020-2040 Comprehensive Plan. This combination brings a lens that is both familiar and fresh – rooted in an understanding of the region while offering the outside perspective needed to see the Isle of Palms with clarity and intention.
Community input is a cornerstone of the process
The process is designed around the people who know the Isle of Palms best. Residents, City staff, elected officials, tourism partners, stakeholders, and visitors will help shape the research and direction, alongside input already gathered through the City’s Enrichment Plan surveys and current Civic Brand Refresh survey. Blue Ridge Creative Marketing’s approach is to listen first, then build on the priorities, perspectives, and experiences the community prioritizes.
Is this project solely about attracting more tourists to the Isle of Palms?
This scope of this work is about creating a clearer, more responsible approach to how the island is represented and experienced. Tourism is a large part of the Isle of Palms and thoughtful branding can help set expectations for how visitors engage with and respect the community. The joint initiative is to protect what residents value while supporting a sustainable relationship between the people who call the island home and those who come to experience it.