'This is our springboard': Promotional video designed to market Richland County statewide
A promotional video unveiled for a live audience Tuesday is only one part of a marketing campaign designed to catapult Mansfield and Richland County into statewide prominence.
"This is our springboard," said Sandy Messner, director of marketing and communications for the Richland Area Chamber and Economic Development. "We're launching our brand into the world."
An audience of more than 50 county officials and businesspeople cheered after they watched the 2-minute, 22-second video, entitled "BrandRichland," during a screening at Theatre 166 in downtown Mansfield.
The video is a highlight reel featuring a collage of short clips collected from events, companies, organizations, landmarks and other noteworthy scenes that define the county's spirit.
"Mansfield and Richland County are in the midst of a resurgence," Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry said. "This video is going to help us tell the story of all the great things that are happening here."
'A long-term awareness campaign built with the community brand'
The marketing campaign is the fruit of a vision that's been growing over the past decade, according to Lee Tasseff, president and CEO of Destination Mansfield-Richland County.
"We hope this video presentation provides a glimpse at what can be created to promote our county," Tasseff said. "The beginning of developing a long-term awareness campaign built with the community brand."
Funding for the campaign came from Richland County, the city of Mansfield, Richland Area Chamber and Economic Development, Destination Mansfield-Richland County and the Richland County Foundation.
The partners used the help of a branding agency to form a marketing strategy. Smaller parts of that plan included the creation of t-shirts and handbags, but the key was outlining the story that defines Richland County.
"The brand story set the stage," Tasseff said. "One of the truisms of the industry is every community has to compete with every other community for its share of attention, investment, money, visitors, business, et cetera. If you don't know what your story is, you can't tell it. Now we know our story."
'It's the beginning of a journey'
Once the team had defined what story needed told, they brought on DRM Productions, a Mansfield company, to gather content to portray that narrative.
They also asked Jessica Hiser, director of marketing and advertising for Spherion Mid-Ohio, to narrate the film.
The producers with DRM Productions spent nearly a year collecting video and images in every corner of Richland County, from Shiloh in the north to Butler nearly an hour south.
"We had over 40 video locations," Messner said. "We had hundreds of hours in this."
By late autumn 2023, everyone realized the dozens of hours of media would never fit into a 2- or 3-minute promo.
Fortunately, the video released Tuesday is only one iteration of what can be created with the voiceover and video clips the marketers have compiled — shorter ads 15 or 30 seconds in length can now be tailor-made and released to bring the public's attention to events, businesses and organizations every season of the year.
"The BrandRichland video captures the essence of Mansfield and Richland County, inviting viewers to engage with our story," Messner said. "It's the beginning of a journey towards a stronger, more cohesive community narrative."
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County promotional video created to market the area statewide
