The North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau (North Little Rock CVB), the destination marketing organization for North Little Rock, announced today the launch of its new brand and positioning statement.

The brand comes after a year-long destination market research project with Gray Research Solutions out of Nashville, Tennessee, and a six-month rebranding process with Stamp Idea Group out of Montgomery, Alabama. The research and branding processes included interviewing guests at North Little Rock lodging properties, visitors at local attractions, focus groups with CVB stakeholders, confidential surveys and analyzing industry trend reports.

“Our conversations with partners brought up key phrases to describe North Little Rock’s personality as a destination: quirky, sassy, low-key, friendly, creative, born in rebellion,” said Stephanie Slagle, Marketing Director. “These are the qualities and stories we want to highlight when we are marketing North Little Rock to potential visitors.”

The new mark, an “NLR Happy Face,” reflects North Little Rock’s character as a friendly, casual but upbeat, destination. “Up to Something” directly supports the bold, creative, can-do attitude of the people of North Little Rock and implies that something unexpected is about to be encountered.

The new logo will be seen immediately on the North Little Rock Destination Guide; North Little Rock CVB’s website and trip-planning app; in-market and out-of-market print and digital advertising; social media and creative content, and direct sales at conferences and tradeshows. The new North Little Rock CVB offices and North Little Rock Welcome Center, expected to open by April 2020 at 600 Main Street in North Little Rock, will reflect the new brand and sell retail items with the new look.

“The genius of this mark is that it is so simple in design,” Slagle said. “It easily can be translated across multiple platforms and audiences. For foodie events, we can say, ‘We’re up to something savory’ and turn around and say ‘We’re up to something creative’ when marketing North Little Rock’s arts and entertainment. There’s room for flexibility and growth. We can customize our messages to different groups while maintaining a consistent, identifiable image.”

North Little Rock CVB’s rebrand is the latest in a series of updates from North Little Rock CVB in its efforts to attract and engage visitors. In early 2019, the CVB launched a new, mobile-friendly site with comprehensive events calendar and engaging content. The website saw a 549-percent increase in new users over 2018, particularly users outside of central Arkansas. Six months later, the North Little Rock CVB launched a new trip planning widget and app with VisitWidget to better assist visitors looking for information online. The app is free and available for download in Apple Store and Google Play.

The North Little Rock CVB markets and promotes North Little Rock as a destination for leisure travel, reunions, meetings and sports through marketing, advertising and direct sales. The goal is to fill North Little Rock hotels, restaurants and attractions to positively impact the local economy. Every year, out-of-town visitors spend more than $480 million in North Little Rock, saving each North Little Rock household $314.49 in county taxes and $700.49 in state taxes.