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New slogan bills Whitewater as center of opportunity

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City of Whitewater logo

WHITEWATER — The city of Whitewater this month is launching a new slogan and logo to better market the Whitewater Business Park and the proposed Whitewater University Technology Park.

"These are difficult economic times, and we have to be a little bit more aggressive," said City Manager Kevin Brunner. "That, plus we feel that we have a good thing to market here."

The new slogan touts Whitewater as the "Center of Opportunity," and the new logo incorporates the existing city logo but in the shape of a triangle.

Brunner said the marketing campaign:

-- Capitalizes on the city's strengths, including its small-town atmosphere, access to big-city attractions and high quality of life.

-- Draws attention to the relationship between the city, the university and local business.

-- Emphasizes the city's placement in the Madison-Milwaukee-Chicago triangle.

"These things emerged as things we made sure we had some kind of script for, some kind of story for," said Jimmy Peltier, professor of marketing at UW-Whitewater who, along with his company, Applied PhD Research, worked with the Whitewater Community Development Authority to develop the marketing campaign.

"It really builds a story around those lines," he said.

Brunner said the city plans to target agribusiness, high-end manufacturing, software and information technology, education and training services and financial services.

Research shows those industries are not only growing but also could be successful in Whitewater, whether in the business park or in the proposed technology park, he said.

"These are difficult financial times. However, we think this is a great opportunity to get our name out there as a potential place for businesses to expand and develop," Brunner said. "We want to extol the benefits of what we can offer."