EDAP to opt for new name, better image

GREELEY – Larry Burkhardt figures he’s in a line of work where the customers will judge the book by its cover.

And Burkhardt contends the Greeley/Weld Economic Development Action Partnership Inc. needs a new cover.

Burkhardt, who took over as CEO of the Greeley/Weld EDAP in September, has already persuaded the agency’s board of directors to adopt a new name, logo and tag line – changes that could take effect by the end of the year.

“We think we can do a better job of connoting our geography as well as our alliances,” Burkhardt said. “We want to make sure folks understand where we’re located, both in the state and outside the state.”

In the coming weeks Burkhardt and the EDAP board will sort through proposals from marketing firms for the name, logo and tag line, as well as concepts for a new trade show booth.

While Burkhardt isn’t disclosing his favorites for a new name, he indicated that it would not invoke the term “Weld County.”

“I’ve got something in mind,” he said. “We’ll see whether it flies or not.”

The Greeley/Weld EDAP name, Burkhardt said, leaves “confusion over who provides economic development services in our community.”

The EDAP term leaves some scratching their heads, Burkhardt said. “There’s a lack of awareness about just what is an EDAP.”

The agency’s logo, which bears the slogan, “Colorado’s Crossroads,” will also go out with the wash.

“We need something that really identifies what we do,´ said Larry Wood, president of Union Colony Bank in Greeley and chairman of the EDAP board. “‘Colorado’s Crossroads’ doesn’t tell you a lot. We need a tag line that does little more than that.”

Burkhardt said he decided to overhaul EDAP’s trade show booth after witnessing reactions at the Bixpo 2005 event in Loveland in mid September.

“Ninety percent of the people (who walked by the booth) had a puzzled look on their face and would keep walking,” Burkhardt said. “If they stopped long enough so we could engage them in conversation, we would ask, ‘Do you know who we are?’ They would say no.”

The existing booth includes a collection of photographs, including one of the mountains, and a map that shows various cities in the region, such as Greeley, Longmont and Fort Collins. However, the map does not focus on EDAP’s member towns.

Furthermore, the trade booth’s tag line bears the message, “We’ll get you there.”

“It’s not clear to me, or anybody else, who’s going to get who exactly where,” Burkhardt said. “It was a visually attractive booth, but it just didn’t say anything.”

In a related initiative, Burkhardt has asked for proposals from public relations firms to help propel EDAP’s image.

“Specifically, what we’re looking for is a public relations firm that has the clout necessary to get us placements in both regional and national print media and broadcast media,” he said.

Burkhardt’s intent on seizing upon recent news that the Greeley Metropolitan Statistical Area is the fastest-growing metro area in the United States.

“Having established that fact, it’s a tremendous opportunity for us to take that as a backdrop and take a closer look at what is attractive about this area and why it’s growing so fast,” he said. “We want to look at what are some of the feature stories we can develop that might be of interest to readers of the Wall Street Journal or viewers of CNN.”

In addition to marketing and image goals, Burkhardt has also set to work on structural changes and fundraising.

At Burkhardt’s suggestion, the EDAP board opened up two voting directorships to representatives of southwest Weld County towns who were previously ex-officio members of the board.

“We want to make sure the folks in Erie and Keenesburg and Johnstown and around the county understand this is their … point of contact for economic development services,” he said.

Furthermore, Burkhardt wants to attract minorities to the board to “reflect the demographic profile of the community a little bit better,” he said, referring to the significant Hispanic population in Weld County.

EDAP is also stepping up efforts to raise funds from private sources. Currently, 53 percent of the agency’s revenue comes from the public sector, largely Weld County and the city of Greeley.

If EDAP can grow its private donor base, Burkhardt hopes to use the extra funding for the marketing campaign.

“There’s more (private money) out there if we just shake the tree a little harder,´ said Wood, who praised Burkhardt’s early impact on EDAP.

“He’s energetic and he’s energized the board,” Wood said. “He hasn’t brought anything to the forefront that is outside the box. It’s just a good facelift … and I think everybody is excited about it.”

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