On the next municipal equation, we ask the question, does your community have a brand? And if you were an outsider, what would you think of it? Think about why that might be important. We want to be able to make Newton stand out among the crowd. There are a lot of cities seeking, you know, developments and seeking new residents, and we think this branding campaign will will really help us stand out. We look at local governments and the practice of branding, something that sometimes makes the general public wonder.

issue? Which I find so fascinating. You know, we if we're gonna invest in our infrastructure, if we're gonna invest in our quality of life, if we're gonna invest in our downtown, we're gonna invest in things that are important to people. We really need to have a brand that supports that. We learn what the stakes are, why branding can be important for local government, what the best practices are, and when it might not be a good idea to brand. We catch up with a town that's gone through a rebranding process. We talk with one that's just now embarking on it, and we consult with someone who's done a lot of research on community branding and what it means, which can get kind of quirky. That's on the next municipal equation from the North Carolina League of Municipalities online at n c l m dot o r g. All episodes are there or at soundcloud.com/municipalequation. Find it on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Overcast, and on other fine podcast streaming apps. Talk to you soon. This is Ben Brown.