Reno Redevelopment Agency to Rebrand Itself

by Mike Van Houten / Jan 24, 2025


The City of Reno  is looking for a creative agency to develop a compelling brand identity for the recently relaunched Reno Redevelopment Agency and issued a Request for Proposals.

After 15 years of dormancy, the Agency has been reactivated to serve as the predominant leader in placemaking, redevelopment, and public realm improvements within the City and its designated redevelopment areas. This project aims to establish the Agency as a distinct, standalone entity separate from the City while clearly communicating its mission and driving engagement with the community, partners, and potential investors. The selected agency will work collaboratively with the City to deliver a brand strategy, visual identity, messaging framework, and a launch plan that clearly communicates the Agency’s goals, inspires confidence, and encourages participation.

The Reno Redevelopment Agency was officially relaunched in August 2024 after being dormant for 15 years acting as essentially a debt payor for a suite or projects and improvements to downtown in the ‘90s and 2000s.

The goals of the rebrand are:

  1. Establish a Distinct and Recognizable Brand Identity
    • Develop a strong and cohesive brand that distinguishes the Agency from other city departments and clearly communicates its role as the leader in placemaking, redevelopment, and public realm improvements in the City.
  2. Drive Stakeholder Awareness and Engagement
    • Ensure that residents, businesses, local partners, and potential investors understand the Agency’s mission, goals, programs, and resources.
    • Foster community engagement and enthusiasm around the Agency’s redevelopment efforts.
  3. Strengthen Economic Development Messaging
    • Create brand elements and messaging that highlight the Agency’s focus on eliminating blight, increasing housing and commercial opportunities, preserving historical assets, and incentivizing private development.
  4. Build Credibility for Placemaking and Revitalization Campaigns
    • Position the Agency as a trusted and leading partner for future placemaking initiatives by creating a trusted and visible brand.
    • Inspire confidence and buy-in from local partners and stakeholders for ongoing and upcoming redevelopment initiatives.
  5. Modernize the Agency’s Image
    • Create a brand that reflects the Agency’s renewed mission, and alignment with contemporary economic and urban trends.
    • Reinforce the Agency’s leadership in driving Reno’s continued growth and revitalization.
  6. Ensure Consistency Across Communication Channels
    • Align internal and external communication to present a cohesive and professional image of the Agency.
    • Maintain consistent branding across all channels and touchpoints.
  7. Boost community and partner confidence
    • Demonstrate the Agency’s capability to lead impactful programs and effectively manage redevelopment efforts.
    • Cultivate trust among stakeholders by showing the Agency’s commitment to improving quality of life, fostering growth, and creating a vibrant, connected City.

The scope of work for the applying agencies will include discovery and research, brand strategy development, visual identity design/branding, messaging and communication channels, web site and digital presence, an implementation and roll-out strategy and post-launch evaluation.

The budget appears to be around $90,000 for the project with a desired May 30, 2025 completion date. I'm assuming, probably a safe assumption, hopefully a safe assumption, that given Reno's $25,000,000 budget shortfall for 2026, that this will be paid through Redevelopment Agency funds. 

Some examples a Q&A document provides include the ‘Capital City Development Company’ in Boise, Idaho, the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation’ in Cincinnati, Ohio and the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation’ in Calgary, Alberta.
With those examples, there’s definitely an intentional disconnect with the names sounding like departments of a government agency, which is probably the goal here too.


 

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