BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. and Discover Lehigh Valley have united under the umbrella of a new shared logo, the organizations announced at a Wednesday meeting.
With members from both organizations in the room at LVEDC’s Bethlehem headquarters, members explained the rebranding as a “unified look for the two nonprofit organizations marketing the Lehigh Valley as an attractive place to live, work and visit.”
- Discover Lehigh Valley and Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp debuted their new shared branding at a conference Wednesday
- Featuring clean, easy to read text with subtly-stylized embellishments, the new logo aims to bring the efforts of both organizations, along with local businesses, under the same umbrella
- The logo has multiple arrangements, including a stacked image and a variety of "special button" versions to be included on locally-made products
The organizations are not merging; they're sharing the logo to increase recognition and brand awareness for the Lehigh Valley.
The new logo, featuring the words “Lehigh Valley” with slight extensions on the “H” and “I” in “Lehigh” and the two “L”'s in “Valley,” will be featured in a marketing and merchandising campaign, with hopes that other local companies and organizations also will use the brand in the future.
The two organizations said the rebrand reflects the regionalization of the area, which has transformed into a tourist destination where visitors spend $1.3 billion each year.
And with a community touting a $47 billion economy, the new look aims to draw even more people to see the Lehigh Valley and all it has to offer, the organizations said.
“The Lehigh Valley has arrived as one of the most desirable places in the United States to live, visit and to locate a business, and it's important that we have a unified brand, a logo and an identity to promote the Lehigh Valley."LVEDC President and CEO Don Cunningham
“The Lehigh Valley has arrived as one of the most desirable places in the United States to live, visit and to locate a business, and it's important that we have a unified brand, a logo and an identity to promote the Lehigh Valley,” LVEDC Chief Executive Office Don Cunningham said.
“We think that this collaboration between the two major marketing organizations will ultimately lead to others using and adapting the logo and promoting the Lehigh Valley.
"Built into this will be the ability for companies, cities, institutions and organizations to proudly say that they are here in the Lehigh Valley.”
Continued success for partnership
Discover Lehigh Valley Chief Executive Officer Alex Michaels said he anticipates the continued success of the partnership with LVEDC.
He said he hopes such endeavors can continue to help promote the Lehigh Valley as a “premier destination.”
Michaels also highlighted the talent and design work of Discover Lehigh Valley’s Director of Creator Services Alisa Lopano, who led the development of the new logo.
"This really highlights the unity of this region, the two counties and the two organizations, by the way that it fits together here.”Discover Lehigh Valey Director of Creative Services Alisa Lopano
“Being able to do this in house was really special for us,” Michaels said. “We were able to maximize our resources there.
"And I think when you do things in house, sometimes you realize such talented people that you have in your organization. Kudos to everyone at LVEDC for their talents and their help through this process, and of course, in house from us with my team.”
Lopano noted the project first started about a year ago, and really took off in November of 2022 with extensive research into “other destination marketing organizations, other economic development groups, large cities, small cities, states, DMOs and regions of our size as well.”
Both groups took a look at the facts, working together to create a logo “which really illustrates the landscape of Lehigh Valley by playing with the lengths of certain letters,” Lopano said.
“It also hints at a cityscape or growing city, because we know that we're not a totally rural destination, we're not a total city destination.
“So we’ve got the length of the letters to play with the highs and lows of the Valley, or maybe hint at some buildings. We also have it arranged in a stacked version, and in this version, for us, this really highlights the unity of this region, the two counties and the two organizations, by the way that it fits together here.”
'Awareness of what we call the Lehigh Valley'
According to Lopano, the logo is easily adaptable for a variety of applications, including variations for Discover Lehigh Valley and LVEDC, versions that also include “Pennsylvania” for out-of-state applications, and “Made in Lehigh Valley” branding that can be used by local and regional businesses.
The new look also will benefit self-promotion online, as Discover Lehigh Valley said it will participate in $2.7 million in advertising buys, compared with $300,000 to $500,000 campaigns in the past.
With a unified logo, any advertisements would provide a sense of camaraderie and consistency, representatives from both organizations said.
A new and unified brand also will serve to present the Lehigh Valley as a recognizable destination location across the country, as opposed to a collection of cities and municipalities, they said.
“If you say you're from the Lehigh Valley, someone says, ‘Well, where is that?’ Then first thing you pivot to is, ‘Well it’s Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton… Lehigh University's there, Crayola, Olympus.’ You immediately go to an identifier brand," Cunningham said.
"So what we're attempting to do is move beyond the identifiers to actually burn in current day understanding and awareness of what we call the Lehigh Valley."
'Awareness of what we call the Lehigh Valley
LVEDC Board Chairman Ed Dougherty, the Senior Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer of Lehigh Valley Health Network, said the success of the new branding will come “over time,” as more and more people begin to strongly associate it with the Lehigh Valley.
“The reality of this is, this is going to pay off over time. This doesn't pay off instantly, tomorrow, with increased web traffic,” Dougherty said.
“This pays off over time, when people see the coordination, when they come to understand what this community is. And they can see that the community is one that works together to grow the common good here.
"That's really a good logo.”Easton Mayor Sal Panto
"That's when you'll know how we've succeeded. So, congratulations to everybody. Alisa, it's fantastic to see a designer who really knows their stuff and does it well. Job well done.”
Discover Lehigh Valley Board Chairwoman Jodie Stetz, vice president of Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group, commended the effort and applauded the decision to unify under one recognizable banner for the benefit of all.
“I think that this kind of consistent dynamic messaging is going to help amplify the voice and the efforts that Discover Lehigh Valley and the LVEDC are doing," Stetz said.
"Lastly, as an HR professional, I truly believe in the concept of a team, and together, everyone does achieve more together. We're stronger, the voices are louder, and the efforts are exponentially more powerful."
ArtsQuest Chief Executive Officer Kassie Hilgert, a past LVEDC board member, said she already could see the new stacked logo — which she pointed out shows an embedded “hi all” — as a perfect fit for Musikfest, which just concluded Sunday.
Hilgert also noted the staying power of the new logo, and its potential to benefit the entire region as it becomes synonymous with the Lehigh Valley.
“I think this initiative helps to pull the entire strength of the region together in a way that we haven't seen before, and I would echo to that, this is all about consistency,” Hilgert said.
“Organizations tend to get tired of logos before the public does, before the business community does, so keeping with this and sticking with it, I think will pay off dividends in years to come, and I applaud that effort.”
If Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. is any indication of the area’s interest in that goal, success seems assured.
“I think anything that regionalizes the Lehigh Valley is good and certainly putting it into a logo that is consistent is really good,” Panto said.
“And I can see ‘Lehigh Valley’ on the top and ‘Easton, Pennsylvania’ on the bottom. I think we'll use it. That's really a good logo.”
