PORTLAND — A group of city and business leaders on Tuesday unveiled a new slogan they hope will put the city on the map:

“Portland, Maine. Yes. Life’s good here.”

The slogan is part of a new branding system the city expects to roll out over the summer. That system includes a promotional video, which was also debuted Tuesday, as well as yet-be-developed strategies for promoting the city.

Jennifer Hutchins, executive director of Creative Portland Corp., said the strength of the slogan was a versatility that can be embraced by the city, businesses and residents.

“Let’s face it, we’re a small city in a big world and the best thing we can do is to combine our limited marketing dollars and raise one voice to the rest of the world,” Hutchins said.

A handful of local businesses were on hand to show how they could capitalize on the slogan. For example, Coffee By Design could say, “Portland, Maine. [Insert logo] Roasting’s good here.” The Portland Sea Dogs could say, “Portland, Maine. [Insert logo] Baseball’s good here.”

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Creative Portland Corp. is a nonprofit established by the city to seek and administer grants to promote the city as a destination for young professionals and those involved in the creative economy.

On Monday, the group’s website bore the new slogan, but officials would not confirm that it was the slogan being vetted by lawyers.

Mayor Michael Brennan said the slogan is a “key part” of the city’s economic development plan. He related an anecdote about the importance of branding, involving an email from someone very upset with the ways parking laws were enforced.

At the end of the email, Brennan realized the email was in regards to Portland, Ore., not Maine.

“That illustrates in some small way the importance of branding,” Brennan said. “We want (people) to know when they look at Portland, they’re looking at Portland, Maine.”


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