SALINA, Kan. — At a recent meeting, Renee Duxler, President & CEO of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, passionately articulated the vital role a well-defined brand identity could play in transforming the perception of Salina, Kansas. Addressing city officials, community members, and stakeholders, Duxler highlighted the importance of crafting a compelling image for the small town to attract young professionals, businesses, and families, while also bolstering local pride.
“Good, bad, or indifferent, communities can come with reputations just like an individual, business, or product can,” Duxler said. “For many small towns, that reputation almost inherently is negative. The misnomer is that small communities don’t have the capability of offering opportunities and upward mobility—among other negative connotations.”
She stressed the power of branding to combat these stereotypes. “Branding can assist a community—just as it can for an individual, business, or product—in creating a different perception and reputation for itself. Creating a well-defined brand identity for a small town like Salina aids in confronting inaccurate information as well as educating on the reality of what truly exists here.”
The Role of Branding in Attracting Talent
Duxler outlined how a strong brand can draw in new residents while retaining existing ones, particularly young professionals and families looking for growth opportunities. “If a community has a good ‘brand’ or reputation, then people desire to be a part of that,” she explained. “A lot of this branding process is two-fold: It’s creating that positive brand within the community that encourages pride and engagement of current residents, as well as creating a buzz outside of the community that creates curiosity and interest. You can’t have one without the other.”
She noted that Salina is undergoing what she described as a “renaissance.” “We believe Salina is truly going through a renaissance in where we’re starting to see the emergence of both of those dynamics,” Duxler said. “But we also believe that creating a brand that encompasses that inner pride and also provokes that outer inquiry is what is necessary to see the type of recruitment and retention we need to grow—and really, survive.”
Branding as an Economic Development Tool
Duxler also emphasized how a strong brand identity directly impacts economic growth by attracting businesses and entrepreneurs. “Absolutely. Businesses want to be where people are—especially workforce people,” she said. “If a community is successful in creating a positive brand identity that recruits and retains a young workforce, then it will be primed for continuing to attract business and industry.”
Building Pride and Belonging
In her remarks, Duxler reflected on how branding fosters community pride, which in turn encourages residents to stay and invest in their local careers. “I think we’re seeing that already with Salina,” she said. “Our community is taking ownership and pride in the public art, downtown infrastructure, quality-of-life, and other assets that we have here. Building on that engagement with a brand that community members can also attach to and take ownership of is a huge piece of retention. And not only do those residents stay because they’re truly invested in the brand and what it stands for, but they also become one of the best marketing tools: word-of-mouth.”
A Plan for Branding Salina’s Unique Assets
To highlight Salina’s unique attributes, Duxler advocated for a targeted approach to branding. “You hit on the right word there: unique,” she said. “We are not unlike many other small towns in Kansas in that we’ve been hemorrhaging young talent over the last few decades and we continue to struggle with telling our story well. Salina does have many unique assets to offer young families—especially with many of the business, infrastructure, and quality-of-life investments that have been made in the last few years.”
Duxler argued for authenticity in Salina’s branding efforts. “Our branding needs to be genuine and positive about our ‘uniqueness,’ but targeted for a younger demographic,” she said. “We then need to utilize digital marketing to develop brand awareness and tell our story better. That includes creating better content for internet search engines, as well as getting in front of young people where they are: on their screens.”
Chamber of Commerce’s Funding Request
The Chamber of Commerce’s focus on branding ties into a broader funding proposal presented to the city. The Chamber has requested $340,000 in Transient Guest Tax (TGT) funds to support a $400,000 annual digital marketing initiative. The remaining $60,000 is proposed to be funded by Saline County ($30,000), the Salina Community Economic Development Organization (SCEDO, $25,000), and Salina Downtown, Inc. (SDI, $5,000).
According to the Chamber, the marketing campaign is essential to continue the work initiated under the Imagine Salina campaign, which was funded with approximately $1.1 million in donor pledges but ran out of funding at the end of 2023. The new proposal aims to establish a dedicated marketing team and create a sustainable strategy for promoting Salina’s brand both locally and beyond.
“This is about more than just marketing,” Duxler said. “This is about survival and growth for our community.”
