-The price is right: Investors moving in on condos. Have we hit bottom?
-Help wanted (300 jobs); employment indicator due this week.
-Cashing in on old cars? Cruise-in cruises to downtown Rome.
-Monday Focus: The art of branding. Shorter, Georgia Northwestern Tech, Floyd take different paths in representing local institutions thanks to new names, mergers and overall new look.
Peaks & Valleys: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia.
-Valley, or is that a foul, to the Atlanta Braves with Glavine cut.
-Peak to 5,105 local fans who have pitcher a heckuva farewell party.
Awaiting services for Spc. Jeffrey W. Jordan: An ambush in Afghanistan has killed Cave Spring's Jeffrey William Jordan, a 21-year-old reservist recently called to duty. Henderson & Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. (Click)
>How to help: An account has been established for Jeff's son, Tailor, at Coosa Valley Federal Credit Union. Anyone wishing to express their grief, condolences or appreciation for Jeff's sacrifice may make a contribution to the Tailor Jordan Fund at any branch of Coosa Valley Federal Credit Union.
Weather
Hazardous Weather Outlook
-Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 89
-Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.
-Tuesday: Mostly sunny, high of 91. 20% rain chance.
-Latest local Radar / Latest regional Radar
-Extended forecast: Weather Service
Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable/brought to you by Riverside Toyota
- FSU, Bowden almost out of appeals; Gators spreading offense by testing 'I' formation?
-Braves fall two behind RiverDogs with Sunday's 4-1 loss
-Tonight at Charleston; then at Savannah through Thursday
-Latest Mills Fitzner game photos> Gallery
Trends we're watching this week:
The bottom's here, time to make 'The Move'? It seems those who have been waiting to make "The Move" on investment property are doing just that. The word on the street over the weekend had some local players buying four or five Gulf-front condos at a time with others picking up one or two. And if investors aren't coming to the brokers, then the brokers are coming after them. The pop-up ad on the AJC site Sunday was for resort properties up for auction in the Carolinas (click). What it appears to mean: We've indeed hit bottom; will a slow recovery follow?
Help wanted and May job indicator: This Tuesday and Wednesday, Bentley Dye will be reviewing applications for up to 300 immediate and upcoming vacancies as the company expands in Calhoun. The timing is excellent as Calhoun has been rocked by recent layoffs as have other parts of the region. We'll get a better look at the unemployment scenario when first-time jobless insurance reports for May are released later this week. April's numbers were lower than previous months--but still significantly higher than a year earlier. As for the Bentley Dye hiring: The job fair is at Coosa Valley Technical College's Gordon Campus. Applications will be accepted for twisting, heat set, creelers, superba operators, extrusion operators and lab techs, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The hours: 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Contact the Rome Career Center, (706) 295-6051.
Cashing in on the appeal of old cars: The appeal we're talking about: old cars, specialty cars, cars that draw crowds no matter where they go. Cases in point:
-Downtown Rome starts a monthly second Saturday cruise-in this Saturday, from 5 to 9 p.m. along Fourth Avenue between Broad Street to Second Street. The hope is that it will draw crowds much the way First Friday concerts are doing.
-Rome was lucky to get included in the cruise-in calendar. Almost every weekend, especially in the summer months, cars are scheduled in the region. Cartersville features one on first Saturdays during the summer concert season. They've been known to draw huge crowds. For more, click Sweet Chariots.
-More than 600 car owners have been invited to Dahlonega's Fourth of July events which include a parade, fireworks and a car show. At least 200 already have confirmed to attend.
-We've already seen a few major shows in our area this year including the British Motor Car event at Berry College and Cave Spring's annual show. Here's hoping the Rome event clocks in as a winner.
The art of branding:
At Shorter, Georgia Northwestern Technical College, Floyd,
images go far beyond logos, boost institutions' overall identity
By Natalie Simms
"Change" is a hot topic these days. Whether it's political change, economic change or cultural change, one thing is certain: Things are always going to change. Companies and organizations face changes on a daily basis and how they react to those changes and "brand" themselves in the marketplace could mean success or failure.
Several local businesses have seen identity changes and more are soon to come.
We've seen Wachovia Securities change to Wells Fargo Advisors. In less than a month, Coosa Valley Technical College will be merging with Northwestern Technical College to become Georgia Northwestern Technical College. Next year, Shorter College will become Shorter University. All of these institutions face a tough hurdle: branding themselves with a new identity.
"Branding is huge in its importance," says Dawn Tolbert, Director of Public Relations for Shorter College. "There is more competition out there. Just in this market, there are four other colleges. We are all so different and have specific niches, so we need to be known for our strengths."
Shorter will become Shorter University on June 1, 2010. With under a year to go, Tolbert says her staff already is undertaking re-branding efforts.
"Branding is a huge undertaking," she says. "It really gives us a chance to start fresh as a university. Something that says, 'This is Shorter and what we are.' We have a team already working on creating a new logo and look."
To most marketing experts, branding is a detailed process. The American Marketing Association defines a brand as "a Name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."
Nancy Mount, an instructor of marketing at Shorter with 20 years of professional experience, says branding is vital to any organization.
"A brand is much more than McDonald's golden arches or the Nike swoosh," Mount says. "A brand is the perception on the part of the consumer about the organization represented. It is the sum of all the knowledge and experience a consumer has with regard to the company."
She adds, "Branding is vital to any organization because it is the branding effort, whether through formal advertising, event sponsorship or community involvement, that equips people to arrive at a conclusion about the organization…and whether to 'buy' or not. Without this branding effort, consumers will get information from other sources, and it may not be accurate."
Tolbert says Shorter's new branding efforts will focus on the school's commitment to excellence. "We are the oldest college in Rome and we have a wonderful history and heritage," she says. "We want to build on it…the foundation has been laid for the future and we are proud to carry it forward with our commitment to excellence all across Shorter."
How to brand a merger and new name
Across town, CVTC is in the midst of its new branding efforts for their merger with Northwestern Technical College. On July 1, the two schools will become Georgia Northwestern Technical College. Amber Jordan, Director of Marketing and PR for CVTC, has been busy with the transition.
"For us, branding is promoting the education and services offered at Georgia Northwestern Technical College through an identifiable logo," she says. "You can never assume that people know who you are and what you do. You have to constantly tell them who you are, what you and why it's important to them. It's all about
the consumer."
CVTC has been advertising the change for several months as part of the "pre-merger" branding phase. After July, the "post-merger" phase will roll out with more print ads, billboards, television, radio and web advertising.
"We are changing our name but we first want to make sure people understand who we are," Jordan says. "CVTC and NWTC both have a rich history and both colleges are well respected in the communities they serve. We thought it was important to emphasize that we were not changing the mission of either college. We needed to get the Georgia Northwestern Technical College name out there, but at the same time, make sure people understood they could count on the same quality, workforce education they had come to know from both colleges."
As easy as it sounds, branding a merger does have its drawbacks. For CVTC, its popularity has been one of the biggest challenges, says Jordan.
"For 47 years, the name Coosa Valley Tech has been known for the quality of graduates we turn out and the economic development impact we have on the communities we serve," she says. "The best part of this is that Northwestern Technical College has the same distinguished reputation we have. When you combine two great colleges like ours, it gives us a good opportunity to take the best of both colleges, and as a result, we will have one outstanding college."
Floyd's branding tied to hospital's 'new look and new feel'
Someone who seems to have the magic touch when it comes to branding is Floyd Medical Center's Director of Public Relations, Haley Crider. She, along with her staff, took on the re-branding the hospital with its green logo and "new look of excellence" about five years ago.
At the time of Floyd's new brand launch, the hospital was undergoing a huge renovation project and the "culture" of the hospital had changed, Crider says. "The hospital had a new look and new feel…we changed the face of the hospital," she says. "We were changing the look physically but we wanted to mirror those changes and say to our customer that we're different and this is what we stand for."
And what Floyd stands for is its people, she says. "When designing our logo, we wanted it to represent our patients and employees. The 'Y' in our logo represents a person because people are at the center of everything we do."
Crider says the hospital chose green for its new look because it was not only different from other competitors but because it represents growth.
"Green is about renewal and growth, like us as an organization," she says. "It represents a freshness that we wanted to project. It has been wildly successful and really differentiates us in the marketplace. It is vibrant, noticeable and eye-catching."
Along with new look and logo, one of the most powerful things Floyd has done was bring all their service lines under the Floyd "umbrella."
"Our research showed that people didn't always connect those services like Centrex, Windwood or Hospice back to Floyd," Crider says. "So that was a huge component of our rebranding was bringing all those elements under the Floyd umbrella. It is easier to support one stronger brand then several different ones."
In the rebranding effort, Centrex became Floyd Primary Care and Windwood became Floyd Behavioral Health Center. "It really gives us instant equity in our brand because when you promote one Floyd service, others benefit from it," she says.
Floyd has won numerous national awards for its rebranding effort, become a "best practice" for other hospitals and created a positive change for the hospital.
"Our employees have a lot of pride in the brand," Crider says. "When employees buy logo merchandise for their personal use that says something."
Crider says consistency is the key to success. "Even in tough economic times, the strong brands will remain and have a presence… you see that here in town."
PEAKS & VALLEYS: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia
Valley to the Atlanta Braves' organization:
![[IMG_7513_edited-1-764613.jpg]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s0IpjZQ-dEMiRZUE0LdoQxGSIakKEz7z8Y8jjJvtz-FWXLN_AUO__CR8bEWoRjd798NYyvCM5X-gDA1lyoNtFonoWDpDDc7PfhbvBuDiczkTotwfxQn2eaQX7uYF_1_kQvtxlzrCvqpNJOmbJqhPGx=s0-d)
Peak to the 5,105 fans who witnessed Glavine's final Braves' game: 
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