Branding Raleigh to the World

Like this idea. I’ve always thought Raleigh should embrace its role as the “hub” of the region and offer half-day and full-day bus tours for those staying downtown without cars. Some ideas:

  • Downtown Durham
  • Duke campus
  • Chapel Hill and Carrboro
  • Saxapahaw
  • East Carolina BBQ tour
  • NC Zoo (full day)
  • Wilmington (full day)
  • Pilot Mountain (full day)

Aspiring tour operators take note.

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http://www.houseofswankclothing.com/raleigh-bunch-of-jerks/

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Keep Raleigh Jerky!!!

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Y’all are taking the wrong approach to the flag.

It’s always a lame oak leaf or a boring acorn. Well… I think it should be a badass squirrel with Sir Walter Raleigh’s coat of arms!

-Fits the oak theme.
-Fits the history.
-Colors evoke NCSU and the Hurricanes.
-Simple enough to clearly see on a flag, yet interesting.
-Most importantly… will make Durham jealous. And instantly gives an image of Raleigh that can go on anything marketable.

Edit: cleaned it up a bit. Now the shield doubles as an acorn.

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Sir Walter Squirrel. YES! Bring it!

  • oak leaf or acorns are indeed boring
  • cute animals always gets more clicks/likes
  • cute animal with royal shield and sword - edgy and cool!
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I’m a fan of the oak theme and history/colors, and I agree with @KenAA that the squirrel is a great idea for a city mascot. But I have to disagree on this being “simple enough to clearly see” as a flag.

From the City of Raleigh Flag - #5 by John thread:

It’s important to come up with a distinct look and symbol for a Raleigh-like flag. But do we need to sacrifice the utility and best-practices of a flag, in the process? With these principles in mind, I’m wondering if this design would still fall under the trope of “overly complicated and hard-to-see flying paintings made by those Americans and their towns”.

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That video was in large part inspiration for the flag design I’m aiming for.

The other inspiration comes from the flag of Wales, often held in high regard by vexillology nerds as one of the best flags of any country ever.

This is a more detailed design than the one I’m aiming for–although I posted a very rough sketch and will improve it over time. Both are still fairly simple though: there is a singular purpose illustrated on the flag. There aren’t too many colors. There is no text. And from 50 feet up, you could still easily tell what it is.

How about Squirrel Walter Raleigh?

We could give it a nickname and use it as the city’s mascot! There could be squirrel statues across the city! Squirrel-themed celebrations! The possibilities are endless.

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Our squirrel has big…acorns.

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SQR Walter Raleigh…pronounced Squir Walter Raleigh

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Three things I will not tolerate
Lactose
Squirrels
The Amishes

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I scorn a squirrel! SOBs have chewed my wiring, gnawed nice plants, and made various messes around my houses. You won’t get my vote on that flag! But I digress.

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My dog actually caught and killed a squirrel in our backyard this past Thursday. Didn’t think it was possible. I guess you could say he’s the ultimate NIMBY.

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A city flag needs to be simple and symbolic. It needs to stay away from being too specific or overly detailed. It should be easy to recognize and something that a kid could replicate easily in art class.

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Something like Durham’s flag?

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Exactly!! Because the simple, abstract things can turn into something you can embrace (rather than you imposing it onto other people).

Case in point for Durham:

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article229131739.html

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Can we get past the whole “_______Strong” please?
Isn’t that Boston’s brand?

My point was for the imagery in the ribbon icon, the free stickers they distributed at the Durham city anniversary events etc., not the specific wording.

(Also I think that association may just be a regional thing, because I don’t associate “___ strong” as a Boston thing, necessarily)

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Yeah, I get the sticker thing, and I completely agree with you about it. I really like that interpretation.
I am just getting really tired of all of the Boston Strong rip-offs, or whatever city started it.

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The Carolina Hurricanes are one of only 3 teams where the name of the city isn’t found in their official name. The other two are Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild. Not only isn’t Raleigh’s name in the official name, it isn’t even specific to North Carolina. Now, I get the use of “Carolina” in Charlotte where the city bridges two states, but it’s not the same for the Canes.
I’ve watched a lot of youtube’s lately on the Canes from broadcasts across the NHL World, and Raleigh is often not mentioned at all. It’s Carolina this and Carolina that, like “the fans in Carolina” instead of “the fans in Raleigh”. In my opinion, this is a huge missed opportunity to brand/highlight the city, especially as the whole “Bunch of Jerks” thing has really taken the entire hockey World by storm (pun intended).
I’ll bet ya that a huge chuck of NHL fans can’t tell you that the Canes play in Raleigh. I’ll bet that a lot of them would guess Charlotte.

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