BATHURST Regional Council has found itself stuck between a rock and a hard place with regard to the city’s new branding strategy.
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While most elements of the strategy – the product of the city’s Destination Management Plan that was adopted in 2015 – seem to have won broad support, the ongoing consternation over a new logo and tagline shows no sign of abating.
In fact, the debate is about to go to a whole new level with the public invited to have its say on the three logo options now provided for consideration by consultants Destination Marketing Store.
It has been confirmed the three designs will be uploaded to council’s YourSay website on Friday when we will all get our first look at the options.
From there, residents will be asked to go online and rate the logos one, two and three in order of their preference.
Such inclusion is to be applauded but – just like the recent same-sex marriage postal survey – the results of the feedback will be non-binding.
That said, though, it would be a brave council indeed that voted to go against the public’s wishes on this one.
The development of a new logo has already cost ratepayers more than $50,000 and it is not an exercise that anyone wants to see drag on any longer.
So when councillors meet on December 13 it would be in everybody’s best interest to have this issue put to bed once and for all.
Perhaps the worst outcome for council, then, would be a three-way split of public opinion on the three options up for consideration.
That would provide no real guidance for councillors in making the final decision and leave them inevitably open to criticism by two-thirds of the population regardless of which way they went.
The best outcome would be a landslide vote in favour of one option – but only if councillors agree.
The real dilemma will be if the opinions within council vary greatly from the opinions outside.
Council has already been heavily criticised for producing the Forever Young logo without seeking public input.
And it would be criticised even more heavily if they voted to settle on a logo in direct defiance of public input.
Sometimes, as an elected representative, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Welcome to public life.