Arlington Heights Maintains ‘Discover Arlington’ Brand

The Arlington Heights committee-of-the-whole approved five recommendations from the Arlington Economic Alliance Monday night, with hopes of improving the “Discover Arlington” brand, expanding communication channels and deepening their knowledge of consumer habits.

The alliance group is asking the to invest in a consumer survey to be conducted the Public Research Group in the coming months.

Tony Guido, chairman for the alliance group, said the survey would probe questions of shopping habits, consumer patterns and overall consumer trends.

The survey would consist of a random sampling of 5,000 people in the village and surrounding suburbs — using mail, email, telephone and text.

The group has previously sought bids for a firm to perform the survey and found that Public Research Group had the lowest bid of the three, coming in at $16,500. Other institutions bids were $19,500 and another for more than $63,000.

Trustee Michael Sidor, however, has concerns about these funds being used for a survey and suggested using the funds for other initiatives. 

Guido said the survey would help with the marketing strategy.

Kris Stabler, a member of Arlington Economic Alliance, said one of the group’s goals is to promote a strong partnership between the business community and the village.

The alliance group has spent the last three years, ramping up their marketing efforts, online presence and business outreach.

One of the group’s main initiatives is “Discover Arlington” that allows users to find out what's going on locally in town, shopping directory, lodging suggestions and businesses can utilize the site to amplify their brand online.

“The brand is recognized in the marketplace and something we can continue to build upon,” said Michael O’Connor, a member of Arlington Economic Alliance. “Discover Arlington is a very important part of our strategy.”

The alliance group wants to refresh the “Always more to Discover” tagline while maintaining “Discover Arlington” brand.

• "Discover Arlington"

Between January and August of this year, the Discover Arlington has received already received 43,943 unique visitors, outpacing their 2010 and 2011 yearly site visits.

“It keeps getting better and better,” O’Connor said. 

The village board will vote on the group’s recommendations at their regular meeting, as final approval is still needed for the alliance to proceed.