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Situated
along U.S. Highway 2 at the gateway to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Iron
Mountain evolved as a regional center of culture, commerce and community
life. Today, Iron Mountain is a doorway to, and a prominent destination
within, Michigan’s beautiful and adventurous Upper Peninsula –
recognized by Shermans Travel as one of the “Top 10 Summer Destinations”
in the world and as one of the top ten “Best Places to Live in Rural
America” as compiled and ranked by
The Progressive Farmer.
Downtown
Iron Mountain features
an eclectic array of
traditional retail establishments, boutique retailers, unique eateries,
and a healthy mix of office and service uses. Iron Mountain’s standing
as a regional center for commerce and culture helps to generate a brisk
and continuous stream of pedestrian activity and automobile traffic
within the downtown district.
The Iron
Mountain Main Street Program is bringing community leaders, residents
and business people together to build upon the historic downtown
district’s strengths as a hub for community and regional life, and to
foster new opportunities to strengthen the district’s mix of retail,
service, entertainment and civic-oriented uses.
Together,
stakeholders from throughout the community are working toward a vision
for Downtown Iron Mountain that honors and reflects a strong sense of
the district’s historic significance.
The Iron
Mountain Main Street Program hired Downtown Professionals Network to
work with organization leaders and downtown stakeholders to examine the
market, analyze trends, and identify opportunities for Downtown Iron
Mountain's future. Downtown enhancement strategies emerging from the
study capitalize on the community’s identity as a gateway to the Upper
Peninsula and celebrate the historic downtown business district as
“special place.”
A new,
high-energy marketing and branding campaign, along with the introduction
of new business development initiatives, is designed to promote and
fortify the downtown’s evolving mix of traditional and specialty retail
establishments, unique eateries, and service professionals which cater
to both the basic needs and the discerning tastes of Upper Peninsula
residents and visitors.
The
branding system concept developed as part of the study provides
direction for a comprehensive and highly sophisticated marketing
strategy that is readily adapted to Iron Mountain Main Street public
relations efforts, advertising, events, business retention and
recruitment strategies, design enhancements and other initiatives
contained within the Iron Mountain Main Street Program’s complete scope
of work.
Branding system concepts and
products proposed as part of a complete branding system for Downtown
Iron Mountain are designed to:
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