The Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau has a new brand identity, "Discover Saratoga."
"We wanted to focus on the 'discover' part of discoversaratoga.org. This, after all, is where people, planners, and visitors find us online and on social media," explains Todd Garofano, president of the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau. "So while we remain the Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau, all of our forward facing collateral, media, and marketing materials will focus on this invitation, this call to action."
The bureau worked with three different designers over the course of four months, looking at and testing about three dozen different variations of the new logo. They consulted with small focus groups, industry peers, and other marketers.
The logo was designed using the cobalt blue of Saratoga water and the gold of the tops of the quarter poles at the internationally-renowned Saratoga Rae Course. It also includes an icon of one of Saratoga's world-famous mineral springs.
"This further separates us from the other Saratogas around the country and even Sarasota which people confuse us with more often than you would think," adds Garofano.
The destination guide, which incorporates the new branding, was created as a result of frequent questions asked at the visitor center.
"Upon taking over management of the operations there two years ago, we quickly learned the most common question from visitors was, 'Do you have just one guide that tells me everything I need to know?' But we did not," says Garofano.
50,000 copies of the destination guide will be distributed at the visitor center, the Albany and Saratoga train stations, the Albany International Airport, at area lodging and other businesses, and at bureau-attended trade shows, sales missions, and to targeted meeting and event planners, their boards, and event attendees.
The digital version of the guide is available here.