City of Kenosha in search of a marketing identity

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The City of Kenosha has gone by a few different names -- Southport and Pike. Kenosha is a Native American word that means "pike." But now, the city is looking for a new slogan -- and officials are willing to pay a lot for it.

Mayor Keith Bosman and the city are hiring marketing firm Development Counselors International (DCI) out of New York.

"We don't have the expertise here on board to produce here a marketing program for the city and certainly we were looking for a consulting firm with municipal branding experience," said Bosman.

DCI has developed new logos, slogans and marketing campaigns for more than 50 cities in the United States and throughout the world. For $100,000, the mayor says the firm will re-brand Kenosha -- with hopes of attracting not only more tourism, but also new businesses and residents.

"Right now we don't have that and we're about to undertake a six to eight month process that will develop that brand that we'll sell Kenosha to the outside world," said Bosman.

DCI will visit Kenosha this spring and begin assessing the ideas of how it wants to market it down the line. Half of the cost to hire DCI came from private donors -- the other half from the city's general fund.