Logo and video abuzz about Wilkes-Barre

WILKES-BARRE — Still sweet on the beehive as the city’s go-to symbol, Mayor George Brown unveiled a new logo and video with the aim of creating a buzz to attract business.

Brown previewed the logo and 60-second commercial back in July during a trade seminar at Wilkes University and presented the finished products Friday at City Hall with some of the people involved.

The rebranding has been six years in the making and the end result of efforts by business and economic development leaders and organizations to market the city through its history, location and attributes.

Equipped with the new tools, the city will strive to continue to attract new businesses and achieve his goal of making Wilkes-Barre the entrepreneurial capital of Pennsylvania, Brown said.

Since he took office in 2020 more than 160 new businesses have started in the city, including 40 participating in a program in conjunction with the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce that uses federal pandemic relief funding, Brown noted.

“I have three ribbon cuttings today, this afternoon. Think about that, one day, three new businesses,” Brown said.

Developer Robert Tamburro of TFP Limited shared Brown’s vision of economic growth and back in 2016 mulled the idea of coming up with a way to better promote Luzerne County’s largest city.

“I think the beehive is fine and it’s historical and it shows that this is the center of activity. But I think the new branding effort describes a little bit more about who we are and where we’re headed. And I think that’s positive, especially to outsiders,” Tamburro said.

The logo has no illustration of anthracite, but the banner, “The Diamond City Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania,” and shape refer to coal mining. A trio of interior panels depict an outdoor scene of paddlers in a boat, a diploma and tasseled mortar board and the Market Street Bridge spanning the Susquehanna River. The city’s founding date, namesakes John Wilkes and Isaac Barre and a domed skep with bees flying around the hive complete the design.

Tamburro, along with the Diamond City Partnership, the Chamber, Gerry O’Donnell of GTO Consulting, paid for the logo designed by MLB Advertising.

The city hired Coal Creative to create the video that allows viewers to click on the new marketing logo in the upper left corner and connect to the welcometowilkes-barre.com website with embedded links to sections on Heritage, Innovation, Recreation and Education.

Brown said the city paid for the video with $5,000 of the $37.1 million in American Rescue Plan allocated by the federal government to help Wilkes-Barre recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic. The website was created by the city’s IT Director Frank Hershberger. Tyler Ryan, executive assistant to the mayor, manages the content.

The population figure of more than 50,000 cited in the video conflicts with that of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate of 44,453. Brown attributed the difference to the number of people who did not take part in the Census.

“We know we have over 50,000 by the amount of garbage we take away and refuse. We know that,” Brown said as more people move in and want to live here.

The city will be putting the video on different media formats such as Facebook, YouTube and cable channels.

“What we want to do is show people, potential people when they want to look at moving to a new city, come to Wilkes-Barre,” Brown said.