We are now two weeks into our new name and brand, and the response has been affirming and positive!

I would like to thank the Cedar Valley community, our investors and the many constructive conversations that we had to move the rebranding process forward – the Grow Cedar Valley team is grateful for your support!

For some, this rebranding may have come as a surprise. Some wondering where the rebranding came from, what was the why behind this decision. The rebranding process began last spring after several focus groups were facilitated by Randy Pilkington and Drew Conrad from UNI’s Institute for Decision Making (IDM). Through those conversations, it was clear that it was time to refresh, re-focus and renew our mission, vision and goals.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber retained the services of Amperage Marketing & Fundraising to help implement the process. From the beginning, we were determined to listen to the Cedar Valley business community and leadership to understand the needs moving forward.

Listening included several forms of research. In addition to the focus groups with IDM, there were one-on-one interviews with stakeholders, surveys to current and former investors, and team assessment exercises with staff. Through the research we learned several key points:

• We needed to strengthen our brand
• Economic and Community development (Chamber) are equally important and need to be woven together to accurately represent and celebrate the Cedar Valley
• GCVAC should be the convener and connector
• Be the voice of the Business community and tell the Cedar Valley story

So the rebranding process began!

After listening to positive and constructive conversations on where our organization should be moving toward, numerous meetings were scheduled to create the message, brand, name and logo. Through the many discussions there was one descriptor that was repeated throughout, “Grow”. Grow is an action word, strong steady growth is a bellwether of any successful business and organization. When we look toward the future as an organization and the Cedar Valley community we are looking for growth – personal, professional and community growth; strengthening the Cedar Valley as a whole. Growth is how we’ll guide all future decisions.

Our “Grow Cedar Valley” brand is our promise to the community and you can expect that we will create and optimize resources to help grow and leverage the best outcomes. Our team is working diligently to bringing business and community together to create opportunities for the Cedar Valley to thrive. We encourage all to reach out and ask about current projects, initiatives, resources available or get involved with Grow Cedar Valley!

-Cary Darrah, CEO Grow Cedar Valley