The brand, �Anchorage Big Wild Life,� seeks to express the unique, larger-than-life lifestyle of Anchorage residents. Whether skiing the Coastal Trail on a lunch hour, summer fishing for wild Alaska salmon at Ship Creek, hiking Flattop, enjoying a fine dining experience with a view of the Chugach Mountains or taking in a First Friday art exhibition, Anchorage residents lead a life that�s bigger and a little wilder than most.  
        
The Municipality of Anchorage (MOA), Anchorage Convention & Visitor�s Bureau (ACVB) and the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) announced the new brand at AEDC�s 2007 Economic Forecast Luncheon at the Egan Convention Center. It was followed by a community celebration in Town Square featuring Alaska wildlife, Native American Music Award recipients, Pamyua, a figure skating exhibition by 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships bronze medalist Keegan Messing and complimentary T-shirts hung in Town Square trees for the public.
         
Two advertising firms, the Nerland Agency, Anchorage, and Stone Mantel of Colorado Springs, Colo., used existing research on Anchorage and new research including phone interviews with visitors, decision-maker interviews, a facilitated public forum and other research to help create the brand.  The MOA, ACVB and AEDC spent $80,000 on developing the brand and the two advertising agencies donated $20,000 in work. 
          
AEDC President/CEO Bob Poe explained that the brand was created with three concepts in mind: first, to reinforce for residents their choice of Anchorage as home � as a special place like no other; second, to answer for visitors, their call for an exotic, �wild� destination with accessible, one-of-a-kind adventures mingled amongst sufficient urban amenities and conveniences; and third, to relay to people and organizations looking to do business here that Anchorage can provide a high level of business infrastructure and convenience as well as a quality of life that attracts and keeps employees.
         
�Anchorage residents are fortunate to be able to live extraordinary lives in an unmatched setting which appeals to locals and visitors alike,� said Mayor Mark Begich. �This new brand captures that notion and will help us attract even more tourists and business investment to our community.�      
          
Anchorage brand research results showed that Anchorage offers a unique, larger-than-life lifestyle.  Nerland and Stone Mantel explained that extensive brand research unveiled the many benefits that Anchorage provides: Its functional benefits (convenience, access, beauty), social benefits (community, opportunity) and emotional benefits (wild, unpretentious, spirited, open-hearted) are all essential to the brand.  And, though these are just a sample of the benefits offered, investigative conversations with the focus groups made clear the final brand strategy that inspired �Anchorage Big Wild Life� � abundance permeates everything here.
       
Anchorage residents, visitors and the business community can learn more about the brand and submit stories about how they live big, wild lives at www.BigWildLife.net .
       
ACVB is also developing an aggressive �Anchorage Big Wild Life� advertising and promotional campaign that will launch in California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado in late March. As part of the effort, ACVB has re-designed its Web site, www.Anchorage.net , to immediately reflect the brand and feature the emotional connections that people in Anchorage revel in day-to-day.
        
�Residents in Anchorage have access to incredible, scenery, adventures and activities year-round that make living life on a grand scale a daily experience,� says Bruce Bustamante, president and CEO of the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau.  �An average weekend in Anchorage is the dream of a lifetime for many and the city and surrounding wild amenities provide a highly unique opportunity to translate this personal experience to visitors.�