Vineland looks to future with new brand

VINELAND - Wanna go to ‘The Ave?'

Those will likely be the words thrown around local homes, workplaces and — officials hope — way beyond Vineland’s borders.

Celebrating the city’s history and looking optimistically toward the future, officials with Main Street Vineland on Thursday unveiled a rebranding campaign geared at making the city a destination for a young generation.

MORE NEWS: Dogs, displaced by floods, seek home

Centered around a new nickname for the city’s downtown, Landis Avenue is now known as “The Ave.”

“Branding is everything and everything is branding,” Vineland Downtown Improvement District Executive Director Russell Swanson told a crowd of more than a hundred at the Landis Theater. “The avenue is our calling card. It is the uniqueness of the avenue that sets us apart.”

The unveiling, held after a gala event at the theater, followed a year’s worth of planning by the VDID.

Included in the marketing campaign is a new logo — a pin — and overall identity.

Both will soon be visible on everything from signage to advertising to banners and more.

There’s also a new website — theave.biz, and a hashtag — #theavevld.

Swanson and others said their ultimate hope is to refashion Landis Avenue as a destination spot for millennials..

“A lot of younger people, they want to live back in urban settings, they want that experience,” Swanson said. “We’re going to create housing opportunities, we’re going to create a bike-share program.”

Robert Scarpa, business developer for the VDID, said the strategy is different from past revitalization campaigns.

“It seems every few years we dust off words and add ‘re-‘ to them,” Scarpa said. “Let me assure you, tonight is not about that. Sure Landis Ave. has had some starts and stops … we’re not there yet but we’re a lot closer.”

Scarpa in his speech highlighted other cities in the United States that have fashioned their downtown identities after road themes, including Broadway, Rodeo Drive, The Strip; and, more locally, The Promenade and The Walk in Atlantic City.

“These visionaries realized what we’re learning tonight — that a destination can be a brand, and a brand can be a destination,” Scarpa said.

The rebranding follows previous attempts to revitalize Vineland’s downtown business district into a dining and entertainment destination.

The Landis Theater itself was part of an effort that culminated in its reopening in 2010. Initially open full-time, the theater now only offers entertainment on a part-time basis.

The city-owned Landis MarketPlace was also a central part of a previous revitalization effort, but now has no vendors inside.

Its main tenant, the Amish market, left the city in 2015.

Many of the MarketPlace’s vendors now operate directly across the street at a new common location called The Spot. That property is owned by Swanson, not the city.

Main Street last year received a $30,000 state grant to target opportunities for the downtown.

MORE NEWS: Mayoral candidates talk budget 

The group has worked with a “millennial committee” to find youth-geared attractions for Landis Avenue.

Also established were real estate tours in which Main Street essentially takes interested merchants around downtown to view available properties.

Vineland resident Arthur Schalick said he was mostly impressed with the campaign as he exited the theater.

“I thought it was good, it shows they have vision for the future,” Schalick said. “They’re working with the resources they have. Hopefully this gets the millennials involved.”