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Economic Development Marketing and Branding Strategy
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TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Colleen Tribby, City Manager
Prepared By: Felicia Escover, Economic Development Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
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The City Council will receive a report on the Economic Development Marketing and Branding Strategy, including the new Economic Development brand identity, the Brand Identity Guidelines, and the communications strategy, “Open Lanes for Opportunity.” The Economic Development Committee reviewed the materials on October 20, 2026, and supported bringing the brand and strategy to the full City Council.
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STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
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Receive the report.
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FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with receiving this report. The remaining work under the agreement with Commune Communication Corp., including the development of marketing collateral, will be completed within the approved contract amount.
Future implementation activities, such as printing and event participation, will be funded through the existing Economic Development operating budget or brought forward for consideration through the City’s standard budget process, as appropriate.
DESCRIPTION:
On June 3, 2025, the City Council approved an agreement with Commune Communication Corp. (Commune) to develop an Economic Development Marketing and Branding Strategy (Resolution No. 36-25). This project implements Strategy 1.2.2 of the City’s Economic Development Strategy, which was adopted by the City Council on October 1, 2024 (Resolution No. 111-24):
“Undertake and implement an economic development-tailored marketing and branding strategy that focuses on Dublin’s competitive assets and transformational development projects/areas identified through the Economic Development Strategy effort, as well as existing business and development incentives.”
The scope of work includes an economic development-focused brand, a comprehensive marketing strategy, updated promotional materials for industry outreach, enhanced media and public relations efforts, and a review of the City’s Economic Development webpages.
Purpose of the Marketing and Branding Strategy
The City’s existing brand serves the full community and represents Dublin in its role as a local government. Economic development outreach has a narrower audience with different needs: business owners, industry decision-makers, site selectors, brokers, and developers who are comparing Dublin with other locations. The Marketing and Branding Strategy gives the Office of Economic Development a consistent identity, message, and set of tools for reaching those audiences, so that the City’s business outreach, collateral, and digital presence make a clear and consistent case for doing business in Dublin.
The need for an economic development brand was identified in the City’s Economic Development Strategy. The Strategy found that Dublin’s economy has historically focused on household-serving uses, government jobs, and a few larger headquarters, regional offices, and manufacturing and research and development facilities, and that the City is now positioned to pursue business and job growth in innovation-oriented industries. To support that shift, Goal 1 (Innovation Growth) calls for growing these industries “through business attraction and marketing programs,” and Strategy 1.2 calls for establishing “a business-friendly brand unique to Dublin’s economic development efforts.”
The brand also supports other goals in the Economic Development Strategy. It provides a platform for promoting greenfield development opportunities in the Fallon East Economic Development Zone, as called for in Action 3.1.3, and for improving the marketing of City-offered incentives, services, and programs to existing small businesses under Strategy 6.2.
Research and Stakeholder Input
As part of the discovery phase, Commune conducted interviews with the Mayor and each City Councilmember; facilitated focus groups with business leaders, regional partners, and real estate professionals; met with the City’s Executive Team and Staff; and administered a survey to community members and businesses. The discovery phase also included a tour of the City and a review of existing literature and relevant materials.
The research identified Dublin’s key competitive advantages, including its strategic location at the intersection of Interstates 580 and 680, access to two BART stations, reputation for safety, and a highly educated workforce. Business owners also expressed positive views of the City’s business support services. These findings informed the creative brief and guided the development of the City’s Economic Development brand.
Economic Development Committee Review
The Economic Development Committee (EDC) received updates on the project at three key milestones, providing feedback and guidance throughout the brand development process:
• December 16, 2025: The EDC reviewed the research findings, creative brief, and five initial brand concepts, providing feedback on the concepts and preferred design direction.
• March 12, 2026: Staff provided the EDC a memorandum outlining refinements to the brand concepts, recommending “The Cornerstone” as the preferred direction.
• October 20, 2026: The EDC reviewed the brand identity, Brand Identity Guidelines, and communications strategy (shown in Attachment 1). The Committee provided favorable feedback, supported the brand and strategy, and recommended forwarding the item to the City Council.
Deliverables
Over the course of the project, Commune delivered a stakeholder outreach plan, research findings, a creative brief, and multiple brand concepts. The final deliverables, reviewed by the EDC on October 20, 2026, are the brand identity, the Brand Identity Guidelines, and the communications strategy. Each is summarized below. Commune also prepared draft sample collateral, including an industry one-pager and LinkedIn post templates, which Staff will finalize as part of the next steps described later in this report.
The Brand Identity
“The Cornerstone” logo is a modern “D” formed by intersecting lines. It includes a negative-space “X” referencing the highway interchange, an accent square representing Dublin as a point where ideas and action meet, and a curve evoking the roads into Dublin and the surrounding hills. One version of the brand logo is shown and described in Image 1 below.
Image 1. The Cornerstone
Visual description: The logo is a bold, green, capital letter “D.” The left side of the letter is a straight vertical bar, and the right side is a wide, rounded curve. In the lower left corner, the vertical bar stops short, and a small gold square sits in its place, separated from the rest of the letter by narrow white gaps that suggest intersecting lines. Below the letter, the word “DUBLIN” appears in large, bold, green capital letters, with “ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT” in smaller, widely spaced gold capital letters underneath.
The Economic Development brand will not replace the City’s brand. It was intentionally designed to complement it. Proxima Nova was selected as the primary typeface because of its similarity to the City’s typography, and the guidelines include co-branding lockups that pair the Economic Development logo with the City’s shamrock logo. During concept development, Staff set aside the EDC’s initially preferred concept because it risked visual confusion with the City’s existing branding and resembled a logo the Dublin Chamber of Commerce had recently introduced for one of its programs. Together, these choices are intended to make the two brands read as related rather than competing identities.
Brand Identity Guidelines
The Brand Identity Guidelines (Attachment 2) set the rules for using the brand consistently across print and digital materials. They include:
• Logo family: Primary, horizontal, and square versions of the logo, a standalone lettermark, and versions for light and dark backgrounds.
• Color system: A palette built around Dublin Green, with lime and forest green as supporting colors and gold and coral reserved for accents. An optional green-to-gold gradient is reserved for feature uses.
• Typography: Proxima Nova as the primary typeface, with web typography to be confirmed during webpage design.
• Logo usage rules: Clear space, minimum sizes, approved backgrounds, and examples of improper use.
• Co-branding lockups: Approved pairings of the Economic Development logo and the City’s shamrock logo. In these pairings only, the Economic Development logo may be recolored to match the City’s primary green.
• Application examples: Sample business cards and an Economic Development webpage showing the brand in use.
Communications Strategy
The communications strategy is built around a central idea, “Open Lanes for Opportunity,” which refers to removing barriers for businesses through convenient access to the regional freeway and transit network, responsive City support, and available sites and talent. Three core statements guide the brand’s messaging:
• Brand vision: To position Dublin as a city that “represents a future vision for America, strategically located at the epicenter of opportunity.”
• Brand platform: “With convenient access to major freeways and mass transit, business-friendly civic leadership, and a diverse, educated workforce, the City of Dublin ensures that nothing stands in the way of you and your potential.”
• Value proposition: “In Dublin, business growth moves as swiftly and seamlessly as our roadways and transit hubs: a connected, collaborative city in the New American Backyard that attracts world-class talent and empowers it to thrive.”
The strategy also includes:
• Four pillars: Location, Support, Safety, and Workforce, which anchor all messaging.
• Three audiences: Industry leaders, real estate professionals, and small businesses and the community, each with a tailored message: “The Intersection of Opportunity,” “Room to Grow,” and “Open for You,” respectively.
• Four priority industries: Real Estate Development; Retail, Dining, and Entertainment; Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing; and Business Events and Travel. Real estate and retail will lead, with the other industries phased in over time.
• Channel strategy: Defined roles for City-owned channels (webpages, email, and recurring content), earned media and partner outreach, paid media, and industry events and direct outreach.
• Content toolkit: A message bank, standard boilerplate language, recurring LinkedIn content series, and reusable templates for success stories, press releases, industry one-pagers, newsletters, and talking points.
• Review process and measurement: A content review and approval process and a framework for measuring results, described in more detail below.
The strategy is also intended to support businesses already in Dublin, not only attract new ones. It builds on existing programs, such as the Small Business Spotlight, Small Business Season social media features, the Quarterly Dining Guide, and Business Anniversary Recognition, rather than replacing them, and emphasizes communicating the support the City offers to help businesses start, grow, and stay in Dublin.
Implementation and Evaluation
Staff is prepared to begin implementing the strategy with existing resources, in coordination with the City’s Community Engagement Team and with support from Commune under the existing agreement.
To evaluate results, Staff will track awareness (such as media coverage and LinkedIn reach), engagement (such as webpage visits), action (such as business inquiries and incentive program applications), and outcomes (such as new businesses in priority industries). Because location decisions reflect many factors, the return on investment from economic development marketing builds over time and is difficult to attribute to any single activity. These metrics will help Staff assess the strategy’s impact on business attraction and retention, local revenue, and jobs, and adjust the approach as needed. Staff will continue to provide periodic progress updates to the EDC.
Next Steps
Following the City Council’s receipt of this report, Staff will work with Commune to implement the Economic Development Marketing and Branding Strategy in support of the City’s broader economic development goals and the Economic Development Strategy. Next steps include:
• Finalize new marketing collateral and apply the brand to existing materials.
• Launch the brand internally through Staff training, followed by a public rollout through existing programs and communication channels.
• Introduce new branded content and outreach, monitor results, and provide periodic progress updates to the EDC.
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
Priority 8: Enhanced Customer Experience
Objective A: Support the implementation of the 2024 Economic Development Strategy, including pursuing growth industries.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
The City Council Agenda was posted.
ATTACHMENTS:
1) Economic Development Marketing and Branding Strategy Presentation
2) Dublin Economic Development Brand Identity Guidelines