New tagline, logo presented to Waco City Council

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - The Waco City Council was presented with a new city logo and tagline at a council meeting Tuesday.

The newly presented tagline is “Waco, a city to believe in.”

The tagline is said to reflect that although the city has faced obstacles they have overcome them through the strength and resilience of their people.

The branding project was presented by the cities director of communications and marketing, Monica Sedelmeier, as well as Anna Minkkinen, the Executive Creative Director at Loyalkasper and Christina Summerfield, the Co-Founder of company, Versive.

Back in March the council approved the branding project, up to $340,000. Sedelmeier tells KWTX they’ll spend the full amount.

Council members and Mayor Dillon Meek were pleased with the tagline presented during the meeting.

“I like the tagline, I really do. I know this one came as a genesis of different ideas and it seemed like the first ones we had weren’t quite resonating. This one definitely resonates with me. A city to believe in, I think its fantastic,” council member Jim Holmes said.

“I like the subtle nod to [the fact that] we’re faithful people. We believe,” Holmes added.

“I think about life in a manor of what looks good on a t-shirt. This looks good on a t-shirt,” councilmember Andrea J. Barefield said.

“This will be something our citizens can carry,” Mayor Meek added.

Councilmembers talked about how personalized the tagline feels for the community.

“This doesn’t feel like you are shopping a one size fits all thing that you bring to other cities. This feels like you have learned about our city and you have learned about who we are and what we value. You have done a good job helping us tell that story,” councilmember Josh Borderud said.

The brand presentation also included a refresh to the city’s logo. Councilmembers talked about wanting to keep what they call the “flying W” consistent, but give it an update.

The original logo is a visual rallying cry for locals, according to the presentation that went on to say it can be spotted across the entire city from water towers to travel coffee mugs.

“Making sure to keep its legacy and integrity intact, we’ve taken the opportunity to optimize and modernize the Flying W so it can persist for another 30 years across every touch point,” the presentation explains of the updated logo.

“I like the design update you did which is essentially the exact same but will carry better in various mediums,” Borderud said.

While the changes are minor, councilmembers were happy with the thought that went into the changes made.

“Its important how and why we do everything. I don’t know if people realize how letters are shaped means something, the color of an image means something. [Sedelmeier] said [she] didn’t want the W to have a tight or compressed feeling. That’s next level deep,” Barefield said. “Because you don’t want your city to feel tight or compressed right?”

Council member Alice Rodriguez spoke about the logo and why its important to her that it stays similar to what people have known.

“I remember the first time I saw the flying W outside city hall in Christmas lights. It did something to me, my heart just started beating and I was so excited about it,” Rodriguez recalled.

“I thought wow this represents Waco, this represents me, my community,” she added.

Next the city plans to create a brand campaign to roll out the new logo and tagline in various marketing materials.

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