Cape Charles Gets New Brand and Tagline

Cape Charles Develops New Brand to Position for Future

CAPE CHARLES, Va. (October 22, 2018) – Cape Charles, a historic bayside town on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, has a fresh new brand and tagline. The project was commissioned by Cape Charles Main Street Inc. working with Otto Design + Marketing, a full-service marketing and advertising company headquartered in Norfolk, Va.

The committee has undergone an extensive process with input from over 200+ community stakeholders on Cape Charles’ brand promise, brand position, brand pillars and attributes. The committee was comprised of residents, business owners and civic leaders. Together with Otto Design + Marketing, a brand architecture was developed that incorporates the input from the community and reflects the sentiment and pride of the classic town.

“Our goal was to capture a brand that appeals to all visitors, businesses and residents,” said Bill Stramm, board treasurer and organizational co-chair of Cape Charles Main Street Inc. “We have experienced significant growth with the success of the Main Street program. We have new residents and new businesses, and we want to ensure that the brand positions us for even more growth and success.”

“The concept behind the new Cape Charles tagline, Virginia’s Cape, is intended to clearly locate the destination while leveraging the positive brand franchise Virginia already enjoys,” said Pete Leddy, president of Otto Design + Marketing.

The new brand mark and tagline will soon be incorporated in marketing elements such as the official wayfinding, website, banners and marketing communications.

Cape Charles, founded in 1886, is situated along the Chesapeake Bay with a public beach that extends along Bay Avenue with a paved walkway, pavilion and fishing pier. Residents and visitors use the beach for swimming, sunbathing and a variety of recreational pursuits. With a land area of 2,817 acres and a population of approximately 1,000 residents, Cape Charles is the largest of Northampton’s five incorporated towns in terms of both land size and population.

While significant new development has occurred in recent years, Cape Charles also has one of the best collections of historic buildings of any community on the Eastern Shore. The town strives to preserve its rich architectural heritage. An architectural survey that identified historic properties led to the listing of the Cape Charles National Register Historic District in 1989.

Cape Charles Main Street, Inc. is part of the Virginia Main Street Program, which is a preservation-based economic and community development program that follows the National Main Street Center’s Main Street Approach™.  The Department of Housing and Community Development and Virginia Main Street Program generously awarded Cape Charles Main Street, Inc. an affiliate grant earlier in 2018 to support this new branding initiative. As a Community Affiliate, the goals are to develop organizational stability and public-private partnerships necessary to establish a downtown revitalization program. To get updates about the Cape Charles Main Street Inc. initiatives, visit https://www.facebook.com/MainStreetCapeCharles/.