What does Houghton mean to you?

Houghton is looking to brand itself.

The Houghton County seat has long used a logo of a miner on official city documents, correspondence, the municipal website, and signs. But with a revised master place in place and a state designation as a Redevelopment Ready Community, city officials are looking for an official brand. 

And they’re asking the public through a survey. 

The miner logo could remain, of course, given the city’s mining history, but Houghton boasts other assets as well, including a historic downtown, recreation trails, and a redeveloped waterfront. The city was recently honored with the Michigan Municipal League's 2024 Community Excellence Award for that redeveloped waterfront.

“Defining our brand is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. We’re such a diverse community with so many assets we need to get broad input to see if a few common themes surface,” says Eric Waara, Houghton city manager. “Once we see what those are we can tune how we present ourselves to the world to take advantage of our brand.”

What’s happening: The city of Houghton, one of the largest cities in the U.P., is looking to brand itself and is seeking public input through a survey. Residents, visitors and others are welcome to respond to the survey, which can be found here. The branding could include the creation of a new logo and a motto or the continued use of the miner logo in some variation.

“We’re very open in terms of what we get out of the survey,” says Amy Zawada, who is the city’s community and business development director. “The goal is to retain parts of our historical brand but also do a vibe check on how the public views Houghton. We want to accurately represent Houghton and are looking forward to the ideas the public and our business community has to share.”

The survey: The survey is looking for input on how people see the city and what they feel about Houghton. The responses will inform the city “about what our brand is as we move forward as a community. The term ‘brand’ is part of the City identity and reflects who we are based on how we are viewed by the community,” according to a press release issued this week. The survey includes questions about how you would describe Houghton a friend, what are the city’s “greatest assets,” and what’s “truly unique about Houghton that no other community can say?”

What prompted the rebranding: Houghton is pursuing the branding as part of its updated and revised master plan, which lays out plans for the city's future. Houghton has never branded itself although city officials regularly use the image of a miner as a logo on official communication and on the city’s webpage.  That logo has varied among city departments, including the use of colors. 

“We’ve never gone through the process,” says Zawada. “We’re seeing more and more cities and businesses going through the process. It’s helpful for a city when it’s making signs, pushing promotions and for website use. They all need to have the same logo and cohesive colors.”

Will the miner remain: “We are leaving that open-ended,” Zawada says. There is an attachment to the miner logo, especially given its long-term use and the city’s mining heritage. Houghton is the gateway to the Keweenaw Peninsula and is home to the country’s original college of mining, now Michigan Technological University. “The miner has always been our logo. I suspect the miner will stay.”

What might stand out to the community: The outdoors and recreation, given the Michigan Tech trail system, open to hiking, biking, and skiing; historic downtown and mining buildings; the Keweenaw Waterway; the Portage Lake Lift Bridge; and Michigan Technological University.

File photoMichigan Technological University in Houghton.Background: A Houghton planning commission began meeting about branding in the summer of 2023, pursuing the objectives of the city’s master plan as well as best practices according to the city’s Redevelopment Ready Community status. The designation from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation signals a city has established a solid foundation to attract private investment and further build on municipality assets.

The committee is composed of three planning commission members and two city staff members (Waara and Zawada are the city staff members). After research and several meetings, the survey was created to provide data for the committee to consider.

What’s next: The committee will review the data and eventually will make a presentation to the Houghton City Council. “We’re excited to see the results,” Zawada says. “We’re always trying to evolve and get and get better and this is part of that process.” The new brand will be used across city departments, for marketing and promotions, including across social media, publications and signage.