May marks the one year anniversary of the UN campaign. Unlike anywhere else. On purpose. This new motto replaced the decades old, “Iowa’s leading edge”. While celebrating one year of UN, the Image Campaign Core Team is busy working on initiatives that will connect residents to the campaign and help the people of Council Bluffs embrace their inner un-ness.
UN Sculptures
Two UN sculptures were unveiled on Thursday, May 25. These five foot tall UN map pins were located at Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park during LoessFest. Residents can expect these giant UN pins start popping up all over the map. They made their debut at LoessFest, but now you will be able to find them at places like Bayliss Park, the Fairmount water playground, maybe even the pools. Share your selfies and snaps at #unleashcb
100 Block Parties
While developing the UN Campaign it became apparent Council Bluffs residents wanted more opportunities to celebrate and connect with their neighbors, and so evolved 100 Block Parties. The team behind the UN Campaign created a challenge for the people of Council Bluffs to host 100 Block Parties in one year. Mayor Walsh kicked off this one-year project in September of 2016. As of May 15 the community has hosted more than 60 block parties with nearly 7,000 people in attendance! Several block parties are scheduled for the coming weeks, some private parties while others are open to the public. Plans are in the works for the 100th block party to be a community-wide block party on the 100 Block in September 2017. Stay tuned for more information. We still need parties so we can reach the goal of 100! For more details, and to register a party visit: www.100blockparties.com
History of the Image Campaign
In 2015 Mayor Walsh formed a committee to begin the process of creating a campaign like “We don’t coast” that the people of Council Bluffs could call their own. Representatives from the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, Council Bluffs Community Schools, The 712 Initiative, Iowa Western Community College and several other community organizations came together to make it happen.
The process began with “Let’s talk about CB” an online survey that took place in spring of 2015 and reached over 2500 residents. After the survey results were analyzed the committee hosted community workshops to learn a little more about what residents wanted. Through this process it became apparent that the residents of Council Bluffs want to bring people together, celebrate diversity, embrace the quirk factor, celebrate history, share successes, and create an active street life.
In the fall of 2015 creative concepts were presented to focus groups, and they unanimously selected “Unlike anywhere else. On purpose.” https://vimeo.com/163598325
Sometimes to discover who you really are, you first have to discover who you’re not. Council Bluffs is unlike anywhere else. On purpose. So today, we’d like you to join us in publicly embracing our un-ness. Unashamed of who we are and who we want to be. Undaunted by the challenges of the future. Unstoried no more. It’s time to make the unknown, known. Time to uncover the people, the places, the history and the happenings that make us proud.
UN campaign logos and creative guidelines can be downloaded at: http://unleashcb.com/features/unlike_anywhere_else/