Maybe it’s a happy coincidence. Or maybe the folks at the Hertel Business Association were inspired by my two-part blog series posted a few months ago focusing on the area’s brand, or lack thereof, and how people refer to the Hertel neighborhood.

If you look at some of the points I tried to make, it came down to just two things. The first was that people call the Hertel area all sorts of things from the common “North Buffalo” and “HerteI” to the lesser knowns like “North Park” and “Northside”. And that point led into the second, that the core business district was lacking a true identity; a marketable name that can translate beyond the city limits and help spur additional traffic and economic activity.

So it looks like HBA, the group in the best position to take the lead on a branding effort, is now working to address that. Refer to their latest press release, which reveals an agreed upon name, a new logo, and also gives some detail on the background and thought process that went into the decisions.

Sure, maybe I would’ve liked to seen this come about in grander fashion with a big reveal and launch campaign, but that’s likely not realistic. (I’m used to the big budgets that come along with marketing for a bank.) And if I had more time, I would’ve volunteered to help lead the effort, but I’ll settle with thinking I was a part of it via this blog.

Hertel, I’m happy things are starting to happen.