Suffolk News-Herald

It’s bold and colorful.

It’s nutty, even kind of fun.

And, if Suffolk Festivals Inc. officials are right, the new Peanut Fest logo will stick out in the minds of the 150,000 visitors expected to attend the four-day festival Oct. 9-12.

&uot;One of the things I wanted to do as chairman was to bring a fresh, new look to Peanut Fest,&uot; said Jesse J. Johnson, chairman of this year’s event. &uot;I spoke with Lynette Brugeman of Suffolk’s Division of Tourism and … worked with Ethicom Associates (a Norfolk advertising agency).

&uot;Together, they created this great new logo for this year’s festival,&uot; he continued. &uot;The old logo served us well for 25 years but it was time for something that would grab the attention of the people.

&uot;It’s bright and colorful and we believe the visitors to Peanut Fest will love it.&uot;

The new logo, which was unveiled at last night’s City Council meeting, is rich in the traditional fall colors of gold, red and purple. Beneath a peanut shell is the festival’s new motto: &uot;In a nutshell, Fun!&uot;

Over the past 25 years, Peanut Fest has evolved from a small community event to a regional festival that draws visitors from across Hampton Roads and beyond, Brugeman said. To effectively compete against other major events, Peanut Fest needed to promote itself more aggressively it the regional marketplace.

The new logo will help accomplish that, she said.

&uot;Over the years, our culture and the way we look at things have changed, and there is far more competition than ever before in today’s marketplace,&uot; said Brugeman. &uot;The ‘brand’ sells everything – from shoes and newspapers, to soda and software, to services and – yes – to cities!

&uot;Brand sells by creating awareness, creating a buzz and creating consumers for a product … or for a destination. It is at the forefront of every successful marketing strategy.

&uot;As with the &uot;Surprising Suffolk’ campaign, the Peanut Fest logo served well for many years. After a quarter of a century, the time has come to position the festival at a higher level in the marketplace.&uot;

William D. &uot;Billy&uot; Wyatt, president of the Board of Directors of Suffolk Festivals Inc., said the entire board is extremely impressed with the new logo.

He said the stylized designed shows the city’s commitment to continuing to celebrate the peanut with new and innovative ways.