Mayor Ellison Unveils New Logo for Royal Oak

Mayor Jim Ellison showed off Royal Oak's new logo to a crowd of about 80 on Tuesday afternoon at the State of the City address, held this year at the Royal Oak Woman's Club.

"You may have wondered what this red dot is here on my shirt," Ellison said. "This is your sneak preview of the new Royal Oak city logo. You'll be seeing a roll-out of this toward the end of next month." 

The announcement signaled the start of a new marketing campaign for the city. The new logo replaces the former seal with a green oak tree and Old English font. (See photo.)

"Get used to seeing the 'RO' in this community because it's going to be everywhere," the mayor said.

New branding message is 'urban and authentic'

City commissioners voted 6-1 at a special meeting in June to move forward with new branding for the city. As part of its 2012-2013 goals and objectives, the Royal Oak City Commission hired Ideation Signs and Communications, to help roll-out a unified city marketing identity and strategy. This year’s budget included an allocation of $20,000 to complete the design task.

"A lot of thought went into the logo," Jay Dunstan, a member of the branding committee, told commissioners in June. 

Dunstan said the committee poured through dozens of photographs and looked the results of the Royal Oak Citizens Survey conducted in the fall of 2012 — in which residents described the city as friendly, fun, safe, diverse and vibrant — to come up with a branding message that is "urban and authentic."

The new logo will appear on stationery  business cards, banners, city vehicles, gateway signs and other city materials.

What do you think of the new logo? Tell us in the comments.