PHOENIX — So who needs paid consultants?
Dozens of Arizonans are voluntarily submitting their own ideas for a state slogan even before a private firm being paid with taxpayer dollars gets a chance to ask them.
Some are warm and fuzzy.
Some comment on the state’s shortcomings.
And a few are just not printable.
But Susan Marie, spokeswoman for the Arizona Commerce Authority, says her agency — and the Scottsdale consulting firm being paid to help “rebrand” Arizona — will be looking at all of them. And each person submitting an idea will get a thank-you note and even a referral to a website where they can get involved in other ways.
The idea of a new slogan and a logo to go with it is all part of an effort by Gov. Doug Ducey’s administration to polish the state’s image for everything from tourism to business promotion.
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The contract starts with figuring out what people think of Arizona now, complete with “multiple one-on-one interviews with people who will provide insight, history, vision and truth about Arizona,” Marie said. There also will be focus groups.
What the state expects to get for its $250,000 is a package “that speaks the message of the Arizona brand.”
From the emails already sent to the state, obtained by Capitol Media Services, it seems like lots of people already know what that brand should be without having to spend a cent. And a lot involves the weather — good and bad.
Julissa Ricks suggested “Arizona ... heat today, heat tomorrow,” with Karina Roman-Mendez proposing to call it “the molten state.”
Meanwhile, Jay Schroeder found a positive way of expressing all of that with the fact that many Arizonans are from somewhere else: “The melting pot.”
Others, like Joseph Ciccaglione, found a positive way of dealing with the heat, pointing out that “You don’t have to shovel sunshine.” And Nicholas Martinez suggested that if people “can’t stand the heat, get outta the state golf capital of the U.S.”
A few also suggested calling Arizona “the sunshine state,” never mind that’s already being used by Florida.
Recognizing the governor’s desire to use the catchphrase to attract new business, Kahdija Peterson proposed making the heat something positive, calling Arizona aA hotbed for innovation.” She even suggested a logo to go with it involving solar panels incorporated into an Arizona scene.
And of course, there was the oft-spoken excuse for visitors mentioned by several people: “It’s a dry heat.”
But weather and politics also found a mix in a proposal by someone identified only as Vicente who had his own twist on this: “But it’s a dry hate.”
There were plenty of proposals playing off the abbreviation for the state.
One came from Jan B., who suggested “Everything from A to Z.” She even had ideas of ways to use that, going through the alphabet like “A is for awesome sunsets” to “Z for (world class) zoos.”
Along the same lines, Jim Gagliardi liked “AZ good as it gets.”
One email without a name attached, however, saw the letters in a different light: “Arizona — We put the AZ in Crazy.”
The state’s features also figured in some of the proposals.
Monica duBois suggested “miles of mountains.”
Patrick Flannery liked “the land of majestic majesty.”
“Awesome Arizona” came from Mark Fairall.
And Jay Dewar even came up with his own graphic, a map of Arizona seen through a telescope sight highlighting what the state has to offer.
Others, however, had their own more negative takes on the state, its image, and what phrase might best reflect that.
Tom Milo thought “The guns and dropout’s state” might be fitting.
Along the same lines, Doug Ramsey proposed “Low taxes, lower test scores,” with Doug Turner suggesting Arizona be called “The wing nut state.”
And “the under educated state” came from another who provided just an email address.
Finally, there was the ultimate question that came from Rolanda De La Zerda: Why mess with it at all?
“Arizona has always been known as the Grand Canyon state,” she wrote in an email. “If New York and Texas are keeping their same old catch phrase ... why should we be looking for a new one?”
