Surf City USA®

Downtown yesterday at Starbucks I had the pleasure of meeting with Patricia Hooper, president of Trademarks International and she was kind enough to share some exciting news on the branding of Surf City USA®.  She shared some exciting information including the highly anticipated eStore which will embrace the many and growing number of Surf City USA® companies, products and people.  To inquire for licensing opportunities Patricia can be reached at 949 922-1933 or patricia@trademarksinternational.net.  The photo below is from the 2008 Huntington Beach Visitors Guide and the text from the Fall 2007 HBMagazine which reads as follows:

The Branding of Huntington Beach: Redux – One year later – an update on the Surf City USA® License Program

Huntington Beach. It is a timeless community in more ways than

one. Huntington Beach’s cosmopolitan component also grew with

the world around it; companies based in Huntington Beach are

sophisticated, strong and compete on a worldwide basis.

“Officials supporting the Huntington Beach Conference and

Visitors Bureau embraced brand development of Surf City USA®

because they knew they had an opportunity that would benefit

their community, schools and the lives of their children with

opportunities other cities could not accommodate. The channels

of distribution are inextricably tied to the passion of this city’s

business owners, who want to make it a strong, safe community

for their families.”

The brand defined

Surf City USA® is defined by the romance of surfing, sun and

the youthful spirit of extreme sports in a community that has maintained

a timeless beach lifestyle and is living the California dream.

Surf City USA® is Huntington Beach, the only quintessential

Southern California beach town that has staked its claim to unobstructed

ocean views, a place in time where family bonfires are still

possible, where neighbors are best friends and lifeguards aren’t

just the guys in red on the beach.

Every city has a unique quality, Laguna Beach has its art,

Newport Beach a little glitz and glam, Long Beach has its jazz,

Huntington Beach evokes a passion that is so much more, some

people call it “Old School,” others refer to it as retro, but however

that feeling is defined, it’s here in our fair city - unobstructed views,

miles of fire pits will always be a place to spend time with family

and friends, in time, the Golden Bear concerts, life guard towers

as they were, the red car; this is just a glimpse of what is to return

and what never left.

Business licensing partners

Dennis Midden, owner of BrewBakers, is launching his Surf

City USA® branded soda in traditional flavors, including rootbeer,

orange crème, crème cola and diet rootbeer.

“The Official Surf City USA® is like a big handshake

between BrewBakers and Huntington Beach,” says Midden.

Other licensees include Felt Bicycles, Surf City Gifts &

Collectibles dba California Greetings (gift items from apparel to

footwear), Tahiti Sweetie (custom jewelry), Sass n’ Class (custom

accessories), Surf City USA Photography by Robert Garcia and

Corporate Motivators (promotional products).

The first official Surf City USA® Marathon (previously known

as Pacific Shoreline Marathon) will take place in next February.

Don Kennedy, owner of DK Sports Marketing, will provide a new

line of Surf City USA® apparel and bring his experience in event

production (previously producing shows such as Winter Fest, Ski

Dazzle and Snow Jam) to HB with a pair of consumer trade

shows: Surf City USA® Winter Sports Fest and Surf City USA®

Summer Sports Fest.

Gary Sahagen of The International Surf Museum,

Huntington Beach, in coordination with Guy Takayama and

Arnold Schucter are jointly producing a long board and tandem

surf competition. The first phase of the Surf City USA®

Longboard Pro-Am took place last April 07 and is scheduled to

return for the finals in October.

According to Hooper, other proposed and prospective licensee

categories and services include wine accessories, boats, personal

watercraft, toys, beach towels, automotive industry products,

concerts and plays.

“In addition to managing the Surf City USA® License Program

and supporting sales through new channels and distribution,

Trademarks International has established several brand promotional

opportunities including Honda US Open, Hollister’s

Abercrombie & Fitch, the OC Fair and Beach Patrol, Huntington

Beach” she says.

“Over the next year, our goal is to complete a fully integrated,

interactive Surf City USA® website that will provide companies

with established upscale channels of distribution and the opportunity

to apply and obtain all license requirements online. The new

web site will also serve as a cross-promotional, advertising platform

which will give our licensee’s prime exposure to visitors of

Huntington Beach, hotels and other commercial institutions in

every industry.” HB

Comments

[chris]

"Huntington Beach evokes a passion that is so much more, some
people call it “Old School,” others refer to it as retro, but however
that feeling is defined, it’s here in our fair city - unobstructed views, miles of fire pits will always be a place to spend time with family and friends, in time, the Golden Bear concerts, life guard towers
as they were, the red car; this is just a glimpse of what is to return
and what never left."

this is some of the worst, most banal writing I have ever seen, in my humble opinion--it doesn't even make sense! "this is just a glimpse of what is to return and what never left."" what in God's name does that mean?

is there not some limit to having basic press releases reprinted here?

[connie]

I stopped reading after the second ®

[Kristin Stilton]

Ditto...

[Kristin Stilton]

Additionally, I know this supposed HB logo was created by or through the Vistors Bureau. It is awful - mainly the font. Seems some corporate wanna-be designer did this. I liked the rhythm and animation of the Surf City Marathon logo so much better. I know this latter was not intended to be an all-purpose logo, but at least it was crteated by graphic artists who specialize in such art, and it least it implies the spirit of the city in "Surf City." Are we to live with some corporate, staid 'sans serif' font? Who chose this logo? I understand it was the best of 'what was presented,' but it, too, is not acceptable. Can we change our logo to match our image? Can we keep or promote one of the many we already have? Can we citizens have more of a say?

This whole branding thing is about business and money, not about HB.

[chris]

K--in my 20+ years as a Creative Director at some big ad agencies in NY and LA-this logo would not have made it on a cocktail napkin--it drips "committee" and on a technical note, does not translate well -- too busy, too stale too forgettable

[chris]

Plus, try looking up "Trademarks International" - all that comes up is an Aussie company--not that that's a huge deal, but is there not even a web site for a company doing all of these wonderful things for SURF CITY USA®®®?

[chris]

And Kristin--you're right, the marathon logo has a much better feel and energy - doesn't look like four lawyers and trademark counsel put it together

[chris]

last word--and is the women in the photo drinking a Surf City USA®®® beer on the beach??

[chris]

LAST last word--so I did see the website there--trademarksinternational.net - but there's no site - just email contact-is Surf City USA ®®® the first client?

[chris]

--okay so maybe it's root beer - :)

I'll shut up now--I just find this stuff so obnoxious :)

[Patricia Hooper]

Hello,
My name is Patricia Hooper. I represent the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau in Brand Development and Licensing. I was just given notice of the comments regarding this post and wanted to specifically thank Chris and Kristin for taking the time to comment. Your passion, experience in the community and expertise (based on the experience you mention above) is exactly what we need and I love about Huntington Beach. My email and telephone number are listed above; I would love to talk to you about how you can contribute in the development of our brand.
Best regards,
Patricia Hooper
Trademarks International

[Kristin Stilton]

Patricia,
Can you respond to my personal e-mail to you, more than your cursory "many meetins...will get back?"? First, if you are in Aliso Viejo, do let me know, as I work less than a mile from you, and would be happy to meet you personally. Second: why would/did HB hire an Australian firm to represent OUR best interests, and how are you involved? Third, why is your business number a Verizon cell phone? I will be researching with the city and tourist bureau just how "trademarks international" happens to be a player at all. Truly you lost me after lack of follow-up (after your intial promise).

[Patricia Hooper]

Dear Kristin,
I sent you an email this evening (before seeing your comments above). I have been exceptionally busy and it was the first opportunity have had to catch up on emails since I received your email on Tuesday. Your always welcome to call me.
Regarding my phone, it is with Verizon because I feel it is important to make myself available to calls from my clients. In addition, it provides an accurate record for purposes of tracking calls and billing/accounting.
I beleve the other topics you raise above are addressed in my email to you today.
Take care and have a great weekend.
Patricia