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Downtown Storrs

Economic & Community Development
Market Research & Analysis
Brand Discovery & Strategy
Positioning & Messaging
Logo/Identity Design
Strategic Communications Planning

DKA develops positioning and marketing plan for a growing downtown destination.

Downtown Storrs is a vibrant, walkable downtown district in the Town of Mansfield, CT that was greatly enhanced by the construction of the Storrs Center mixed-use development between 2002 and 2014.

Located across from the University of Connecticut’s main campus, Downtown Storrs is now a destination area that is home to over 80 businesses, the Mansfield Town Hall and Community Center, the regional high school, residential apartments and townhomes, and Betsy Paterson Square, which serves as the town green and special events gathering space. A downtown with a college as its anchor has a unique energy – not only by having lots of young people present – but through sports, arts and cultural activities, and intellectual pursuits.

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Mansfield Downtown Partnership is an independent, non-profit organization comprised of the Town, UConn, local business and property owners, civic and cultural groups, and citizens organized to strengthen Mansfield’s economic development.

DKA was selected in 2017 to develop a comprehensive positioning and marketing plan for both the Downtown Storrs destination and the Mansfield Downtown Partnership organization, with these goals and objectives in mind:

Goal: position and promote Downtown Storrs as a regional arts, entertainment, dining and recreational destination where people choose to live, work, play and visit. Objective: Generate more visitation and traffic for businesses.

Goal: Position and promote Mansfield Downtown Partnership as the “go-to” agency for managing the Storrs Center development and promoting and enhancing the Downtown Storrs destination area, as well as providing economic resources to Mansfield on the whole. Objective: generate more membership for the Partnership, as well as more business and community development in Mansfield.

Our process consisted of in-depth work sessions and interviews with the Partnership board and its stakeholders including the developers, and business and property owners; extensive market research among local residents and employees, faculty/staff and students, and visitors to UConn and the area; logo and brand development; and creating a marketing communications implementation plan. The plan was adopted by the Partnership board in winter 2018 and implementation is now underway.

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