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10 March 2010, 05:54 | Updated: 10 March 2010, 06:12
If Suffolk was a person it'd be a woman in their forties, who's married with children.
Furthermore, its colour would be an optimistic green and, if it was a season, Suffolk would be spring. These are all the recent findings of the Suffolk Brand Survey, undertaken by Choose Suffolk, the county’s development agency.
As custodians of the county-wide brand, Choose Suffolk has announced the findings of its recent Suffolk Brand Survey. The survey sought to explore a range of questions in order to drive forward the Suffolk brand and ensure that it successfully represents the county’s own vision of itself as a premier location for business and tourism.
The survey found the following:
When asked about the leisure and lifestyle aspects of living in Suffolk, the responses, again, were largely positive (with one being ‘very poor’ and five being ‘excellent’), with the top five as follows:
1= Quality of life (4.5)
1= Open space (4.5)
2. Environment (4.4)
3. Safety (4.2)
4= Culture (3.7)
4= Education (3.7)
5= Leisure facilities (3.5)
5= Property prices (3.5)
Respondents were emphatic in their response to the question about whether they would recommend setting up a business in Suffolk, with an impressive 91.3% answering in the affirmative.
Lastly, although respondents said that they did not think business and tourism should be combined into one brand, over half still believed that a single brand for Suffolk would have benefits for their organisation.
Celia Hodson, Chief Executive of Choose Suffolk, said, “As custodians of the county’s brand, The Suffolk Brand survey and our earlier workshop have given us a fascinating insight into how people view Suffolk. It’s encouraging to find that the county is predominantly seen as having a high quality of life, is safe and has a good environment. Equally, in terms of business, Suffolk is a great place to set up in business, with strong business partnerships, facilities and a robust local economy.”
She continued, “This exercise will ensure that Suffolk’s brand is well-positioned to help the county embrace future opportunities as we come out of the recession. Suffolk has also undergone many changes since its brand was created about seven years ago. We are now home to a burgeoning renewables sector, helping to lead the development of a low carbon economy; the exciting development on Ipswich Waterfront and UCS, and a fantastic tourism offering.
“It’s interesting to see that this latest survey reflects this sense of optimism in the county, with respondents choosing green as the county’s colour and spring as its season. The elements and characteristics that have been highlighted here will be very useful in helping us push the county’s brand forward.”