Editor’s note: The following article originally published in Friday’s edition contained an error. Goss Agency Director of Client Services Gordon Farquhar said Natchez could become an economic success story, much like Asheville, N.C. The error has been corrected below. We regret the error and are happy to set the record straight.

NATCHEZ — The Goss Agency, a marketing and advertising firm under contract with the city, presented the results of almost a year’s work Thursday evening, including a detailed plan for how best to market Natchez and several sample logos.

On Friday, members of the Natchez Convention and Promotion Commission and the Tourism Marketing Advisory Committee met with Goss to share their concerns and feedback.

The commission paid the agency $90,000 last year to research the Natchez tourism industry and develop a detailed plan to enhance it.

The Goss Agency CEO Jeff Goss said a revitalized logo and advertisements could be used to appeal to more visitors and professionalize Natchez’s appearance to visitors.

Goss presented several samples of potential logo ideas, many of which played on icons of the river, steamboats, Native Americans and antebellum houses, but with modern typefaces.

However, Goss Chief Creative Director Bob Davies said Friday the sample logos may have caused more confusion than excitement.

“What we did was in the interest of momentum, and as a demonstration of our creative capability,” Davies said.

The graphic design work was done on the agency’s own time and budget, and had not been ordered or paid for by the city, he said.

Some members of the commission thought a finished logo was part of last year’s contract, but Goss said it would be part of a proposed contract that would also include a year’s worth of advertisements and marketing services.

Local attorney Christina Daugherty sat with the commission members during the meeting.

“We’re not certain where the miscommunication lies,” Daugherty said. “We need to address that in our own board, not in this setting. We’re on different pages.”

Natchez National Historical Park Superintendent Kathleen Bond, who serves on the marketing committee, asked whether the new branding and advertising campaign would be part of the Natchez Tricentennial or come after it.

“I think people need to know it’s not about knocking tricentennial off the stage in February,” Bond said.

Natchez Tricentennial Director Jennifer Combs said that even if the commission were to approve the new contract immediately, it is unlikely to detract from the tricentennial celebration.

“It’s not like it’s going to be done next month,” Combs said.

Goss agreed.

“It’s only going to enhance (the tricentennial),” he said.

The Goss Agency’s director of client services Gordon Farquhar said this week’s visit marked the company’s fourth visit to Natchez.

The agency conducted focus groups, workshops, stakeholder interviews and quantitative market analysis as part of last year’s contract in order to find areas in which Natchez could improve its marketing strategies, and completed the research and strategizing phases of the new face of Natchez in November.

A detailed presentation of the results of that contract was given to the board and public Thursday.

“This is an investment of time into your future in Natchez,” Farquhar said. “We’re moving your marketing into the 21st century.”

To do that, the agency introduced several brand narratives, which would introduce Natchez in different ways to appeal to different groups.

One narrative, called “The senses,” stressed how Natchez is full of a variety of sights, tastes and sounds that would interest a visitor.

Another, called “unfinished,” suggested the story of Natchez could only be fulfilled by the visitor’s discovery of its secrets.

Davies, the agency’s principal researcher into the existing Natchez tourism economy, said he was able to gather enough data to see what visitors wanted, and what Natchez may be lacking.

Davies said the agency’s research showed of the interests Natchez is able to serve, versus what visitors are looking for.

Antebellum houses, for instance, are far more plentiful in Natchez than they are in demand.

“That says to us that it’s time for a strategic shift,” Davies said. “But we’re not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We’ll package it differently.”

Davies also was able to determine that there is a larger interest in African-American history than is currently being fulfilled by tourism in Natchez, and that residents of nearby states and people over 65 are far more likely to visit and recommend their visit to others.

“The older you are, the more you like it here,” Davies said. “This is not a profile to stay in business.”

To appeal to younger crowds, the agency suggested the majority of advertising should be online.

“The Internet is the only place we absolutely have to be,” Davies said.

Farquhar said Natchez could become an economic success story, much like Asheville.

Like Natchez, Asheville suffered factory closings and many vacant buildings in its downtown area in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Asheville tourism board went through the same branding process that Natchez is beginning, Farquhar said.

“They started marketing to target audiences,” Farquhar said. “The wheels started turning and more momentum gathered. Now were seeing hundreds of jobs developed again.”

Ward 3 Alderwoman Sarah Carter Smith said the rebranding process was part of a larger goal for Natchez.

“This is one of the big plans for the tricientennial,” Smith said. “It’s something that sets us apart — showing a united front here when the rest of the world is coming apart.”