The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Building on the Crested Butte spirit
By Mark Reaman
Using animals to get simple but important messages across to the community is the foundation of the new campaign in Crested Butte and possibly the county when it comes to COVID-19.
The first image was of a bear in a mask with the words “BE CB/CommUNITY.” Last week an eagle with a six-foot wingspan was featured with the message “BE CB/Spread your wings, Not COVID-19.” Other animal-themed messages will be rolled out over the next several weeks as part of the campaign being developed by the Buttery Agency, a national agency with Crested Butte and Gunnison County connections.
“We liked the idea of anthropomorphizing the critters,” said Crested Butte town manager Dara MacDonald. “Basically everyone likes animals so the thought was to give them some human attributes and let them convey the important messages. It’s not your government reminding you to wear a mask—it’s this friendly bear. Who can argue with that? For the Crested Butte campaign we selected six animals and they are rolling out week by week. It started with the bear and the eagle. The raccoon is next.”
Mike Horn of Buttery, who lives in Crested Butte, said capturing the vibe of the place in the message was important. “Given the political climate around COVID-19 on a local and national level, Buttery and the town of Crested Butte wanted to develop a campaign that could speak to people on their terms. Find common ground, so to speak,” he explained. “We started thinking about the things we have in common, what our community values are at its collective core—like a love of Crested Butte and the Gunnison Valley, and a love of nature and wildlife, or at least enough interest in it to bring you here, whether you’re a mountain biker or hunter or just here to party.
“From there, we partnered with local artist John Fellows, whose artwork and style was a natural fit,” Horn continued. “We’ve worked with Fellows to create three ‘COVID Critters’ thus far including ‘Washy the Raccoon,’ as seen in this edition of the Crested Butte News.”
Gunnison County public information officer Andrew Sandstrom said while the RFP (Request for Proposals) committee has recommended the use of Buttery for a communications campaign, this has not yet been approved by the municipal and county managers. “While we have not yet developed the look of a countywide messaging campaign, we have liked the work of local artist John Fellows in the posters that have been produced,” Sandstrom said.
“The goal of the campaign is to get everyone—visitors and locals alike—onboard with the recommendations and requirements of our community around preventing the spread of COVID-19,” emphasized MacDonald. “We were looking for that nudge that gets the mask off the neck and over the face. There will always be a handful of folks who just won’t follow the rules, but we want everyone else to feel positive about taking these necessary steps and feel like they are doing their part to help the community, and the critters.”
“We are asking visitors and locals alike to ‘BE CB’ and embody the Crested Butte spirit,” added Horn. “We know this community can rally around a cause like none other, and crushing COVID-19 is no exception.”
Sandstrom echoed that for the county. “We hope to develop a culture that supports the health measures that are in place,” he said. “In doing so, we will be able to move into long-term resiliency and recovery for our community and learn to live with COVID.”
To convey the messages as simply and concisely as possible, text is kept to a minimum.
“I think that people are at a point where they are on information overload and are tired of reading so much text,” said Sandstrom. “The posters that Buttery and the town of Crested Butte have produced to date are eye-catching and concise. The target is basically anyone in the community—locals, second homeowners and tourists.”
Off-Center Designs is doing all of the printing for the town’s campaign. “A variety of posters, banners and the postcards are with them now,” MacDonald said. “Artist John Fellows is doing the animals for us. Buttery recommended his work and we loved it!”
“Our hope is that this campaign stands out in a sea of COVID signage and messaging,” concluded Horn, “that it sparks curiosity and inspires people to act for our common good, and hammers home what we’ve all heard countless times since March: wear a mask or face covering; social distance; and wash your hands! Let’s put the UNITY in CommUNITY and stamp out COVID-19. It’s a call to action to look out for each other—to act for one another—and do our best to ride out the pandemic with grit and grace.”
“We would like to build on the work that has been done with Crested Butte instead of reinventing the wheel,” said Sandstrom. “That being said, there will be some adaptation to better fit the wider community.”
MacDonald said the CommUNITY message was incorporated for Crested Butte from the beginning and was not tied to what many see as a divisive time in general for the valley. “Our motivation was all around COVID response and that we need to act together. It is just lucky happenstance on our part that it has broader implications at the moment,” she said.
