Decade After Bohemian Hills Debacle, LG Tries Again to Find Its ‘Brand’

The La Grange City Council held a special workshop meeting Tuesday, Dec. 17, to discuss a new branding and marketing campaign for the City.

Representatives from J.O. Agency, a marketing company from Fort Worth, polled Council members about the community and the attractions here.

“We want to get what you hear in the community, the perceptions you encounter from residents or visitors,” said Christina Vela of J.O. Agency. “We’d like to have a full picture so we can be best prepared to create a brand. A brand is more than just a logo. It’s your city’s voice – how you are going to be presenting yourself. So we want to make sure its reflective of the community and its long history and heritage.”

Hopefully, the effort will go better than the last time La Grange hired a marketing firm. Back in 2013, the City hired a different company who came up with the tagline to describe the area as “The Bohemian Hills of Texas.” The company prepared marketing materials and a billboard design. Quite a few locals of Czech descent took offense at the name, and the project was ultimately shelved – but not before the City dropped $24,000 on the effort.

Vela started out Tuesday’s meeting by asking the Council members to describe La Grange in a short sentence.

“If you move in from the outside, it’s a little hard to feel accepted – that’s something I’ve heard,” said Mayor Jan Dockery.

“Something I hear almost every day is that it’s a good place but there’s not enough here for kids to do,” said Councilwoman Kathy Weishuhn. “By kids I mean older kids – teens.”

“It still has deep German and Czech heritage,” said Councilman Ken Taylor.

“Like Mayor Dockery said, if you’re moving in from the outside, it can feel a little