St. Johns County pushes back on branding all of Northeast Florida 'Jacksonville'

County leaders are ignoring a marketing consultant’s advice that Northeast Florida counties should market themselves as part of Jacksonville.

“I would never want to see any part of the name Jacksonville intertwined with the city of St. Augustine,” said Liz Bouvia, a business owner in downtown St. Augustine.

People in America’s First City are proud of who they are, and they don’t want to give up their identity.

“We’re our own place, and I don’t want to be identified as anything else,” said Georgia Nick, owner at Georgia Nick Gallery.

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A recent economic development report showed most multicounty regions align themselves with the biggest city in their region. So rather than saying Northeast Florida, Jacksonville would be the selling point. St. Johns County Commissioners don’t like this – they said they were here first.

“There was a St. Augustine before there was a Cow Ford. There was a St. Augustine before there was a Jacksonville,” said commissioner Jeb Smith.

While Jacksonville is the biggest city in Northeast Florida, St. Johns County is one of the fastest growing counties in the country, and is know internationally for destinations like historic St. Augustine.

Regional marketing partnerships aren’t uncommon, but they’re not cheap. This one costs each local county $50,000 a year. But St. Johns County leaders voted to pull their $50,000 if the plan moves forward.

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“I think that we need to keep the separation,” said Bouvia.

“Why would we want to be somebody else?” said Bob Stoker, who lives in St. Johns County.

Statement from the county: 
"Members of our Board of County Commissioners expressed concern with the direction of JAXUSA's proposed marketing plan and subsequently voted to withhold additional funding for the organization until a final regional designation is identified. As business recruitment, retention, and expansion remain high priorities for St. Johns County, ensuring the community's identity and quality of life remain visible is a crucial component of the County's Economic Development efforts."

Cox Media Group