Most people living in Arizona’s big cities look to rural communities as refuges, places to escape to on the weekend. They are places we pass through and they are destinations in themselves. Dog Cat Mouse Media in Tucson is making sure that these communities have a place on the map and in the minds of Arizonans.
What’s in a name?
Service to rural communities is at the heart of Dog Cat Mouse Media. The company sprung from the partnership of Bridget Shanahan and Jen Luria, freelance designers working and living in the artist haven of Bisbee. The two had worked together for a few projects and realized that as a team they could take their skills and services farther.
As for their namesake, Bridget and Jen were inspired by the story of a Bisbee vagabond who had a street act involving a dog, a cat and a mouse. While these three animals are fabled adversaries, this act managed to balance the three animals on top of each other. Bridget says, “We thought it was a cute, whimsical story of three animals working together in harmony.”
The pair also admired the qualities in each animal. The dog with its patience, reliability and playfulness; the cat with its curiosity, intelligence and agility; and the mouse for its modesty, resourcefulness and adaptability. Bridget and Jen knew that if they could harness these qualities, bringing them to every project, they’d find success.
Creating an Identity for Local Communities
Bridget credits Dog Cat Mouse Media’s partnership with Local First Arizona with extending their reach beyond the borders of Bisbee to other communities in Southern Arizona. This partnership has led them to work with towns like Florence, Tubac, Superior and Casa Grande to promote tourism and engagement.
Dog Cat Mouse Media works with communities on destination branding packages that illuminate the identities of these towns to promote tourism and drive businesses into them.
With the help of Local First Arizona and the Arizona Office of Tourism, they gather local stakeholders from these rural communities to capture their culture and essence in a way that the people living in them can be proud of. That involves sitting down with community leaders, businesses and other organizations to hear how they see their community and how they want to be seen by the world at large. “You have to talk to the people there and figure out what it is that resonates with them,” Bridget said. “Otherwise, they’ll reject it and it’ll be a failure.”
By listening to members of the community, Dog Cat Mouse Media creates a brand that reflects the values of those who live there. They want their product to be something that each person living or working there will be proud of. “When you come in and you’re branding their town, you want it to be something that resonates with the people that live there. And you’re not just slapping an image on them. It has to have roots in that place.”
Once they’re familiar with the town’s history and vision for the future, they develop logos and build out webpages that promote local attractions, places to stay and where to eat. In the cases of Bisbee and Superior, Dog Cat Mouse Media continues to work with them through additional marketing efforts that promote them as tourist destinations for people across Arizona.
Connecting With OneAZ
It was their partnership with Local First Arizona that led Dog Cat Mouse Media to OneAZ Credit Union. The connection happened at Local First Arizona’s 2021 Rural Policy Forum, which was sponsored by OneAZ. “It just made us feel good to join an institution that was supporting Local First,” Bridget said. “It was a no brainer.”
The timing was right since Bridget and Jen were looking for a new bank since relocating the business to Tucson. Opening a business account with OneAZ gives them an easy way to pay vendors and themselves.
It’s not only the business products that attracted Dog Cat Mouse to OneAZ. They loved the idea that their money was staying with the local community. “We know the power of banking local and keeping money in our community,” Bridget said. “We are always looking to support local businesses, it’s what keeps our community thriving and helps create more jobs locally. We love banking at OneAZ Credit Union as they always treat us like we matter, and we know our money is being recirculated into the places we love.”
To learn more about how Dog Cat Mouse Media is supporting local communities across Arizona, check out their website.
For more about OneAZ’s business banking solutions, visit OneAZcu.com/business.
