The South Orange Village Center Alliance (SOVCA) today announced a new name - South Orange Downtown - and a major rebrand for the non-profit organization dedicated to making the downtown business district a vibrant place to live, work and enjoy. The organization also announced that Melissa Hodge, who has been leading the organization since February, has been promoted to Executive Director, and Lisa Szulewski joins the team as Events & Marketing Coordinator.
“For years we have been referring to our business district as a downtown, as it better describes our urban, transit-oriented center,” said South Orange Downtown Board Chair Deborah Engel. “With our organization entering a new chapter under Melissa’s leadership and with South Orange Village completing their own rebrand recently, we felt this was the right time to update and refresh our downtown business district’s look and name as well.”
The South Orange Downtown rebrand includes a new logo and website - southorangedowntown.org - and will focus on highlighting the downtown district as a destination to local South Orange and Maplewood residents, as well as neighboring towns.
“This rebrand reflects the growth of the organization and showcases the vibrancy and complexity of the district,” said Melissa Hodge, Executive Director of South Orange Downtown. “South Orange Downtown connects people, fuses the new with the old and blends cultures. The new brand embodies the South Orange Downtown Experience and we are excited to showcase this new direction.”
The South Orange Downtown identity was developed by the independent brand experience design company DePaolis Design. Founder and creative director Diane DePaolis led several charrettes with board members and community stakeholders to align on the strategy. This resulted in DePaolis Design creating an impactful new dynamic identity for the downtown district. Dani Geraci, a local marketing and branding consultant, developed the new website, which highlights downtown businesses, upcoming events and local news updates. The website will make it easy for residents and visitors to shop, dine and experience South Orange.
Melissa Hodge was named Acting Executive Director in February, after Julie Doran left the organization to become Deputy Township Administrator, and has been with the organization for seven years. Lisa Szulewski joined the organization in June, in the newly created position of Events & Marketing Coordinator, to round out the team. Lisa brings a strong event and television production background as well as a passion for helping small businesses. With the support of the board, Melissa and Lisa will spearhead this new brand and work closely with the local businesses to make sure visitors, residents and the SHU community have a memorable South Orange Downtown experience.
