Fort Wayne may no longer be so quickly described as the City of Churches, City of Parks or the Summit City. No, in Indiana's second-largest city, there is "Room for Dreams." That slogan is the heart of more than a year's work by 10 local government and private organizations attempting to give Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana a uniform signature brand. In six months or so, Room for Dreams and an accompanying logo will begin appearing on T-shirts and golf balls, in advertisements and glossy magazines and, officials hope, in the public consciousness.

The word "room" carries numerous meanings, said Dan O'Connell, president of the Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It stands for opportunity and physical space, both urban and rural. It stands for the Grand Wayne Convention Center, the library's renowned genealogy department and the local zoo. It stands for the areas ripe for investment.

"We have the best rooms of anyone in the region," O'Connell said. "Fort Wayne has many amenities that are found in other communities larger than its size."

Within the logo are three swooshes symbolizing the city's rivers. Even a star indicating Fort Wayne's location within the state has its purpose.

"It is very common to us, but a message we must get out when we are competing nationwide," O'Connell said.

Driven and funded largely by the Visitors Bureau and the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance, about $70,000 was spent on the initiative. They hired consultants North Star Destinations Strategies of Nashville, Tenn., and LaBov and Beyond in Fort Wayne to research and guide the project. O'Connell said the "dream" theme resonated in focus groups, summarizing the essence of Fort Wayne as a place for family, business and entrepreneurs.

Slogans such as "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" and monikers such as "Music City U.S.A." (Nashville, Tenn.) are testaments to what branding can achieve. Lafayette and West Lafayette debuted their singular catchphrase, "Two Great Cities, One Great University," in 2003.

Fort Wayne's branding initiative also produced several concept ads for regional magazines. The ads build on the "Room for Dreams" theme, centering on local conventions such as the annual Wing Ding and business people such as Vera Bradley co-founders Pat Miller and Barbara Baekgaard.

"It is also not 100 percent finished," said Rob Young, president of the Alliance.

Local businesses and organizations are being recruited to phase the branding into their marketing and programming. The Alliance and Visitors Bureau hope to raise $100,000 in annual contributions to continue to fund the initiative. Young said the brand is designed to carry Fort Wayne for the next three years, when it will be refreshed, adding, in his view, it has been 15 years or more since the last successful branding effort.

Research told project coordinators that Fort Wayne had no Golden Gate Bridge, no Gateway Arch, no mountains or beaches to immediately identify the city on a national scale. Therefore, efforts were geared to promote the city's personality. Consultants told O'Connell that Fort Wayne has opportunities not every city has, and they told him: "You should run with that."