A look back on 10 years of Watch Muskegon.

Sometimes the biggest ideas start small. That’s exactly what happened with Watch Muskegon. But to really appreciate how it all came together, we need to go back to the beginning.

The Trolley Ride

On October 14, 2013, I joined Muskegon’s new City Manager, Frank Peterson, for a trolley ride around town. He’d gathered about twenty community leaders from economic development, real estate, local government, and small business. His only instruction was simple: “Shout out any ideas you have, and let’s talk about them.”

I mostly listened until we passed the old purple “Welcome to Muskegon’s Shoreline” sign. I said what most of us were thinking. “That sign has gotta go. It looks like it was designed in the 90s.” Someone added, “More like the 80s,” and the group laughed. But something clicked. 

That moment planted a seed. After the ride, I sent Frank an email. “Let Revel redesign that sign for you. It’ll be our gift to Muskegon.”

The Creative Brief

Like most of our work, it started with a creative brief. The ask was clear. Design a new billboard that better reflects the energy and momentum building in the city. Something welcoming and optimistic. Something that celebrates the good things happening here and invites people to be part of it.

The brief called for more than a pretty picture. It needed to make people feel empowered. The message had to speak to Muskegon’s strengths: arts, dining, entertainment, education, and the people behind it all. We weren’t trying to sell a destination. We were trying to show that something real was happening here. This wasn’t about beaches or lighthouses. Every beach town in Michigan has those. It was about the people, their pride, and a sense of moving forward. It was those uniquely Muskegon traits that make the community special. The energy was already building. We just needed to capture it.

The Idea

Revel’s Creative Director Pete Lounsbury got the assignment. His first reaction was classic Pete. “Another free project for the city,” he joked. “I gotta get this done as fast as I can.” Still, he came back with three concepts. Two were solid, familiar options that featured lakes, trees, and bikes. But the third was different. It simply said: Watch Muskegon.

Pete later told me he came up with the idea in about 15 minutes and was nervous about how simple it was. “I didn’t think anybody was gonna like it,” he said. But that simplicity is exactly why it worked. As he played with the word Muskegon, he spotted something inside it. Us. Go. Add the word Watch, and it came to life. It wasn’t just a slogan. It was a declaration. And inside that, he found something even better. Watch Us Go.

He added a subline that said, “We’re just getting started,” because that was the truth. We could see the progress. We could feel the shift happening. The city was changing, and this message gave people something to believe in.

The Stakeholder Meeting

In 2014, Frank invited me to a meeting at Unruly Brewing. The room was full of stakeholders from the City, the County, the Chamber, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and other organizations. The group was brainstorming ideas for a new community branding initiative.

Frank pulled out Pete’s design for the city billboard. It got everyone’s attention. Someone asked, “Can we use that for the county-wide campaign?” That was the moment Watch Muskegon officially became the brand.

The Open-Sourced Brand

One of the best decisions we made was to open-source the brand. That wasn’t common at the time, but it changed everything. We put the logo files online and made them available for anyone to use, as long as they followed some basic brand standards.

Businesses printed banners. Residents made yard signs and bumper stickers. Schools, nonprofits, and city departments found ways to make it their own. It was no longer just a project. It became a shared identity. That sense of ownership is what turned Watch Muskegon from a message into a movement.

The Unveiling

The Watch Muskegon billboard was unveiled on May 22, 2015. It went up at the corner where Shoreline Drive begins, replacing the old purple sign. More than 100 people came to the event, many wearing Watch Muskegon t-shirts. The Revel team was among the crowd at the top of the hill when the “coming soon” cover was pulled away. What started as a simple sign had turned into something much bigger.

Mayor Steve Gawron said it best. “It’s an idea, an effort, an initiative, and one that requires us to roll up our sleeves and get our fingernails dirty.” Cindy Larsen from the Chamber spoke about what makes this place special. A vibrant arts and culture scene. Unmatched outdoor recreation. And the need to make sure people outside of Muskegon knew about it.

I remember walking the streets the day of the unveiling, taking photos of the new lamppost banners that lined downtown. One of those pictures is still my Facebook cover image today.

The message gave the community a rallying cry that still holds strong ten years later.

The Response

By 2018, when I was interviewed by WZZM, it was clear Watch Muskegon had become something special. “I think the beauty of it is simplicity,” I said. That sign struck a chord. It reminded people what we already knew deep down. Muskegon is a great place to live, work, and play.

The message spread everywhere: banners, stickers, murals, and social posts. Research from the Chamber showed that 95 percent of people in Muskegon County were familiar with the campaign. Nearly 40 percent in surrounding counties recognized it, too. More than $250,000 was raised in the first few years by private donors to help promote the brand.

Watch Muskegon started as a billboard for the City of Muskegon and became a county-wide branding campaign. That kind of growth doesn’t happen without a community rallying around a message it believes in.

If you want to hear more of the story, Pete and I sat down recently to talk about the campaign on the tenth anniversary. You can watch the video below.

Starting a Movement 

Pete’s 15-minute idea gave us a foundation that still resonates with people to this day. I’ve lost count of how many times someone across the state has mentioned it to me.

Watch Muskegon started as a billboard for the City of Muskegon and became a county-wide branding campaign. That kind of growth doesn’t happen without a community rallying around a message it believes in.

So what does it take to start a movement? A clear message. A little courage. And a community that believes in itself.

Cheers to ten years of Watch Muskegon. I can’t wait to see where we go from here.