The idea of adopting a "The West's Learning Center" as Helena's brand took a shellacking when we put the question to Independent Record readers last week.

The response to our unscientific survey came back 787 opposed and only 76 in favor of the idea, which was presented earlier this month by Roger Brooks, whose Washington based company has been working for more than a year on the branding project.

The Helena Chamber, Downtown Business Improvement District and other groups took the lead in the branding effort.

In February, Brooks offered a somewhat narrower idea -- "The West's Learning Center for the Arts."

When we offered that idea to readers as a Question of the Week in February, about 75 percent of those who responded didn't care for it.

Here are some of the comments from our readers on "The West's Learning Center."

n If Helena needed a brand (which I am convinced it doesn't), it should capture the essence of the city. "The West's Learning Center?" How absurd. What about Stanford University? And why learning?

Learning can occur everywhere for everyone. Let's not spend any more money on outside consultants.

If Helena citizens can't get a grasp on their own town, maybe they should just give up."

- No. The new brand sounds anemic, unexciting and bland. Whatever happened to "The Best Little Art Town in the West?"

- It's not just a slogan that can sit there all on its own. Its success would depend on how it's marketed.

- "The West's Learning Center" is pretty lame. The place where a slow student has to spend Saturday instead of playing?

- The "branding" effort by the consultant has produced two useless slogans. Redirect the money spent on the consultant to "wayfinding" signs, and use "the best little arts town" slogan we had prior to hiring this firm.

- If there must be a brand, please let it be the old one, "Helena, Heart of the Rockies."