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CREATIVE CITY NEWSLETTER: APRIL 2002
ISSUE 5: BRANDING AND MARKETING
ISSUE IN FOCUS: Marketing and
Branding
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Community
Development
CREATIVE CORNER:
Car Sharing
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:
Shelby County and Memphis, TN
CULTURE BUILDS COMMUNITIES:
NRC Training
CULTURE BUILDS COMMUNITIES:
Creative Cities In the News
White Oak Report
ISSUE IN FOCUS: BRANDING AND MARKETING
YOUR CITY
Estonia's foreign minister, Toomas Ilves summed up the power
of branding and marketing of a place in this quick anecdote:
"Iceland…was probably the worst marketing case in
the world. Lief Eriksson named it Iceland and no one wanted
to go there. Then, having learned from his mistake, he went
to what was truly an ice land, and named it Greenland thinking
that if it got a better name, people would go there."
Branding is obviously a powerful, and relatively inexpensive,
way to give your area an identity that will stick and consequently
enhance the area's economic development and extend the benefits
of business growth to all citizens.
A company creates a new product. The company creates a
brand name, which in turn grants an image to the product,
branding into peoples minds this product. Geographic locations
have the same ability, as their region is their product. Branding
is a natural extension of consumer driven marketing strategy.
A brand can give an area a common identity, whether regional
or local. It brings the area to the consumer's attention,
raising their awareness of opportunities that should not be
missed. This helps the area to distinguish itself from neighbors
as a separate, unique product.
While branding cannot substitute for the value of more businesses,
successful businesses and talent (Joel Kotkin), it can help
a city to build long term growth, increase asset value and
gain users for life (Robin Comstock, "Brand It and They
Will Come?". Whether or not branding is successful can
be determined as easily as assessing the extent of its use.
As long as a community is using and promoting its brand, it
is succeeding in pushing the desired image. As a specific
example, when Burlington, Canada was looking to create a brand,
they measured their success by a decrease in vacancy rates,
an increase in new developments and higher land values and
a bustling urban center. They also hoped that more professionals
and employees would move to the area. Read more about what
they've done at the City
of Burlington Website.
But how do you successfully brand an area? Al Ries makes suggests
two important guidelines in his article "Branding
Atlanta: Use an Old Favorite Theme."
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Don't think small. As globalization becomes a reality,
promote your area outside of the United States. The most
popular cities in the world all evoke a solid image when
people refer to them, like New York City, London and Paris.
A small scale campaign will never maximize a city's opportunity.
- Don't think change. Stick to ideas and concepts that are
already embedded in your area. Typically, areas that try
to promote new ideas and concepts are doomed to failure.
When Yellowknife, Canada took on their branding campaign,
they identified necessary icons to put around their city to
promote the brand. These included designing a logo which would
be featured on all promotional materials and incorporated
into existing city marketing.
Here are some examples of brands that communities have chosen:
-Baltimore, MD: The Greatest City in America
-St. Louis, MO: There's More Than Meets the Arch
-Paris: The City of Lights
-New York City: The Big Apple
-Virginia: Virginia is for Lovers
-Michigan: Great Lakes. Great Times.
-Louisville, KY: The Place to Live, Work and Play.
-Salt Lake City, UT: The Greatest Snow on Earth
Below, you can check out some articles covering cities and
their branding issues. While each has to design and implement
a program specific to their area, they all agree that the
creation of a distinct identity for their area will unify
the residents as well as promote tourism, business and imaging.
Related Articles
Seattle's attempt to brand a portion of their downtown
Ottawa,
Canada is attempting to re-brand their city.
Branding
and Regionalism
Example
of how one city planned its branding.
"Brand
It and They Will Come?"
The
Branding of Burlington
The
Branding of Tempe
"Federal
Way is Looking for Brand Recognition"
"Branding and Business, Chicken and the Egg"
An
International Perspective
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