Small City Branding Around the World

Why Quality of Place Matters to City Competitiveness and Sustainability

DMOs and other tourism organizations often become so consumed by their sales function that they don’t exert any influence on their community’s quality of place.  There are many places where the DMO and tourism folk don’t even have a seat at the table to discuss matters relating to the city’s quality of place and its impact on visitors – and dare I say its image and identity.

An Urban Times article by Saffron Woodcraft suggests that a city’s quality of place involves both the built and social environments.

Woodcraft argues, “Debates about urban sustainability tend to focus on improving the built environment - making it greener, more efficient, less energy intensive. However, as both urban populations and the challenges of making livable cities grow, a radical shift is needed.  Much more emphasis needs to be placed on understanding the social life of cities - how government, public agencies and urban planners can design spaces, but more importantly, services to help neighborhoods flourish socially.”

I would suggest that there is also another layer that involves visitors to the community and whether the attractors, amenities and services designed for them provide a net benefit to residents.

My friend Reyn Bowman touched on this in an interesting blog post last week where he traced the links between billboards, beautification movements and the emergence of tourism marketing organizations. Reyn said, “It is puzzling to me why so many community-destination marketing execs today seem so detached from their role as guardians and curators of sense of place.”

We hear a lot about the role of DMOs being redefined. I feel that when that clarity comes, many DMOs will have a more active role in the development and management of the city’s quality of place. After all, isn’t that an integral part of the essence of many places? It’s in the public domain, isn’t owned by any one company and it’s essential for competitiveness. When a city has a strong quality of place, it brings greater efficiencies to the DMO’s marketing functions and increased satisfaction for visitors – and residents. 

Indigenous Tourism Brings the Challenge to Do the Right Thing

I recently came across an article by Anita Mendiratta in eTurbo News in which she outlined the importance and influence of indigenous people in tourism development. Importantly, Anita provided great advice for tourism organizations wanting to integrate indigenous people into their destination development. She highlighted how they are the truest guardians of the history, folklore, traditions, arts, culture, natural environments, ideology, spirituality and sensibilities.

Anita said, “Worldwide, indigenous peoples are 370 million strong – almost 5% of the world’s population. Living in over 70 countries across the globe, they cover over 20% of the surface of the Earth. They reach across over 5000 different groups of peoples, and speak approximately 4000 different languages. This global community, which embraces peoples from the Aboriginals to the Zulu, the Masai, the Mayan, the Mohican, and the Maori, the Bedouin, the Bushmen, and thousands of other communities – are the heartbeat of a nation. And for the global tourism community committed to the growth and development of nations, they are invaluable. In so many ways, it is the indigenous community that has become the litmus test of the industry’s ability to ‘keep it real’.”

Around the world there are both positive and negative examples of indigenous people in tourism. The article identifies critical issues and suggests approaches to ensure that participants are treated with dignity and the experiences that showcase traditional art, dance, music, cuisine, language, storytelling, and other features of the lives of indigenous people are grounded in authenticity, with objectives for the long term sustainability of the culture. Sadly, these are not always at play.

Night Economies: What’s The World’s #1 24-Hour City?

I always thought that because Frank Sinatra sang, “I want to wake up in a city that doesn’t sleep”, it inferred that New York City was the #1 place for night owls. Well it seems that New York is well down the list in a study of the world’s 24-hour cities by Marion Roberts, a professor of urban design at London’s University of Westminster and author of Planning the Night-time City. 

The BBC reports that Cairo was ranked the “most 24-hour” city of all. Next came Montevideo, Beirut, six Spanish cities (Malaga, Zaragoza, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville) and Buenos Aires. London was ranked 17th, Paris 18th and New York 32nd.

Roberts identifies many of the benefits and challenges of managing the night economy of cities. She says, “In the UK, Europe and Australia, a lot of their ‘24-hourness’ has been about extending entertainment and this has disadvantages for city center dwellers unless carefully managed. However, it does generate more jobs, activities and social solidarities.” This is a subject that cities worldwide will increasingly have to address.

Cairo might be the #1 night-time city, and it’s a great place, but I can’t imagine Frank Sinatra belting out, “Cairo – the city that never sleeps!”

Walkability is Vital to Small City Tourism Success

In the tourism readiness reports for small cities we develop, one of the critical success factors that we look for is their walkability. I just came across an article by Dan Burdon, “The Roads Scholar” in which he provides an excellent checklist for cities.  In the AARP article, Dan provides his checklist of the five things that make small towns walkable.  

Dan says that his rationale for the focus on walking is because, “people worldwide want to live in a town or city that is walkable. Places that seek to become more walkable and livable - everyplace from Maui to Abu Dhabi, where the prince has declared that he wants his city to become one of the five most livable in the world - must invest in the features that make it happen.”

While his checklist is really designed for the comfort of residents, it is directly applicable to the needs of tourists as well.  

Will the Hobbits be the Biggest Boost Yet For New Zealand’s Brand Awareness?

The Sydney Herald reports that Tourism New Zealand has announced the national tourism organization is very close to signing a deal with the makers of The Hobbit movies to promote the country as a tourism destination.

Released between 2001 and 2003, the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings was credited with boosting tourism to its New Zealand locations, where visitor numbers rose by 40 per cent. Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said, "I think The Hobbit is going to be that and more. We learned a lot of lessons from Lord of the Rings and we are doing everything we did back then plus some more."

The two movies by Sir Peter Jackson are expected to be a bigger boost for the country’s tourism than the three Lord of the Rings films. The first of the Hobbit movies is due for release in December.

The Lord of the Rings gave New Zealand an incredible boost and is a hard act to follow. It’s hard to believe that the Hobbit movies will top that. But then I haven’t seen the movie!

You can watch the trailer here.

Ad Featuring Argentinian Nationalism Upsets Britain

 

Tapping resident pride and patriotism is often one of the objectives of national branding efforts. The Olympic Games provide an environment in which many countries try to project their national identity in ways that will aid their economic development, advance polical objectives and boost national self esteem. However, it seems as though Argentina may have gone a tad too far in advancing its geo-political and self esteem objectives in a commercial run on local television.

The ad that features Argentinian Fernando Zylberberg, a star field-hockey player, training for the London 2012 Olympics in the Falkland Islands (the two countries fought a brief war over in 1982). The islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory, with the United Kingdom responsible for their defense and foreign affairs. The voice-over in the ad says, "to compete on English soil, we train on Argentine soil"  as Zylberberg is seen running, exercising and even climbing over a British World War I memorial.

The International Olympic Committee denounced the ad and said that it sent a letter to Argentina’s national Olympic committee saying the games should not be part of a political platform.

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Is it Possible to Successfully Rebrand or Reposition Nigeria?

Several prominent Nigerians are fueling a debate regarding the need for Nigeria to address its negative international image which is negatively impacting all regions of the country and every aspect of the economy.  They spoke at a recent event for the launch of a book by Chief Austin Nonyelim Izagbo, “Re-branding Nigeria: Leadership and the National Image Project”.

Interestingly, they suggested tackling graft, providing social amenities, increasing security, poor management of resources and improving the standard of living of citizens.

It was refreshing to see the brutal honesty of some of the officials. According to Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, who said “Leaders are often misadvised and misdirected because 99 per cent of those who approach them are sycophants, who rarely tell them the truth.” Wow! One of the essentials for successful place brands is that they must be founded on truth and devoid of self-delusion. It is truth telling like this that must be followed, otherwise Nigeria will make zero progress in addressing its image problems.

It will be very interesting to see whether they will be able to introduce the changes to cultural behavior, resource allocations and political priorities necessary to truly rebrand Nigeria.

India’s Brand Awareness Increases Need for Rural Tourism Development

The Incredible India marketing campaign launched in 2002 has increased brand awareness for India as a global destination. Despite its outstanding cultural and natural tourism assets, its development in rural areas has been patchy because of shortfalls in infrastructure and service standards. Major steps are underway to address these situations

The 2022-12 Annual Report of the Indian Ministry of Tourism reports that the Ministry has approved 160 tourism projects worth approximately $160 million, mainly in rural areas. The Ministry has given special focus to the development of important destinations and circuit routes through approval of fifty-three mega projects. Mega projects are a mix of cultural, heritage, spiritual and eco-tourism attractions. Priority is also being given to projects involving construction and upkeep of wayside amenities along highways/roads leading to tourist destinations, cleanliness at tourism sites and development of tourism in rural areas.

A study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Yes Bank identifies the positive influence that the “Incredible India” marketing campaign has had on rural areas. It recommends that there should be increased focus on capacity building in regard to human resources in key rural areas. It suggests programs to address service-oriented needs, citing this as a major reason why Indian tourism falters in some regional areas. It also highlights the need to train entrepreneurs. "Rural entrepreneurs, in recent times, have proved to be the success story of the emerging Indian economy, and provided that a clear direction is given, they can very well champion the cause of sustainable tourism models." The study also recommends conserving tradition and values, besides ensuring infrastructure development.

Several decades ago, China was referred to as “the sleeping giant”. Considering the vast tourism appeal of India I think that in tourism terms, the title aptly applies to India, and particularly many of its rural areas.

Angels Camp CA Follows a Methodical Brand Development Path

I was recently drawn to an article in CalaverasEnterprise.com showing that the very small community of Angels Camp CA was methodically implementing its brand strategy. I spoke to my friend, Mary Klugherz from Great Destination Strategies who developed the brand concept for Angel’s Camp and was part of the Destination Development International team that developed the city’s brand strategy to gain a better understanding of their plans.

Mary said that the success at Angels Camp boils down to three things:

1.  A supportive city government/staff

2.  A few true brand champions

3.  Consistency and patience

She said, “Angels Camp started with a Brand Advisory Committee created during the brand development phase.  That morphed into a Brand Leadership Team, led by a local resident, who is a tireless champion.  This group has formalized into Destination Angels Camp and the organization was approved at the recent Council meeting.  They took the plan I wrote and have just followed each step slowly and methodically.  They have had the plan since late 2008, so it has been just over 3 years.  This is a great example of how a very small community (pop. 3,800) has taken a plan and followed it, even with limited resources.  They have maintained transparency in all they do and are slowly making progress.”

Mary said that she believes the six key lessons learned in Angels Camp are:

1.  It takes a supportive city government and brand champions

2.  It takes time

3.  It is important to stay the course and follow the plan

4.  It takes time

5.  Continue to follow the plan

6.  It takes time

I’m not sure whether Mary pointed out that you have to religiously follow the plan and that it won’t happen overnight! While Angels Camp has a very distinctive logo, this hasn’t become their fixation and sidetracked them from the critical brand development issues that have to be addressed.  It’s great to see a very small community tackle its brand development in such a comprehensive and methodical manner. There are some lessons here for much larger places.

Residents Call For Panama City Beach FL to Address It’s Conflicted Brand Image

Balancing the visitor mix can be a challenge for many destinations. What attracts one group may just as easily be negatively impacted by the actions of another group.  This particular challenge is being debated in Panama City Beach FL, the self-proclaimed "Spring Break Capital of the World", which is also a popular family destination.

Local residents are becoming increasingly concerned about the annual invasion of some 250,000 college students. Many regard them as being more trouble than they’re worth, despite the Spring Breakers typically leaving over $100 million in local businesses during the month of March.

"We are having a big problem with the culture of our guests,including vulgarity and a lack of respect," County Commissioner Mike Thomas told the Panama City News Herald. "Every town is having these problems, but you ought to be able to have community standards. Our main business is the family business.”

"It used to be school kids having a good time," Vice Mayor Ken Nelson said. "Now it's thugs coming here for the biggest party in Florida. We need drastic action. When you throw a party you are responsible for who shows up.  We have to change our marketing," added Nelson, noting that similar beach cities with fewer Spring Break problems tell him that "we don't invite the same people that you do."

As we have seen with some European fun and sun destinations, weaning local businesses off these lucrative markets can be very difficult. Eventually, the question will be asked, “Who’s city is it – the visitor’s or resident’s?”

Panama City Beach could learn a lot from the very popular restaurant and event venue, The Hangout on the beach in nearby Gulf Shoes AL, where the tagline is “Be Nice or Go Home”.

Newcastle, Australia Rebrands With Comprehensive Brand Strategy

Last week I had the opportunity to meet with Simon McArthur, the Tourism and Economic Development Manager for Newcastle City Council, Australia. I wanted to gain some insights into how their work for the Brand Newcastle project is coming along.

An aspect that caught my attention was their product development focus to ensure that the city delivers on its brand promise. Central to this is attracting and reinvigorating events (many associated with the beach and sports), the opening of the Newcastle Museum, the development of innovative harbor tours, and City Evolutions which will feature digital projections on buildings and lit moving sculptures that interpret some of the key stories that formed and rebuilt the city. The next phase is likely to feature a function center overlooking the beach, a coastal spa, regional convention and exhibition center, new hotels and expansions to Newcastle Airport. Another interesting feature is the plan to rebrand several of the city's key suburbs and visitor precincts such as Hamilton and Downtown Newcastle.

“This rebranding will enable us to consistently promote a more contemporary view of the city - a genuine, ever-changing, vibrant and energetic place that is home to hardworking people and world-class industries,” Simon McArthur said.

Newcastle is attempting to shed its long established ‘Steel City’ image with a comprehensive rebranding program.  This includes a new logo and tagline (See Change) as well as increased promotions through tourism websites, brochures and signage. The city has also installed sixteen visitor information kiosks throughout the city, in lieu of operating a traditional tourist information center.

Atlantic City NJ Masterplan to Reinvent the Tourism District

Few destinations have attempted to reinvent themselves on the scale that is being undertaken in Atlantic City NJ. This internationally renowned for gambling, conventions and leisurely strolls on its boardwalk.  But the destination has languished for decades.

Atlantic City’s Casino Reinvestment Development Authority recently released a 300-page masterplan that spells out redevelopment options for the city’s Tourism District - a 1,700-acre area encompassing the casinos, the boardwalk, and shopping and dining districts. State Governor Christie is giving the district five years to gain traction before reconsidering whether to expand casino gambling to the Meadowlands and other parts of New Jersey.

The plan contains short, medium, and long-term goals. Among the short-term is to introduce new attractions along the 2 ½ mile Boardwalk. The designers envision up to 10 "innovation pavilions”, sponsored by private companies, having entertainment and educational components.

The city has had five or six master plans since gambling was legalized in 1976, and most of those recommendations were never implemented. Some people are concerned that this plan may suffer a similar fate if there isn’t sufficient investment in the area’s basic infrastructure, let alone the multi-billion dollar casino and resort investments.

“If you make Atlantic City attractive, people will definitely come”, said Jack Plackter, a real estate lawyer with Fox Rothschild in Atlantic City.  “Atlantic City is only 48 blocks long. You can fix this place one block at a time," Plackter said. "The issue is can it be done quickly enough. We don't have a huge window. We don't have 20 years."

This will be a fascinating case study over the coming years.

Who’s a Desirable Loiterer in Your Placemaking Plans?

An article by Emily Badger in The Atlantic Cities appealed to both my sense of humor and my eye for placemaking in downtown precincts. Badger points out, “(When) residents moved out of cities and stopped using their public spaces and streets, the only people still walking them were deemed riffraff: the homeless, jobless and, officials feared, gang members and prostitutes.” These are the loiterers who caused local authorities and urban planners to form all types of rules to protect the citizenry and the park benches.

Many cities now recognize that people lingering in downtown precincts are not necessarily loiterers, and are actually good for their economic and social well-being. I totally agree with Badger who goes on to state, “Lingering, on the other hand, is both a means to an end and a desirable end in itself. People who linger create vibrant public places and welcoming streetscapes. They also increase the safety of an area, with more eyes on the street. And leisurely foot traffic can lead to more street commerce, more connected communities, and spontaneous exchanges.”

When I lived in New York City, Bryant Park was near our office and was certainly not the place you would want to venture, even in daylight. It is now one of the best examples of a rejuvenated public space in the USA where people hangout day and night, i.e. linger. The successful cities will increasingly be those that recognize and cater to the differences between loiterers and lingerers.

“Until we change the vocabulary,” Dan Burden of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute says, “then we’ll (not see change). (When I see) the last loitering sign in America, I want to photograph it and say ‘this is it.’ Maybe the new signs will say ‘please linger.’”

Image - Bryant Park NYC - Baker

A Great Case Study in Worst Practice Place Branding

It’s very hard to know where to start with this one. There is a fineline where edgy and funny can become crass and plain stupid. KJCT8 TV has shone a light on Fruita, CO where a bumper sticker has evolved into being proposed as the city’s tagline. The bumper sticker reads “WTF”, meaning “Welcome To Fruita”.

"We saw them and thought it was pretty funny and thought it might be a good idea," Fruita city manager Clint Kinney told KJCT8. "And so before we ran with the idea we wanted to get feedback from the community."

Mr. Kinney might like to also get the opinions from prospective visitors, potential new residents, or executives considering relocating a business to the city. Does the acronym hint at any benefit or reward for them? What message does it convey to them? Has The City of Fruita also considered that it really doesn’t come any more generic than “welcome to”? There’s zero distinctiveness about that.

This contains so many examples of what small communities shouldn’t do when they want to establish a verbal identity to project their competitiveness. If Fruita adopts this as their tagline, the reaction to it from outsiders might well be, “WTF!” Cities need to take their competitive identity way more serious than this. It has a direct impact on the income and well-being of the comunity as well as the tax receipts of the city council. It deserves much more serious and informed consideration than to base the city's identity on a joke from a bumper sticker.

Image: Fruita.org

Branding a Fashion District for Durban, South Africa

Durban, South Africa is well known for its Indian culture and fabulous beaches, but it will soon have a dedicated fashion district.  Durban Daily News reports on an interesting economic development branding initiative where a specific city neighborhood will be nominated, and then boutiques, material suppliers, designers and pattern makers are invited to set up shop in the area. The long term objective is to develop a sub-brand for Durban as South Africa’s Fashion Capital, and then acceptance as a world class leader in fashion.

“We want it to house the entire fashion industry supply chain,” said Jasmine Sultan, the program director of the KZN Fashion Council. “After many years of talking, it is now time for action. The next step is for the city’s urban design department to see how to design and brand the fashion district. We want to position Durban as a fashion destination, and the district will eventually be marketed as a tourist route,” Sultan added.

South Africa has had great success in fostering collaborative partnerships to establish tourism and economic development initiatives. It’s going to be interesting to see whether they can successfully pull together all of the necessary stakeholders and achieve their lofty ambitions on the world’s fashion stage. I wish them well.

Image: Flights Australia

Collaboration is Essential to Boost Competitiveness of Some Cities

The competitiveness of cities and regions is becoming an increasingly important issue as they develop strategies to rebound from the recession. Adding to their dilemma is the emergence of global competitors which changes the playing field. Now small cities must decide whether to go it alone, or collaborate with regional partners to present a more relevant value proposition. A recent article in The New Statesman, considered these realities in regard to the competitiveness of cities and regions in England.

A report by Ernst & Young observes, “Cities are engaged in intense competition for resources in the form of the talented people and capital to drive innovation. And because people are increasingly mobile they will migrate to cities that are the most aligned in what they offer in terms of brand, strategy, investment, services and culture. Achieving this depends on city leaders ensuring that the four environments that co-exist within a city - urban, business, social and cultural - are supportive to attracting and retaining innovative companies, talented people and crucial foreign direct investment.”

"Competition among cities is like a bicycle; if you don't pedal you'll fall off," says the Urban Land Institute. The competitiveness of our cities on the global stage is crucial to the UK's recovery. But should all cities be competing all of the time? And at what point should cities collaborate rather than compete?”

Over the years, I have observed many cities that should put aside their long held animosity, petty politics and myopic views of neighboring cities and adopt a more regionalized approach to their branding and economic development. But then again, that might bust up some old “clubs”!

Is Tourism’s Huge Impact Going Unnoticed?

My colleague Peggy Bendel sent me an interesting article by Rob Gialloreto, president and CEO of Tourism Victoria, in which he makes the case for more action and investment in tourism. While he makes the case in Canada, the same could be argued in many other countries. He states, “Recent research shows the 2010 travel and tourism impact in Greater Victoria at $1.89 billion – in a weak tourism year. But reports like this, while valuable, don't tell the whole story”.

“In today's tough political climate, many different sectors in B.C. continue to put forward remarkable economic impact numbers which, if ever combined, would likely triple our provincial gross domestic product - on paper, at least” Gialloreto adds.

The positive impact of tourism on the economy during these tough economic times has also been highlighted in reports by the U.S. Travel Association.  But as Gialloreto says, “Public funding for tourism continues to plummet even though the return on investment includes things like job creation, support for small business, and stimulation of foreign spending. Tourism continues to be what it has been for years - a vital economic driver that needs support, understanding and, most importantly, action”.

Image: Chemainus B.C. Canada

Are Many British Cities Copying Their Distinctiveness?

Many of Britain’s cities are aiming to be distinctive, but too many are trying to do so by copying each other. Patrick Butler asks in The Guardian, “beyond the boutiques and public art, is there any fresh thinking?”

Cities from Newcastle to Birmingham seem to have been able to develop new retail, sporting, cultural and architectural wonders through an off-the-shelf makeover, as Butler calls it. He argues that retail, leisure and consumption have been the driving force of these ambitious visions and have resulted in streetscapes and communities that are basically replicas of each other and lack distinctiveness.

Butler also points to the New Economics Foundation’s (NEF) 2004 report, Clone Town Britain, which identified that too many English towns have "lost their sense of place and the distinctive facades of their high streets under the glass, steel and concrete blandness of chain stores that have been built for the demands of ... a string of big, clone town retailers."

Butler quotes from the NEF report, “How do you reinvent, capture and maintain distinctiveness? Not simply through eye-catching new buildings. Redevelopments must be owned (in the cultural rather than legal sense) by local people, developments must be authentic and rooted in history and communal memory. The texture of a place is as important

I first came across similar observations about the USA in The Geography of Nowhere when it was published in 1994. In it, Kunstler traces America's evolution from a nation of unique Main Streets and communities to a country where every place is like no place in particular.

Maybe the end of cheap credit (for a while) and increased consciousness regarding energy consumption and the environment will lead toward a new age in architecture and communities that are more distinctive because they are a reflection of the visions of the people living there and not of corporations and developers who only see the place from a balance sheet perspective.

BP Ads Increase Awareness of the Gulf Coast with New Audiences

 

The response of the many DMOs and Cities along the Gulf Coast to the oil spill last year and their collaboration with BP will possibly be studied in future tourism and marketing courses as a case study in crisis communications excellence. We were able to see some of the preparations and response first hand while working in Gulf Shores AL a few months ago. 

This week KATC3 reported that BP has announced a new television spot, titled "Best Season." The spot highlights 2011 as the best tourism season in years - despite a sluggish national economy - and will be part of an integrated television, online and social media campaign. The campaign will bring the Gulf Coast to the attention of many potential new visitors around the country who might not normally have considered the region – or have even been aware of its appeal.

This integrated campaign has been able to weave together the interests of several major beach destinations across three states that are usually competitors and has them focused on increasing the brand awareness and desirability of the Gulf Coast as a destination brand. Combined with the introduction of several major tourism developments, the end result may well be that the Gulf Coast becomes established in many new markets around the country.

What Role Do City Centers Play in Local Economic Growth?

Working in small cities across the USA, we frequently find ourselves referring to downtowns and city centers as being the heart and soul of the community, and the need to constantly invest in their vitality and relevance. Here’s an interesting article in The Guardian that considers the benefits for high value businesses being located in the city centers of several mid-sized cities in England, Sunderland and Preston. Paul Swinney, the author argues that despite rapid growth in industrial estates on the outskirts of these towns, city centers have still prospered.  

Swinney advocates that changes should be made to city centers to make them more profitable places for businesses to locate. Lack of parking space is a common gripe, but public transport, road access and quality of office space are all factors that must be improved to make city centers a popular choice in many cities in England. I dare say that some of these factors are also at play in many American cities as well.

Politics Makes Pretoria’s Name Change Messy

The political controversy surrounding the proposed name change for South Africa’s national capital from Pretoria to Tshwane continues to rage.  South Africa’s opposition parties have expressed outrage at Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa’s announcement that the city’s name will be changed from Pretoria to Tshwane by next year.

The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) is a huge municipality that forms the local government area of northern Gauteng Province, and includes the nation’s capital city of Pretoria. It sounds confusing because Pretoria is a city within a city.

The name change was actually approved in 2005 by the Geographical Names Council but it has not yet been officially approved by the Minister of Arts and Culture. The Tshwane Metro Council has added to the controversy by advertising Tshwane as "Africa's leading capital city" even before the name has been officially approved. Following a complaint lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority it was ruled that such advertisements are deliberately misleading and should be withdrawn from all media. Not the type of launch or start that you want for a new city brand.

Countering the move for a new name for the city, Elmarie Linde (a spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance) said, “Pretoria will always be Pretoria. It is part of our country and our city heritage.”

The name of a city is possibly the most important element of its brand identity.  Renaming a city can be a minefield if it is not conducted in a transparent manner with the endorsement of citizens. If the name of Pretoria is changed to Tshwane, it might take decades for all residents to strongly connect with it's new name.

‘I Love NY’ Logo Rakes in Millions

The "I Love New York" logo, designed by Milton Glaser in 1977, is becoming a source of income for New York State.  The licensing of the logo has extended beyond regular tourism merchandise to now include high-end T-shirts and will soon to be released New York spring water.

A line of trendy "I Love New York" T-shirts by a company called Junk Food Clothing has been launched and can be found at department stores like Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue.  An "I Love New York" perfume developed by New York perfume company Bond No. 9 will also be released this month.

The Daily News reports that New York began licensing the logo in 1994, and during fiscal 2011 generated over $1.83 million in licensing fees, up from $1.5 million in 2010.

State officials are considering opening an "I Love New York" store exclusively for such products.  My colleague Peggy Bendel at Bendel Communications International was one of the original team that worked on the “I Love NY” campaign from its earliest days and says that it was always the State’s intention to license this extremely popular logo. I bet the State’s finance officials regret that they didn’t activate licensing before 1994. It’s not like them to ignore a source of income for the 17 years after the logo was first released.

A Humungous Crocodile – The Latest Tourist Trap?

Small towns around the world have erected gigantic versions of what they consider to be their town’s claim to fame - Big Bananas, Big Sheep, Big Guitars, Big Cows and tons of other “Big” things. Sunstar reports that the villagers and veteran croc hunters in Bunawan in the Philippines have captured a 20-foot, 2,365 pound saltwater crocodile after a three-week hunt along a creek in the town. It is one of the largest ever crocs caught anywhere in the world.

The local council is planning to build a nature park to accommodate the new resident with hopes to attract visitors to the town. Just in time to dampen the enthusiasm of locals celebrating the capture of this monster, wildlife authorities announced that there is a new search underway for what they believe may be an even larger crocodile. Meanwhile, wildlife activists are urging Philippine authorities to release the captured giant croc, but the mayor has refused, saying it poses a threat to residents – and tourists, might I add. This thing about using “Big Things” as tourist attractions can really get out of hand when, like the Arms Race, it becomes a competition to get a bigger or better one!

Downtown Bridgeport CT Seeks Love and Investment

MetropolisMag.com has an interesting exposé on Bridgeport CT (population 144,000) and how, in this tough economic environment, this post-industrial city is trying to revitalize its downtown and shed its industrial image. The city is about 1 1/2 hours from  New York’s Grand Central Station.

The article cites a recent report by the American Institute of Architects sustainable-design assessment team which describes the city as having “great bones”.  The report was upbeat in describing “The pre-war fabric of downtown provides the bones for the type of walkable urban place that is increasingly in demand.”

Karrie Jacobs the article author writes, “And what Bridgeport clearly needs is love, which - and I’m serious here - is exactly the sentiment America’s many woe-be-gone cities require. Our bleakest cities cry out not just for civic pride but civic passion. Oh, yeah, and lots of investment dollars.”

Jacobs adds, “So this is it, the moment for Bridgeport and other struggling cities like Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland to blossom. It’s time for a revival of those cities that were abandoned by the industries that once sustained them and have thus far been untouched by the waves of prosperity that have buoyed our showcase cities. Why now? The conventional wisdom about cities has finally changed.”

The task for Bridgeport is not an easy one and we wish them well. Getting the love and investment is one thing, but we have found time and again that after post-industrial cities have undergone a total revitalization, it can still take another 10-20 years to turnaround its tarnished image with external audiences.

Cleveland Mayor Launches Slogan Competition in Search of a Brand

No not that Cleveland. Cleveland, southeast Tennessee has seen rapid growth in recent years as world famous brands such as Whirlpool and Mars have opened factories in the area. Commendably, the mayor now wants to establish a clear and differentiating identity for the city to capitalize on this growth. Cleveland Daily reports that he has stated that the city needs “a brand which will define our total identity in a few simple words”. Bravo, Mr. Mayor!

But instead of taking a leaf from some of his world famous constituents, he has launched a competition for a slogan – not a brand. To ensure sufficient incentive for the school kids and other budding designers, $1,000 has been raised as prize money. So that’s the value that Cleveland TN places on its brand identity? Once again, let’s be clear: logos and slogans are not brands. And calling them brands doesn’t make them brands. And time and again, competitions fail as vehicles to develop a brand identity. A city brand has to come from research, wide community consultation, careful analysis and lots of creativity. Not to mention the experience to know how to get past the platitudes and self-congratulations that can divert communities away from their most cutting-edge outcomes.  

Maybe the mayor should hook up with the folks in Auckland who I blogged about last week. They ran a competition for a logo and then after picking a winner realized that they didn’t have a brand and had to form a committee to shape a strategy around the winning logo.   This is rarely a successful approach.  If competitions represented the best way to define a brand, then companies of all sizes would be running them all the time. If cities were serious about the value of their brand identities, they wouldn’t run competitions either – no matter how much money it might “save” them.

Does Tucson AZ Need a More Compelling and Meaningful Identity?

Nicholas K. Smith, is a journalist from Tucson AZ now living in Vienna, Austria. He takes a very critical view of the image and reputation of his former city in an article in Inside Tucson Business. He advocates that Tucson needs to present a unified vision of why Tucson matters.

While I think that he may be a bit hard on his former hometown, he does raise some very relevant issues. It is interesting to note that his complaints do not relate so much to how the city is promoted, but instead go to the reality of the city and how locals project it. His critique highlights the responsibility for the brand identity of a city, or any place for that matter, cannot reside on the desk of the tourism officials alone. He points to the lack of distinctive landmarks, stories or symbols that make it easy for people to draw positive associations about the place.

The Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau does prominently feature the saguaro cactus as an integral part of its brand communications. While these are valid symbols or icons for the area, the city may need to develop other distinctive attributes that add greater richness and relevance for people when they are exposed to the name, Tucson.  While the saguaro is evocative and distinctive on one hand, it can also depict a place that is barren – and well, a desert. There are dimensions of the city’s brand identity that should resonate beyond tourists and are not necessarily the responsibility of the Bureau.

Developing a compelling and sustainable place brand involves much more than the tourism office and needs to also reside in the offices of the mayor, elected officials and community leaders. For Tucson, it goes to the heart of what the city wants to be “when it grows up”. Rarely is this type of challenge a short term project. It takes vision and a long-term commitment that must span political parties and the terms of officials.  In order to address how the physical persona of places shape their identity, I am seeing links starting to develop between the practices of place branding and urban design. I will be blogging on this subject within the next few weeks.

If the views of Nicholas Smith are correct, then the challenge for Tucson is to make the identity and image of the city a prime consideration for community leaders and not leave it to the campaigns of the Convention & Visitors Bureau alone.

Can New Asian Cities Avoid The Urban Mistakes of the 20th Century?

In 1980, the dominance of the American and Japanese economies was reflected by the world’s two leading megacities being Tokyo and New York City. But in 2025, the picture will be very different with seven of the world's top ten megacities being located in Asia. These graphs provide a fascinating view of the anticipated growth of the world’s major cities over the next fifteen years.

The planning and growth of Asian cities will have important implications for the rest of the world. Cities cover 2% of the earth's surface, host more than 50% of the world's population, account for 75% of energy consumption and are responsible for up to 80% of carbon-dioxide emissions. An article on the BBC website by Carlo Ratti and Kristian Kloeckl from MIT Senseable City Lab highlights how these cities will have to rely on new technologies and the inventiveness of billions of citizens to innovate in ways that will avoid repeating the urban mistakes of the 20th Century - only on a larger scale.

Is It Time For A Fresh Look at DMO Performance Metrics? : Part 2

This is the second part of this article. The first was posted yesterday.

"And what about our clients, the meeting planners? Because their attendees have discovered the interweb thingy, they’re booking outside the block, convinced that they’re getting a better deal. This results in planners only generating a fraction of the true room pick up in order to avoid penalty charges from hotels. Thus, a true 1,000 room night piece of business is now booked at 600 because a meeting planner doesn’t want to get stuck. And, just how does that impact room night measurements?

Even more troubling is that 70% of DMOs are measured on hotel occupancy. WTF? Are crappy beds, dirty hotels and bed bugs our responsibility? How can DMOs be measured on whether hotels reinvest in their properties to remain competitive and focus on the highest standard of customer service?

Where are the measurements of “intent to visit” or “intent to book?” Isn’t that what DMOs do? Create the intent...and then make it easy to consume?

Room nights will always be an interesting “indicator” of a DMO’s success (and a key marker for sales staff productivity)...but it cannot be the primary organizational measure. Somehow, we must, as an industry, come together to change the measurements that have been foisted upon us and create realistic measures for what our DMOs do for our communities.

I don’t profess to have the answers, but I know that, collectively, this whip smart industry does. So, here’s my suggestion. Let’s find time in conference corridors and over meals to discuss this with each other.”

 Once again, Bill raises some very interesting points which I am sure will be thoroughly debated. It is certainly time to get beyond stale metrics based on hotel bookings or the number of visitors.

Is It Time For A Fresh Look at DMO Performance Metrics? : Part 1

The issue of DMO performance and relevance is much debated worldwide as government officials, tourism industry and DMO executives grapple to define appropriate performance metrics. Last week I received Zeitgeist Consulting’s monthly newsletter in which my friend Bill Geist once again raised some very provocative and highly relevant issues for evaluating the performance of DMOs. Bill gave me permission to reproduce his article here.

“OK...it’s time to get serious about this whole “performance measures” thing for the destination marketing industry. Don’t get me wrong. The work by DMAI on the initial Performance Measures Matrix a few years ago was a giant step forward. And, the new set of measures that should be released next month at DMAI’s annual convention is a cool addition.

But, a recent study by the Destination & Travel Foundation indicates that roughly 80% of the industry measures its success on room night production. Those that have been in my workshops and strategic planning sessions know how I feel about this as a DMO’s primary measure. For the rest of you, let me just say that I have a problem being measured on a metric over which I have no control.

Let’s understand a basic tenet. While DMOs measure “Room Nights Booked,” DMOs rarely “book” anything. Unless the DMO runs a convention facility and/or a hotel, we “facilitate” the booking. We don’t “ink” the deal. We don’t “book.”

If the hotels don’t offer up a competitive room block and we lose the event, is that a DMO’s fault? If their pricing is too aggressive and the business goes elsewhere, is that the DMO’s fault? If the economy tanks and 20% of all meetings are flat out cancelled, are we to be chastised for missing our Room Night Goal?

Part Two will be posted tomorrow.

Northwest Cities Plan to Reconnect With Their Waterfronts

Access to water is a major motivator for people to visit and stay longer in places. In recent years, we have visited and worked in dozens of cities that have “turned their backs” on their riverfronts and provide very limited access to these great assets. Mark Hinshaw in Crosscut reports that a number of cities in the Pacific Northwest are developing plans to reconnect with their waterfronts. Many of these are in Washington State including, Bellingham, Bremerton, Kirkland, and Port Angeles.

Hinshaw advocates that “the first lesson in re-making urban waterfronts is consistent, persistent, leadership which sometimes in the face of quibbling and fussing by naysayers, can make a huge difference. While debate about public policy should be robust, there is a time when a city needs to declare an end to discussion and just take action.”

His second piece of advice is that waterfronts thrive when they welcome a wide diversity of activities, uses, people, and organizations to help shape and activate them. We should not be afraid of trying out things and failing.

I couldn’t agree more. It’s often tempting to take the easy and non-controversial path of no action at all. I’m, so glad that officials in Portland OR (where I live) took the bold steps to develop the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. It’s hard to imagine the city having such a vibrant calendar of events without it.

Photo: Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland OR

Athens Architectural Legacy Post Olympics Fails to Gain Traction

The Olympic Games are often cited as being a great catalyst for cities to refocus their identity as future oriented and vibrant cities. Athens hosted the 2004 Games and appears to have fallen short in capitalizing on its Olympics investments and the focus of the world spotlight.

Andreas Angelidakis is an architect who describes himself as operating at the intersection of systems: Art and Architecture, Virtual and Real, Building and Nature, Ruin and Construction. He recently accompanied Maria Christina Didero from Domus on a tour of Athens to view the state of the government’s major architectural investments in residential areas and Olympic-related sites.

Angelidakis describes Athens as a split city, divided between a glorious past made of severe proportion and strict rules and a present peppered with architecture that is wild, added-in, incomplete, interrupted and non-designed, as is so obviously visible in its crowded streets.

It amazes me how nations and pursue the honor of  hosting the Olympics Games with such vigor, yet in many cases are unable to develop a long-term vision to capitalize on its opportunities and architectural investments.