While many places can’t get past believing that their logo or tagline is their brand, Durham has done a stellar job in shaping and protecting its identity and image. The Durham CVB has paid close attention to the ways in which their city brand can be diluted and lose equity.
Total Destination Marketing developed the original brand strategy for the Durham and during the process we quickly recognized that the city had several unique challenges. For instance, the name of the city was frequently bracketed with the nearby Raleigh i.e. Raleigh-Durham and many important locations and organizations within Durham were frequently credited as being in Raleigh.
Reyn Bowman is the former President of Durham CVB and was extremely pro-active in addressing the key touchpoints that were essential to defining and protecting the Durham brand. Fifteen of these have been captured by Reyn in his blog Bull City Mutterings where he outlines steps that Durham NC has taken to protect and shape its identity and image.
Reyn says that his tips “involve some heavy lifting and they aren’t as much fun as just placing some ads or booking some conferences. But they are as much or more important."
"Think of it this way: A little courage, determination and resilience can substitute for millions of dollars in promotion and advertising. Think of it another way. No amount of promotion and advertising can overcome the damage that inattention to these areas can create,” Reyn added.
I couldn’t agree more. It makes little sense to double down on marketing communications when there are serious leakages in brand equity that are going unattended.
Posted by: Total Destination Marketing
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