Small City Branding Around the World

The Mayor Doesn’t Own Your City’s Brand!

Last week I was reminded of the fragility of place brands and how they need to foster deep community roots from the start of their brand planning process. The marketing manager of a small destination marketing organization (DMO) told me that his city had completed a brand strategy during the past two years which had been well received. But with the election of a new mayor, they had abandoned the strategy. Fortunately, this was not one of our clients.

This discussion brought home to me that from time to time people who are essential to the vitality of a destination brand move on. The result can be that their replacement wants to “do things their way”. It goes without saying that community-based brands have to be built following a highly consultative and transparent process - along with broad buy-in and a shared sense of ownership.

The brand does not belong to any one person or organization. And a new mayor should not be empowered to arbitrarily reject a strategy that community members and key stakeholders contributed considerable blood, sweat and tears in defining. The marketing manager told me that there is now deep cynicism and aversion among stakeholders and staff toward starting a new brand planning process just two years after the last effort.  

The mayor doesn't realize that a place brand is more than the logo he didn't like and it belongs to everyone in the community to a greater or lesser extent. It should never be established in such a way that it is reliant on one individual – even if they are Mayor.

Sponsored by: Book:  Destination Branding for Small Cities

What’s Involved in Destination Leadership Success?

I was delighted to recently receive a copy of my friend Bill Geist’s new book, ‘Destination Leadership’. I found his last book of the same name to hold so many epiphanies in regard to understanding and responding to the challenges that face DMOs. 

I’m delighted to say that this edition again hits the mark time and again. It makes sense of much of the landscape that DMOs are dealing with. It helps that Bill has several decades experience working with over 200 DMOs to provide him with real world insights.   

‘Destination Leadership’ shows how to build the most effective DMO, structure and Board for today’s destinations. He explores the nexus between economic development and tourism, and how places can orchestrate the greatest synergy from them. I found his advice on creating and managing the DMO Board to be particularly important for successful destination leadership. He also points the way for recruiting the best and brightest to the Board.

This is the ideal book for DMO staff, executives, board members and key stakeholders, as well students, academics and government officials wanting to better understand how to introduce and sustain successful tourism organizations of all sizes.

Will Hudson Yards Totally Disrupt Midtown Manhattan?

A recent article in Institutional Investor is a timely reminder that every place, no matter its size or popularity, must always keep an eye over its ‘shoulder’ for unexpected competitors and threats. Midtown Manhattan would seem to be on an unassailable high with new buildings, iconic tenants, millions of visitors and soaring real estate prices. But, amazingly 60% of Manhattan’s buildings are over 50 years of age making the city’s commercial real estate much older than cities like London and Beijing.

But there is a new city rising on the west side of the Manhattan. Hudson Yards is about to disrupt Manhattan as a place to live, work and play. Hudson Yards is the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States and the largest development in New York City since Rockefeller Center

Hudson Yards will consist of 16 skyscrapers containing new office, residential, and retail space. Among its components will be a huge retail center with two levels of restaurants, cafes, markets and bars, a hotel, a cultural space, performing arts center, a 750-seat school, and huge public open park space. It’s designed as a ‘playground’ for Millennials.

Many iconic commercial tenants are planning to vacant marquee buildings for Hudson Yards. While Hudson Yards will be a significant competitor to Midtown as a trendy and modern alternative for commercial and residential real estate, Midtown will remain a formidable tourism destination because of its iconic attractions and neighborhoods.

This is a great reminder that every place, no matter its size or popularity, must constantly innovate, invest and stay on watch for tomorrow’s unexpected competitor.

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

The Logo Bureaucrats Run Amok in NSW.

Place and destination branding is tricky at the best of times. Among the ever-present challenge is managing the possible influence of politics and the whim of politicians and bureaucrats.

The Sydney Herald reports that the tourism industry, and especially the attractions owned by the Government of New South Wales (NSW) Australia, were blindsided last month by an announcement from the State's Premier (equivalent to Governor) that the state’s government-owned attractions must all ditch their individual logos and replace them with the State Government logo which is the State flower, the Waratah.

These include the world famous Sydney Opera House, Taronga Park, Sydney Olympic Park, the Art Gallery of NSW, the Australian Museum and many more. Each of these enterprises is competing in highly competitive markets i.e. they must have a very strong customer focus.

While logos aren’t brands, they do play a valuable role as identifiers to distinguish entities and provide the foundation for their distinctive visual identity or look. A point of concern in the NSW directive was that the government logo was needed to "ensure consistency across public sector communications and improve the recognition of NSW government projects".

Who do they think is their customer?

Was there any consumer research conducted to test this idea?

What about other elements of their visual identity?

The greatest ‘head-scratcher’ was the statement by the spokesperson that the cost of the exercise would be "minimal" because the ‘Waratah’ was an existing logo and it could do so as part of routine communications updates. Seriously? What about wayfinding systems, websites, brochures, uniforms and vehicles that still have plenty of use? That means there will be multiple designs in use at the same time.

A logo should act as a cue for thoughts and feelings that people hold about the entity. In this case, someone should tell the NSW Premier that NOBODY is traveling to experience NSW government departments and that all of these entities do not share the same brand essence as government departments.

Fortunately, logos are only one part of any marketing toolkit. But this is a very worrying example of bureaucratic interference in the serious business of destination marketing.

Which Towns Have The Most Unfortunate Names? And Does it Matter?

The name of a place is the most powerful part of its identity. It has often been said that being introduced to a brand is like meeting a person. Their name is important - it’s how we remember them, make associations, and refer to them. It’s as if there is a filing cabinet in our brains where we keep everything relevant to that name. When we hear London, Paris or Saigon, we recall the many pieces of information, thoughts and feelings large and small, that we have assembled about each over the years, even if we have never been there.

I recall that in a survey a few years ago, Toad Suck, Arkansas, was voted America’s “most embarrassing or unfortunate” town-name, in a global poll. It beat Climax in Georgia, Boring in Oregon (and its namesake in Maryland) and Hooker in Oklahoma in a poll of almost 2,000 people by findmypast.com.

The web site and its global network of partner sites asked users in seven English-speaking countries (U.S., UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) to pick from its own shortlist of 11 unfortunate or embarrassing American town- and place-names. True, it’s not the worst thing you might unearth when tracing your ancestry. But some people are disconcerted to learn that their forebears came from somewhere called, for example, Toad Suck, Roachtown or Monkey’s Eyebrow.”

However, rather than feel embarrassed, residents of many towns with unfortunate names embrace their odd names with pride, have a laugh and use them as a feature to promote their towns. Of course, Intercourse PA has done that for decades. Boring OR and Dull Scotland have proclaimed "Boring and Dull Day in Perpetuity" in honor of the two communities. In today’s stressed and over-worked society the prospect of visiting places that embrace boring and dull might actually have some appeal to it. It might create some interesting economic development opportunities for visionary leaders. Make no mistake though - capitalizing on their unusual names will take more than providing a humorous photo-op with local town signs.

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

A City's Brand Strategy Isn’t a Magic Wand!

I recently had a conversation with the president of Midwest DMO at a conference who was being pressured by some of his lodging partners because the community’s brand strategy, which had been revealed three months earlier, had not generated an increase in business for them. While we at TDM didn’t develop this strategy, it did seem to be a fairly robust and credible brand they had launched.

While there may be some short-term increases in visitation, the real benefits of branding won’t be apparent overnight. If this DMO wanted to increase heads in beds, perhaps they should have invested more in their tactical marketing and sales. Even then, it may take time to break through the clutter of competing messages, build awareness and convert interest into actual bookings, unless they are offering deep discounts.

We are living in an era in which some brands like Uber and Air B&B have become household names virtually overnight. On the other hand, others have soared and then crashed just as quickly. Do you remember World Football League, Webvan.com and eToys.com? Cities are different. Their identity and image has usually been established over a very long period, in some cases hundreds of years. They almost always have small marketing budgets, need to overcome generations of preconceived thoughts and opinions, and must mobilize myriad stakeholders, many of whom are competitors, to adopt and use the brand accurately and consistently.

The benefits from city branding, if done well, are considerable. The article, “What are the Benefits of Place Branding?” provides more insights into why the benefits of city branding do not materialize overnight. From the outset, you must be sure that the objectives are clear and realistic, programs are well funded and that there is an understanding of what branding is and isn’t. This includes ensuring that no one expects a magic wand. And when the brand strategy is finally launched, that’s when the hard work really begins.

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

 

 

Place Branding: What’s the Difference Between Theory and Practice?

I was honored to recently speak at the Inaugural International Place Branding Association Conference in London. This was a very stimulating and informative event with academics and professionals involved in the principles and practices of brand development and brand management for places (cities, regions, nations and destinations).

With such an eclectic audience, the focus of my presentation was on the differences between theory and practice in place branding. To start my presentation, I borrowed from the German statesman Otto von Bismarck who said, “politics is the art of the possible, the attainable … the art of the next best”. I believe that because politics and place branding are so inextricably linked we can easily substitute “place branding” for “politics” in von Bismarck’s statement.

Some of the main points of the presentation were:

1. The #1 challenge in place branding is the lack of understanding and awareness of what it is and how to utilize it successfully.

2. Good theory should be simplified to underpin and improve practice.

3. Our peers are not our clients: We must focus on the practicalities of what will be understood, valued, implemented and  sustainable for our clients.

4. Words have meaning. There needs to be a clearer and better defined vocabulary used by clients, practitioners and academics in regard to place branding.

5. While it may sound great in theory, an overarching brand for a city isn’t always possible. There may be power and budget struggles within the city with no agreement as to who should lead the branding effort. At the same time, there may be different budgets, objectives, customer hot buttons, control and silos in competition to influence the project.

6. Projects may involve balancing many conflicting and competitive interests within the location.

All of these points help validate the view that “place branding is the art of the possible, the attainable … the art of the next best”.

Or you may prefer Yogi Berra’s take, “In theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is!”

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

Do Billboards Destroy Community Character?

Project for Public Spaces has highlighted an excellent article in the Planning Commissioners Journal (PCJ) by Ed McMahon, who is a Senior Resident Fellow at the Urban Land Institute. Ed is a nationally renowned authority and speaker on sustainable development, land conservation, and urban design.

In his PCJ article, McMahon argues that billboards are not only unsightly, but damage community character. He also responds to arguments commonly heard in favor of allowing billboards.

McMahon claims that “in a relatively short time, outdoor advertising has gone from from small and folksy to huge and intrusive. We have now entered the era of digital billboards – huge outdoor TV screens wasting energy while degrading the landscape and distracting drivers.”

On a recent drive from Portland to Seattle, I observed the size and attention-grabbing techniques of some of these mega-sized digital billboards. I would add that they may also be a tad more distracting and dangerous for motorists than the passive displays of a few years ago. I think in some cases they are also reshaping the identities of the communities that have these displays along their corridors. I’m with Vermont, Maine, Alaska and Hawaii all of which have banned billboards.

I don’t hate commercialism, I just prefer nature and attractive communities a whole lot more. 

Photo Credit:  Los Angeles Billboard - Flickr photo by Awecelia

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

 

Showing Why Nation Branding Matters

The Olympic Games provide an interesting backdrop to observe an alternate competition between nations that isn’t happening on the playing field but in the court of public opinion. It seems that each Olympiad brings ever more intensive efforts to leverage the spotlight to gain recognition and enhance the image of nations in regard to tourism, trade and public diplomacy.

Nation branding and marketing were on display over the past weeks from the Japanese Prime Minister appearing at the closing ceremony to present Japan as cool and tech while dressed as Nintendo’s Super Mario, the Ethiopian marathon runner drawing attention to the persecution of the Oromo people in his country, to the black eye that the reputation of the USA received with the exploits of Ryan Lochte. And not to mention the panorama and iconic views of Rio broadcast to the world.

Nation branding is now firmly on the radar of the esteemed Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Wharton marketing professor David Reibstein has collaborated with U.S. News & World Report to produce the Best Countries Rankings. Reibstein has also produced a series of articles exploring the many facets of nation branding and why it matters. For the report, Reibstein and colleagues surveyed more than 16,000 global citizens on 65 different national attributes.

Just as Nike, Adidas and Puma are locked in brand battles at the Olympics, I am sure that future Olympiads will see more intensive competition between nations building their brands to establish their relevance, reputation and respect as international players.

I can’t wait to see what other costumes Japan’s high profile brand ambassadors will wear in 2020.

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

Oregon’s Ice Age Tourism Assets

My destination consulting colleagues and I often remark that residents of a city often don’t see what’s right in front of us when it comes to their city’s hidden tourism strengths. Well, on this occasion I must confess my guilt. A few years ago, I worked on a small project for the Historical Society in Tualatin, the small city where I live outside of Portland, OR. 

My assignment was to determine how the city can take advantage of the locally excavated remains of Ice Age animals such as mastodons and giant sloths, and promote how the great Ice Age Floods shaped the local landscape.

Despite having developed tourism strategies for nations, regions and cities, and even the Olympic Games, this is one of the most surprising and fascinating projects that I have ever worked on – and it’s right in my own backyard. And like much of the local population I had no clue about the Ice Age Floods. 

The Floods were one of the most cataclysmic events ever to happen in North America. They flooded Tualatin to a depth of about 350 feet and resulted in several geological phenomena that are still visible today.

A four state trail named the Ice Age Floods Trail has been established by Congress and will be administered by the National Park Service. As the Trail is developed over the next decade, I’m sure that Ice Age tourism will be a term that we will add to our tourism dictionaries.

The lesson for me is that sometimes you have to dig deep to find a city’s tourism assets, other times they come as part of a trend or as in Tualatin’s case, a small group of passionate scientists, academics and residents who have a great idea whose time has come.

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

Sponsored by Place Branding Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

 

Fifteen Ways to Protect Your City's Identity

Duke University, Durham

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

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

 

Top 5 Place Branding Books to Read in 2016

 

I was pleasantly surprised and very honored to recently see my book listed as a "must read". Just in time for Northern Hemisphere summer break, Place Brand Observer (PBO) has released a list of the Top 5 Place Branding books to read in 2016. Their list contains books recommended by place brand experts in PBO interviews.

The role of PlaceBrandObserver.com is to build bridges between place branding thinkers, shakers and doers, and to provide useful information, research insights and examples of credible, authentic place brands and responsible, sustainable branding, promotion and positioning of cities, regions, countries, nations, and destinations. In a nutshell they're a great source of information on place branding.

The books they listed are:

Top 1: Rethinking Place Branding: Comprehensive Brand Development for Cities and Regions. Edited by Mihalis Kavaratzis, Gary Warnaby, Gregory Ashworth (2014, Springer)

Top 2: Nation Branding, Concepts, Issue and Practice, Edited by Keith Dinnie (2nd Edition, 2015, Routledge)

Top 3: Destination Branding for Small Cities, By Bill Baker (2012, Creative Leap Books)

Top 4: Places: Identity, Image and Reputation, by Simon Anholt (2009, Palgrave MacMillan)

Top 5: Marketing Places, By Philip Kotler, Ronald Haider, Irving Rein (2002, Free Press)

Now to catch-up on my reading!

Posted by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

Benefits of a Brand Audit: The Case of the Poorly Fitting Suits

I have been reading a case study about Malaysia as a destination with global appeal in the book, "Stop Advertising Start Branding: How to Build the Brand That Will Build Your Business" by Marcus Osborne. I was quickly struck by how a comprehensive brand audit can not only fine-tune a destination's brand positioning and platform, but can directly contribute toward major cost savings and efficiency.

The case in point was when Malaysia had been spending about US$7 million per year advertising itself as a shopping destination to the Middle East. The advertising was generating prospective Arab shoppers who went to the stores in Malaysia with pockets full of cash only to find that clothing sizes were too small.  Many visitors from the UAE and Saudi Arabia had been suitably impressed by the design and quality of the clothes on offer, but they had almost all returned home without buying any of this merchandise. The items they liked were designed to fit Malaysians - and both men’s and women’s clothes were too small for the bigger-build of the Middle Eastern visitors.

Unless the Malaysian garment-makers and retailers were prepared to manufacture and carry stock specifically intended for sale to overseas purchasers, the idea of targeting long-haul shoppers from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States was simply never going to work.

The moral is to do thorough research with open-ended questions and carefully match your end products and experiences with target market needs before investing in efforts to demonstrate brand capabilities. And, of course, initiate outreach to key local stakeholders to get their buy-in and input. In this case, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers who had failed to convince its members to manufacture larger clothing to meet the needs of foreign visitors who may be arriving in large numbers.

It’s a great reminder that a brand is nothing more than a valued and distinctive promise that must be consistently delivered. The Malaysian experience also demonstrates that when it comes to international destination marketing and branding, one size cannot fit all. No pun intended!

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

Kindle Version of Stop Advertising Start Branding

New Book: Branded Wayfinding for Destinations

I am pleased to have been asked by my colleague Todd Mayfield at Axia Creative to contribute a chapter to his new book on Branded Wayfinding for Destinations – Successful Places & Public Spaces.

Todd has written the book for organizations such as convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs), community committees, or civic teams that must know the basics about branded wayfinding to enhance the sense of place and the visitor and resident experience in specific locations.

He takes an in-depth look at the art and science of branded wayfinding, how it came to be, and the process required for its successful implementation – and the pitfalls to avoid. Todd examines how wayfinding has evolved into a specialized discipline. He then provides the detailed to help transform a place into a great experience. Importantly, he demonstrates the links between branding and wayfinding, and how committees can get both elements right.

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

A Name Change Strengthens Travel Lane County

In 2008, Total Destination Marketing developed the brand strategy for Lane County, Oregon.  This large region embraces the Cascade Mountains, the McKenzie River Valley, stretches of the famed Oregon Coast, as well as the cities of Springfield and Eugene in the Willamette Valley.

Research revealed that Lane County was not readily recognized outside of Oregon and the name did not project it as an attractive destination. I recently caught up to Kari Westlund, President & CEO of Travel Lane County to discuss their name change and how it has impacted their branding and community relations.

Q. Why did you feel it was necessary to introduce a new destination name?

The concept of moving from Lane County to Eugene, Cascades & Coast came from our local stakeholders and customer groups. Our client groups of leisure travelers, convention planners and sports event planners did not know where Lane County or Lane County, Oregon was. Time and again it was not until we would reference Eugene, that clients' would say, "Oh, yes, I've heard of Eugene," or "Oh, yes, that's where the University of Oregon is, right?"

Q. How did you know if you had settled on the most appropriate destination name?

It came from our resident and customer stakeholder group focus sessions during the brand planning research, and the top three were tested by TDM.

Q. Did you encounter any resistance? How did you address this?

Yes, community leaders in Springfield were disappointed. Historically, Eugene-Springfield was commonly used, and our organization was originally the Eugene-Springfield CVB. Even though the immediate transition was from Lane County, they had a sense of loss for Springfield not being included. All community leaders are seeking recognition for their cities, so very transparent conversations leveraging recognition of Eugene for everyone's benefit have taken place since the new brand was launched and will probably continue to take place as we all watch the numbers and economic returns grow. It is a situation where it is logical, and everyone understands it intellectually, but it is still a bit painful emotionally for everyone outside of Eugene.

Q. Why does your DMO name differ from the destination name?

Our lodging tax funding comes from Lane County. We transitioned from the Convention & Visitor Association of Lane County Oregon. We wanted to leave a trail of bread crumbs for residents and customer groups, and we wanted to stay connected to our funder.

Q. What advice can you offer for other cities and regions that are contemplating a destination or DMO name change?

The shorter the better. The clearer, the better. The easier to say and type, the better. Our former name was 27 syllables long, but our new destination name, Eugene, Cascades & Coast also is long, and is difficult to type quickly without a mistake. It does speak clearly to our location and the idea that we have the Cascade Mountains and the Oregon Coast. Shorter and simpler might have been easier to implement, however.

Q. What benefits or results have you obtained because of the name changes?

Stronger destination positioning, increased recognition and increased metrics across measurable response mechanisms.

Q. Has the name change enabled you to accomplish things you would otherwise have not been able to realize?

The process of engaging stakeholders in re-naming the organization and re-positioning the destination was very powerful. We initially set out only to work on our organizational name, but also changed the destination name as well. During the first few years we made many, many presentations to local communities to outline our process, positioning, and brand promise – and how it can work for them. The result is that we are now more connected to our destination stakeholders than ever before.

+++++++++++

The Lane County experience highlights the need to thoroughly engage stakeholders at all stages of a name change process. While there is often no perfect solution, those that are transparent and take the time to engage stakeholders will gain traction much faster than those that simply make an announcement and never get to fully engage stakeholders. They soon learn that it’s hard to win the game when you are starting in negative territory.

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

Branding a New Region: The Tillamook Coast, Oregon

Last year, TDM was invited to develop brand and tourism strategies for Tillamook County on the acclaimed Oregon Coast. This was an extremely exciting project for us because rarely do we get an opportunity to work with a “blank piece of paper” in a region with such a wealth of tourism assets.

Despite having a scenic coastline of 104 kms (65 miles) that includes vast unspoiled beaches, four bays, nine rivers, three National Wildlife Refuges, six County Parks and ten State Parks, Tillamook County had not been marketed as a unified destination. It also did not have a tourism organization and as a result there was fragmentation in tourism marketing because each community managed its own marketing with no singular regional tourism message.

In January 2014, a countywide lodging tax was introduced which facilitated the development of brand and tourism strategies for the region. It also funded the formation of a destination marketing organization (DMO) to lead the marketing on a regional basis and to implement the strategies developed by TDM.

Because of the many interesting facets of the strategies we created, The Place Branding Observer asked me to write a case study about branding the Tillamook Coast. I was honored to do so, and you can find the case study here.

Tourism Really is About Small Businesses

After delivering a presentation recently a city official challenged me on the notion that tourism in his small city was “a business of small businesses”. I quickly convinced him of this obvious fact by reviewing the “mom and pop” motels and restaurants listed in his city’s local visitors guide. How could this escape him?

A few weeks ago while researching the economic value of beaches, I discovered the following quote from Dr. James R. Houston of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Perhaps Americans do not appreciate the importance of tourism to the national economy because 98% of the 1.4 million U.S. tourism-related businesses are classified as small businesses, and this makes the industry extremely fragmented”, Dr. Houston said. That’s so true!

I am sure that Dr. Houston was referring to the number of enterprises and not the volume of revenue generated. Nevertheless, while many communities and city officials do recognize the value that well planned tourism can bring to them, many are failing to grasp the fundamentals and their communities are leaking buckets of potential income every week.

Tourism is often dismissed because it doesn’t fit with the general thinking about economic development by local officials. It then follows that tourism doesn’t receive sufficient consideration when it comes to government policies, infrastructure and investment. In the future, successful destinations will be those that treat their tourism-related businesses as  components of a series of experiential themes or clusters. Economic development marketers have been using industry clusters for decades.  For tourism enterprises this provides opportunities for increased collaboration, improved visitor experiences, increased profits and more opportunities to build economic growth through expanding existing businesses. It may also help in gaining a stronger, more unified voice and new found political clout.

Sponsored by Rural Tourism Assessments

 

All Cities are Competing Whether They Like It or Not!

Several months ago while discussing the possibilities of conducting research for the development of a brand strategy we asked the executive director of a Chamber of Commerce, “Which nearby destinations and cities do you consider to be your main competitors?” She replied, “None of them, because we try to get along with all of them.”

This response revealed two unsettling things. First, though it is your customers who determine who your competitors are, this organization did not seem to have a customer focus or realize the power of the customer’s options or ability to choose. Second, the issue is not simply a matter of “getting along,” it is about generating and sustaining income, jobs, and prosperity for the community. 

No corporation would think the way of this Chamber executive, yet many communities forget that their tourism and economic development programs are not operating in a vacuum. They are operating in a dynamic environment frequently dominated by larger players. It is the response to the city’s external competition that draws partners together. Many of them may also be competing against each other, e.g. hotels, but are unified in winning a larger market share for their destination.

No place can afford to feel that they are entitled to prosperity and don’t need to compete. A place that doesn’t compete, develop a distinctive and meaningful identity and have a laser-focus on customers will fade away and become irrelevant.

See the full article here.

What’s the Role of Airports in City and Destination Branding?

A recent post by Malcolm Allan at Place Matters about the role that airports can play in the branding of places caught my attention. In working with small cities around the world I have been struck by the disconnect between many airports and the destination or city brand of their home area. Passing through some regional airports, with their blank walls and open spaces, its obvious most aren’t making an effort to communicate the strengths and personality of the surrounding region.

On a number of occasions I have waited for my flight home in a very sterile airport of a city where we have been working with an enthusiastic community to develop their brand strategy.  Some of our client cities have approached their local airport without success in the hope of working with them to project a stronger local identity in parts of the airport usually without success.

Malcolm Allan spotlighted the opportunities in a presentation at the annual European Regional Airports conference in Madrid. He advocated that airports should be involved in city region brand strategies. He advocates this because airports are a major driver of local economic development in terms of job generation, workforce expenditure, investment in direct business services and indirectly through visitor expenditure. They also have an important role to play in that they are, like rail termini, a "brand gateway". They are a place where visitors get a first "taste" of the brand offer in action and up-to-date information on its offer to reinforce any pre-trip research they may have undertaken. 

I am very fortunate that my home airport (pictured) in Portland (PDX) is an exception. It constantly works at being a welcoming gateway to Portland and Oregon through local merchandise, food, wine, culture and art, and displays. Any wonder that passengers vote for it as on of the best airports in the USA.

Is Destination Branding Obsolete in the Digital Age?

After a keynote presentation a few months ago, the CEO of a Chamber of Commerce approached me and said, “I enjoyed your presentation, but isn’t branding cities obsolete?” He went on to say that because of digital media, and particularly sites like TripAdvisor and the new digital power of consumers it make branding obsolete. I was reminded of this conversation while reading a blog, “A Cure for Digital Myopia” by David Cooperstein in Forbes magazine.

The issue of relevance in regard to tourism organizations, Chambers of Commerce, economic development agencies and yes, destination and city branding, is increasingly being discussed. Do I think DMOs* will become irrelevant or obsolete? In quite a number of cases the answer is probably yes, many are going to become obsolete. Actually, many of them have been irrelevant and obsolete for decades because they have done little to move the favorability or preference for their cities or generate sustainable ROIs. To be among the “survivors” DMOs will certainly have to adjust to many new realities. It doesn’t necessarily mean they will become obsolete.

I’m not going to bang the drum too much here about how DMOs need to change or they will go the way of the dodo bird. This subject has been covered at length by DMAI and others who have been advocating that DMOs dramatically change their business models. However, I do think it’s important to stress that destination branding is not obsolete or irrelevant for destinations. I might reconsider when I see Coca Cola, Toyota, or Starbucks shutting down their brand departments. Destination branding isn’t easy. Many efforts have not been done well and more focus is definitely needed on using it as the destination’s strategic guidance system. Quite simply, it’s not just an add-on.

The first challenge in adopting this approach is to understand what branding really is, what it isn’t, how it works and how to use it most effectively. Unfortunately, some still can’t get past thinking of a brand as little more than a logo, tagline and or an advertising campaign.  They don’t consider its role as the guidance system for communications, unifying stakeholders, product development and where possible orchestrating the experiences that make the place distinctive.

While the Digital Age has bought many new tools and opportunities, the fundamentals and principles of branding haven’t changed. And it certainly hasn’t become obsolete. But how you go about brand management has changed. Branding has become a whole lot more exciting because thinking in terms of a “digital platform” and not simply in the terms of media or digital media, opens a new world for your destination.

Destination managers now have the opportunity to connect with customers at many more communications and experience touchpoints than ever before to influence visitor satisfaction, loyalty and word of mouth (social media). In this environment, the relevance of DMOs should center on their role as “destination management organizations” influencing all aspects of the relationship with visitors, not simply focusing on sales and communications.

Over the coming weeks, I'll be exploring the benefits, role and challenges of destination branding in the Digital Age in an ongoing series of posts and articles. I’m also looking forward to your thoughts and comments.

*Destination Marketing Organization or in some countries, Destination Management Organization

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

 

 

Successful Place Branding: Don’t Forget Honesty and Accountability

During recent months I have conducted brand coaching seminars for small cities in USA, Canada and Australia. These sessions usually attract a wide range of interesting and challenging questions from participants. Interestingly, at the end of my presentations in all of these countries I been approached with a surprising number of questions or comments relating to intrusions and interference that had over-ruled or heavily influenced the defining of their city’s branding and tourism marketing. These seminar attendees lamented that they were compelled by city officials to introduce strategies that were deeply flawed and frequently failed once launched.

Place branding and marketing demand honesty and objectivity. Success calls for the city to be customer-focused, strategic, open-minded, and imaginative in order to reveal its brand in ways that will generate positive feelings, respect, and loyalty among target audiences.  It must be crystal clear about what it is, what it does, why it is interesting, and why it should matter to its key audiences.  In other words, success takes brutal honesty and reality-based decisions!

To the annoyance of many city leaders, the commonly held view of their city may be out of sync with what they personally see as its strengths. Successful place branding demands a consultative and community effort which ensures that the reality experienced by its customers must match the brand promise being conveyed by the city and its partners. When a brand strategy is shaped by the whim of an official it’s not likely to generate local support and enthusiasm – and quite possibly miss its target by a mile!

An added problem with city officials heavily influencing the nature of the brand is that in four years a new mayor, city manager or councilor might continue the cycle by changing the brand strategy to mirror their personal view. When we think of accountability in the branding and marketing of cities, we frequently think of the staff directly responsible for marketing. This accountability should also extend to mayors, councilors and city managers because when it comes to the city identity and image, they are playing with public funds, not to mention the city’s economic well-being in the form of income, jobs and new businesses.

Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

Brand Planning Should be the CEO’s Baby

At the conclusion of a recent presentation on place branding, I was approached by the CEO of a mid-west Chamber of Commerce who lamented that their brand planning had resulted in a bland and uncompetitive outcome. To my surprise, the CEO went on to take the blame himself by saying, “I made the mistake of delegating the project to our marketing manager and not taking responsibility to drive the process myself.” I’m sure that he hasn’t made the admission within his community or to his Board, but it’s commendable that he recognized this as being a major factor in the brand's mediocre result.

The president, executive director, or CEO of the organization leading the effort on behalf of the community must be actively engaged in every aspect of the brand planning and development, and breathe vitality into the assignment. We have found that the only way for the brand to take off is having a leader who “gets it” and has the passion, authority, skills and vision to make it work. If he or she takes a passive role, the brand will almost certainly fail.

Understandably, there may be many legitimate distractions that consume the CEO’s time. However, the brand is at the heart of every activity directed toward the way the place will present itself for years to come, so it is worth every minute that he or she can devote to it. While the CEO may want to delegate aspects of the day-to-day management of the process to others, he must remain intimately involved in crafting and managing the strategy. 

 Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

 

 

Developing a Place Brand Calls for a Different Approach

When discussing the differences in branding places and consumer products with friends in advertising agencies, they frequently maintain that there is no difference between the two. To some extent they are correct. However there are differences that have a profound influence on the brand planning, brand implementation and brand management. These relate to the complexities of ownership, consultation, decision-making, product development, and experience delivery.

The path to revealing a city or place brand can be a tricky one that usually involves a multitude of stakeholders and departs somewhat from that generally followed for branding corporate products and services.  One reason for the variation is the composite nature of places which are a compilation of many independent and competing businesses, products, and experiences that are owned and managed by many different organizations with no single management team or custodian. 

A city has many faces and identities. For instance, it may be known as a destination or medical services, golf, education and shopping as well as being home for esidents, each with different levels of political, financial and community support. Gaining consensus can be challenging.

Here is an extract from my book, Destination Branding for Small Cities which provides more insights into the differences between branding places and physical consumer products and services.

 Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

 

Change Management is at the Heart of Successful City Branding

After decades of developing brand strategies for places of all sizes, I recognize that to be successful they are fundamentally an exercise in change management. Success invariably involves shifts, changes and new focus that can leave some feeling disempowered or losing. For others, they simply don’t like anything outside of the usual routine. I have found that when leaders are prepared for resistance they are in a better position to unify stakeholders and nurture the support and actions that are needed.

A successful place brand often requires changes to regulations, laws, systems, budgets, processes, resources, and recruitment. Above all, it may call for a change of attitudes and relationships. The first casualty may be the old “that’s the way we’ve always done it” attitude. For many people, the prospect of innovation, along with new focus, concepts, priorities, and partnerships causes extreme resistance. It removes them from their comfort zone and challenges entrenched attitudes. In these situations you need to expose key partners and stakeholders to the benefits that can come from alternative approaches so they can gain the confidence and trust in the project and its outcomes.

Here is an extract from my book, Destination Branding for Small Cities which provides more insights into the need to prepare to engage the principles of change management when branding destinations and cities.

 Produced by: Total Destination Marketing

Best Selling Book: Destination Branding for Small Cities

 

End the Guessing Games! We Need Budget Disclosure in RFPs.

Last week, I had a rather unusual phone call from a CVB executive. She was enquiring as to whether her CVB should include the budget in the Request For Proposal (RFP) for destination branding they were preparing to send out. The person went on to enquire as to whether including the budget might actually deter “the big companies from bidding”.   My reaction was instantaneous. Firstly, you might not want “the big companies” bidding.  But by telling them the budget they would then know whether they should even bother bidding.

Secondly, I told her that I thought knowing the budget or budget range for the project is extremely important to prospective bidders and that I guessed that most of our competitors would think so as well. I asked the CVB exec, “Would you walk into a car dealership and not tell the salesperson approximately how much you are looking to spend? How is the salesperson to know if you want a luxury or standard model?”

The equivalent of this happens every day when cities do not disclose their budget and this leaves the consultancy to play a guessing game in trying to estimate the budget and scope of services that they should include in their response.  A better approach is to disclose the budget and then evaluate the proposed deliverables according to their appropriateness, quality and value.

The RFP process is frustrating enough. At least disclosing the budget will save many of us the frustration of “guessing how many jelly beans are in the jar.”

22 Immutable Laws of Place Branding (And a Few More)

I really admire the work that Ed Burghard of The Burghard Group is doing at Strengthening Brand America to advance the thinking in applying private sector branding principles to the field of place branding. His latest contribution is to take on the challenge of translating the landmark 22 Immutable Laws of Branding by Al and Laura Ries into a place branding context.  

I agree with Ed’s 22 Immutable Laws of Place Branding, but because it’s the season for giving, I would like to add two more Laws of Place Branding. These concern circumstances that are possibly more related to place branding than private sector branding and may have been missed from the original treatise.

23. The law of consultation. A place brand should not be defined behind closed doors by a select few. It must be defined and built through collaboration and consultation with multiple, diverse (and sometimes non-traditional) stakeholders to engage, inspire and generate future support and on-brand actions.

24. The law of future generations. The long-term vitality and success of a place brand requires that there be continuity in understanding, knowledge and energy in regard to the brand strategy.  The concept of “passing the baton” to the next generation of elected officials, brand managers and partners must be integral to the original brand strategy.  Without this attention we have seen the brand investments made by some cities become diluted and gradually fade away.  Usually, all that remains is a lonely logo searching for meaning.

Given the nuance and challenges of branding places there are probably other laws we can add to the list. But for the moment, if we pay attention to these we will be strengthening the way in which these brands are defined and managed. Would you like to add more?

What Are the Seven Keys to Strong Community?

Kaid Benfield recently presented an interesting blog in Atlantic Cities in which he outlined the seven keys to strong community which were created by his colleague Scott Doyon at Place Makers. I agree with the article as far as it went, but would also include the economic dimensions because without them the livability aspects might not be viable.

Here are what he identifies as the seven keys to stronger community:

1. Good governance
2. Walkable, connected, mixed-use character
3. Parks and gardens
4. Partnerships
5. Programming
6. Neighborhood-responsive schools
7. Tree culture

While the list is focused on the sense of community rather than communities in general, I think that pro-active economic development is an essential ingredient. This should focus on the retention and generation of businesses and jobs that are conducive to sustaining community livability. 

Integral to economic development is place branding which directly contributes to increased effectiveness and efficiency in how cities compete and present themselves. Branding enables the place to focus on their differentiating strengths to establish their competitive identity and generate the economic activity to optimize the seven keys.

What if Nike Took Over the Selling of Your Town?

I live a few miles from Nike World Headquarters just outside of Portland, Oregon. So Nike is a frequent subject of conversation around here and sometimes we take for granted the brilliance of what they do on the global stage. Recently, there was no stage more imposing than the London
Olympics where Nike was not an Olympic sponsor but had to rely on ambush marketing to gain visibility and project its brand. If you saw any of the Olympics, then you will agree that it was near impossible to miss the neon shoes worn by 400 of the world’s best track and field athletes. That was the brilliant work of Martin Lotti and his team at Nike.

Lotti, Nike's global creative director for the Olympics, told Creativity that his role was to focus on the Nike products that 3,000 Olympic athletes wear on and off the field, from design to deployment.  Painting Nike's Flyknit shoe Volt, as that vivid neon-green-meets-highlighter-yellow color is called, was Mr. Lotti's way to create a kind of "Team Nike." Before London 2012, the company matched the color of the shoe to the color of the individual athlete's uniforms. It looked pretty, but it blended in. This year, hundreds of athletes across different national federations wore the same color, what Mr. Lotti called "the easiest way" to make a splash. This approach further underscored for me the power of simplicity and how it can cut through to make brands memorable and effective.

In the same article Mr. Lotti said he believes good Nike products have four elements: (i) performance, (ii) emotion (a Team USA insignia over the heart, for example), (iii) environment, and (iv) aesthetics. It really struck me that these are among the key elements that we always encourage our clients to address through their own brand management.  This led me to consider, “What if Nike took over the branding and marketing of a city like yours”? What do you think would happen?

Destination Branding is Difficult and Calls for a Different Approach (Part Two)

This is the second part of the blog I posted Monday. When discussing the differences in branding places and consumer products with friends in advertising agencies, they frequently maintain that there is no difference between the two. To some extent they are correct. However there are differences that have a profound influence on the process. These relate to the complexities of ownership, consultation, decision-making, and product development.

A city has many faces and identities. For instance, it may be known as a destination for medical services, culture, education or shopping as well as being home for residents, each with different levels of political, financial and community support.

While a corporate brand may need approval by a marketing team or Board, a city or downtown brand usually requires endorsement by several public organizations in which the players may never see completely eye-to-eye. Another problem for many city brands is that important leaders frequently do not have strong marketing or branding credentials, nor do they have a customer-focused perspective. Yet they can exert considerable influence over the process and end result. A place brand must overcome enmity and rise above politics. Support from political leaders is vital and their understanding must be nurtured because they may not readily recognize the direct relationship between decisions they make on a daily basis and the reputation and attractiveness of the city.

These community-based brands must withstand a level of public debate that consumer brands rarely endure. A city brand must stand the test of time, public debate, political scrutiny, media
questions, and the analysis of marketing partners and residents. The best way to insulate the brand from this scrutiny is to generate buy-in and involvement through an open consultative process.

Place branding usually requires an approach that is more conciliatory and inclusive than that found with most consumer products. For instance, being very specific with the positioning may unintentionally alienate some locals and cause controversy. Conversely, diluting the brand to the point where it pleases everyone results in losing its strongest competitive edge and ends up being seen as weak and irrelevant.

Additionally, unlike a consumer product such as a soft drink, cities are not discrete or independent entities. A city is much more complex and cannot be reformulated or terminated if it is not popular or is under-performing. Even the prospect of changing the name of the city can prove difficult.

Project leaders who are aware of the differences between the branding of places and consumer goods are in a much better position to adapt to these challenges when they become evident. Their
presence should not represent a barrier, but a need for further fine-tuning – and a lot of patience!

This is an extract from Destination Branding for Small Cities – Second Edition.

Destination Branding is Difficult and Calls for a Different Approach (Part One)

I really agree with the comments by Jonathan Bernstein, executive director for brand strategy for Interbrand Singapore in the Cebu Sun Star, who said “Out of all the brands that need to be developed, destination branding is the most challenging.” He added, “Many people confuse a brand for a logo, a tagline or an advertising campaign. With products, companies only need to show the economic value for the consumer. But with places are much more complex.”

He explained so many things influence a destination, such as heritage, history, food and the people while there are many things beyond the control of the destination’s brand developers.

For Bernstein, a brand is a reputation. “Everything you do will build or take away from your reputation.” Bernstein said a brand helps to hold everything together and will serve as a guide for the long-term, medium-term and short-term direction a place wants to take.

I have advocated in my book, Destination Branding for Small Cities – Second Edition that place branding is about establishing a framework for prioritization and should contribute directly to increased effectiveness and efficiency in how cities and downtowns compete and present themselves. It enables places to focus on their differentiating strengths and leverage the combined power of stakeholder resources to establish their competitive identity. However, it is not easy getting to this point. Despite the many successes there are some failures that could have been avoided had participants recognized that branding places is very different to branding consumer products.

The path to revealing a place brand usually involves a multitude of stakeholders and departs from that generally followed for branding corporate products and services.  One reason for the variation is the composite nature of places which are a compilation of many independent and competing businesses, products, and experiences that are owned and managed by many different organizations with no single management team or custodian.

Part Two will be posted Wednesday.

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!”