Place Branding | From location to destination

2011 in review

placebrand jake — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:18:05 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,400 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 23 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Print+Electronic=QR Code

placebrand jake — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:56:19 +0000

You’ve seen them everywhere, and maybe even scanned one, so what’s the deal with those little bar codes? QR (quick response) codes are computer generated bar codes that can be scanned using a smart phone app to direct consumers to a website. As the world turns into a mobile centered environment, QR codes offer marketers the opportunity to provide consumers with quick access to web content—and can be especially helpful when custom content has been generated, say around a marketing campaign.

So how can you use QR codes to direct traffic to your website? There are many ways to use these codes, but the best part about them is that they can be integrated into many of the communication vehicles that you may be using today. If you already take out ads in magazines, or send out direct mail, all you need to do is include a QR code in the scheme of the developed message and you can give your customers(or prospective customers) the prompt they need to quickly and conveniently access your website, glean information, and of course, choose to visit your place or buy your product.

While QR codes are easy for the customer and free to generate, they do come with a big caveat. In order for them to be effective, you need to make sure that your web content is up to date and relevant to what customers will be expecting. A website has long been one of the most important tools in your marketing tool box—and using a QR code to marry print and electronic mediums only heightens the need to make sure that you are on top of your site’s content. Make it engaging, make sure it’s fresh, and most of all make sure that your site is mobile friendly—most sites are, but in the case of special content such as surveys, contests, etc. it is especially important to test out your site on a mobile device before utilizing a code.

QR codes obviously have a place in all sorts of communication efforts, but for place branding they can be especially fun. Integrate a QR code into a mailing out to potential city visitors, groups that may host conventions or even residents, allowing them to scan the code and enter their email address on your site to win a free weekend get-away in your city. Not only will you garner email addresses for other marketing uses—newsletters, future contests—but you will also be enabling a prospect that has only seen you in print to see you in a whole new way online. Maybe they will check out other parts of your site, or pass the mail piece with the code on to other friends to enter.

The possibilities are endless and the investment is minimal—sounds to me like we have no excuse as marketers not to be using QR codes. And who knows, maybe these codes are the way that print and electronic engagement will form a complete marketing campaign via one communication piece in the future.

Focus on Main Street

placebrand jake — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:52:52 +0000

Today I had the great pleasure of meeting and sitting down to talk with two very interesting and passionate individuals from Main Street Iowa. As our discussions progressed, not only was I brought back to my days at the National Trust, but I also got a renewed sense of excitement for what these Main Street communities are able to accomplish—often with little more than passion and elbow grease. The majority of traffic that comes to this blog comes from a referrer such as Google. What are the search terms bringing people here you ask? Mainly questions like: successful place branding, what is place branding, and how to place brand? These questions can be answered and more, with a quick look at the Main Street approach.

The Main Street Approach is a trademarked program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and is made up of four seemingly simple components:

Promotion
Organization
Design
Business Improvement

These four points, combined with the leadership and support of a community, can turn once deserted streets and storefronts into vibrant and profitable downtown centers. In fact, as anyone who has been involved with a Main Street program will tell you—it has done just that in communities all across Iowa and the country. The Main Street approach has been shown to work on communities from large to small, and really hits home on what I have always considered key points in place branding.

There is no band-aid solution to creating a dramatic impact that will make visitors want to come and experience your place. The solution really is an integrated approach of revitalization, organization and marketing to showcase what you have not only to visitors, but to your residents themselves. Main Street has a proven process that involves all of the stakeholders to create a better place for everyone, and who can argue with that? If you haven’t heard of this, or would like to hear more, I encourage you to click the links above to direct you to the appropriate information resources. Perhaps this approach is just the thing that some of the communities using this site as a place branding resource need.

Place branding on the go

placebrand jake — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:39:14 +0000

How exactly does place branding work, when your visitors don’t even set foot in the ‘place’? This valid question is one that hasn’t occurred to me outside of the idea of traditional advertising—ok, maybe guerilla marketing, but for place branding? I didn’t think it would work. Take a look at the extremely innovative way Singapore will show the world what it has to offer—from the culinary to the fashionable.

This travelling freight car will allow one of the most visceral elements of place branding to happen in cultural meccas around the world—the experience. The freight car allows Singapore to show off its unique style, while giving visitors a taste of the best their city has to offer. What a great idea. Want to take a visit? Here is the schedule:

Paris, June 30 – July 2
Moscow, July 15 – 17
New York, September 16 – 18
Hong Kong, November 10 – 12
Shanghai, December 1 – 3
Delhi, January 13 – 15, 2012
Dubai, February 18 – 20
Sydney, March 30 – April 1

As place branding and tourism become a more viable way for places to combat recession spending and pad the bottom line, I look forward to more unique ways that our colleagues will showcase their places. I wonder what will be next, don’t you?

Marketing lessons from the tradeshow floor

placebrand jake — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:11:33 +0000

As you can see—and I hope you have noticed—I have been less than diligent in my postings for the last month. It’s not that I have forgotten about you all or that I have nothing to say about branding, but quite simply that I have been busy. I know, I know, lame excuse. We are all busy. So, to make up for my lack of insight, I have decided to write a post incorporating what I learned while I have been gone. This way you won’t feel so left out. For the past several weeks I have been on the road exhibiting at tradeshows for my company. These shows, alongside running our regular marketing initiatives from the road, have given me incredible insight into what everyone already knows: sometimes the simplest things are the easiest to forget. So in honor of keeping it all in perspective, I am going to offer you three pieces of wisdom straight from the tradeshow floor.

Make your message accessible: We all know that in order to gain our audiences’ attention we need to make a splash. A strong overall marketing plan brought to life via engaging visuals and copy will take you a long way (refer to several of my old posts Brand Audience: Bored or Floored, for example). However, catchy will get you nowhere if your material is not read. As marketers, it is our job to ensure that the message and the WAY in which we present the message are consistent with how our audience will be gleaning the information. For instance, if you know your audience is being inundated by emails, DO NOT email them. Send them a mail piece that contains a call to action. I used a plastic card they can swipe at my booth to win a prize—giving them a reason to stop and a reminder in their pocket at the show. No matter what your content is, it will not be effective if it is not received. This article sent to me by my friend Sarah made this point into a more humorous light.

Keep it simple: This speaks for itself. On the tradeshow floor, much like when your recipient opens an email or mail piece, your time is limited. Tell them what they need to know, and no more. Make sure your message is easy to digest. Didn’t get the whole message across? That is OK. All you need to do is give your audience a piece of the puzzle—let them know the most pertinent piece of information. Leave them wanting more. This tactic is a natural fit for catchy writing, and when they know what you are about they will follow up if it interests them.

Save your breath: Let’s face it, not everyone is a good fit for our products, services, or places. Some people just don’t want to vacation to Des Moines, Iowa, no matter how hard I sell its wonderful qualities. So stop forcing information on uninterested parties. Thank them for their time, tell them you’ll be around should they change their mind, and move on. Spend your time talking to people who are interested in what you have to say. They may be fewer and farther in between, but that is the nature of the beast. Targeted marketing ends up working wonders, as the days of spamming success are dead and gone.

Hopefully as you read this post, you said “Duh, I already knew that.” However, I hope that even though you knew these points, that tomorrow when you get back to your desk and start your next marketing campaign you stop to think about the basics. Because ‘back to basics’ is an age old mantra for a reason—it works.

Place branding panache

placebrand jake — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:50:25 +0000

Place branding seems made for big cities. Campaigns such as “What happens in Vegas” and “I love NY” capture the attention in the marketplace, leaving smaller cities wondering what value is in a place branding campaign for them. The answer is everything. Place branding has become increasingly important for small towns as well as big cities, allowing small towns to tell their stories to visitors and both current and potential residents. As populations start to cluster around metropolitan areas, small towns need to make sure they are positioned to show off all of the benefits of living in and visiting them.

Legs for a strong place brand come from a solid foundation in brand development—from communication aspects ranging from slogan to visuals, to physical aspects such as cultural offerings and the building condition. This being said, I wanted to highlight a branding firm that is helping small towns break through the place branding barrier—informing people with unique campaigns grounded in solid slogans and engaging visuals. Bluespace creative is based in a small town much like many of those it helps to build brand identity, but that doesn’t stop this firm from creating powerful messages for many small to mid-size towns and cities in Iowa (and beyond). I think that what they offer is unique in the marketplace—high quality brand identity that is affordable for cities that may not have the largest budget, or the any idea what to say.

This just goes to show you, place branding can be affordable for a city of any size. And in today’s economy small towns, especially, need to let their visitors know why they should come and their residents know why they should stay.

Place Branding + Facebook

placebrand jake — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:32:59 +0000

You’ve most likely got your friends, your parents, and even your kindergarten crush added to Facebook…but now, your city? According to this interesting article sent to me by my friend and fellow communication enthusiast Matthew Hurst, Facebook for cities could be the next tool in place branding’s arsenal. And why not, it only makes sense. We know it’s important for the success of a communication initiative to reach people where they already are—and where is that if not Facebook? We have seen the success that many brands have had reaching out to their constituents via social media, especially in building brand loyalty and sharing important (and hopefully interesting, honest) information to the people that are invested in their product.

But cities beware. While this is a huge opportunity to bring out the fun aspects of what your place has to offer and share them with the world, it is also a great opportunity for those people who are not so thrilled with your city, amenities, branding, etc. to voice their opinion. And with place branding’s many audiences, it is hard to keep them all pleased. I encourage each location to think about what this page could offer them in the way of communicating their brand to a new generation, in a different way, and to keep building momentum. Maybe this type of page could be used to inform visitors of the weather, fun things to do, or spotlight local gems that might be off the normal visitors’ radar. Maybe it could be used to inform current residents of changes being made, or as a forum to share progress and hear ideas. The opportunities are endless, and I believe this is a really strong way to stay connected with your target audience and Facebook’s more than 500 million active users (this site has some strong strategy tips for Cities using Social Media).

In the end, however cities choose to use Facebook, they should make sure that their communications are thoughtful, honest and informational—just like any other brand. They should also expect that they will hear both the good and the bad when it comes to branding, updates and anything else they post. Which is a great opportunity to inform people, respond positively to feedback, act on the information gleaned and make your place better. Because if your city can use its page to not only inform but improve, you’ve got a communication tool that will truly “build” your brand.

Brand Egypt

placebrand jake — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:55:59 +0000

Courtesy of Jaunted.com

January was a blur of coldness, work and some play. Now that we have successfully completed my least favorite month of the year, I am back and ready to keep the conversation on place branding moving. There are so many things going on in the world right now that effectively relate to place branding, but one of the most prevalent and interesting may be the unrest in Egypt. In no way do I mean to take the focus off of the reason for the current situation in Egypt. However, I do want to study the situation under the microscope of place branding. For a country that has nearly 13 million visitors a year, the impact of this situation can reach far past the current political problems and plague Egypt for many years to come.

Egypt has always been portrayed as a world of ancient treasures and from the Valley of the Kings to the Luxor, it is a country that is steeped in history. This history, along with its many natural attractions, has been a huge factor for the success that Egypt has seen in the tourism industry. But after the recent protesting and evacuations (which affect both the locals and the tourists) I have to wonder what this means for the near future of the Egyptian place brand. In the long term I believe that Egypt tourism will remain strong—because of the country’s one-of-a-kind treasures. However, right now, especially with the weak global economic condition and the local political instability, I suspect that the Egyptian place brand will be negatively affected.

I always say that a place branding is capturing an experience. People want to go to other locations because they want to experience something that it has to offer that they do not get on a normal basis. However, among this search for different, there is always one constant that travelers—especially American travelers—expect. Safety. While many adventures offer the illusion of danger, there is usually a safety net that allows people an exit. Egypt’s safety net has a hole in it at the moment, and not all tourists are able to effectively leave the country. In addition to current tourists not being able to leave, new tourists are not able/advised to enter, creating a two way problem. As the situation plays out, we will see what it means for tourism in Egypt, and what affect it has on their national place brand (and economy). Would you travel to Egypt right now? How do the current events change your perception of brand Egypt?

More lessons from Las Vegas

placebrand jake — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:25:57 +0000

Courtesy of Wejetset.com

Nostalgia is a powerful force in all aspects of our life. Place branding is no different, and nostalgia can prove to be a real asset when updating or changing brand identities. Whether your place’s brand is new or old, there seems to be value in keeping the past alive in our brands, showing what has made our places different and how that vision and those values translate into today. Check out what is happening in Las Vegas, a city known for constant change, in order to keep a sense of the past in their ever changing present. For more pictures, see here or here.

This is an awesome idea. Not only does it play off of the ideas of being green and recycling, which are very popular, but it allows people of all ages to come and experience the legacy that built Vegas. These old neon relics are not only signs of the past, but also signs of how far Vegas has come and will possibly help point the way to the future. For you newcomers, I wrote part of my masters thesis on Vegas and their place branding strategies. Scroll through my past posts or check out my thesis under the work section. And don’t forget to think about how this idea can take shape in your place.

2010 in review

placebrand jake — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:32:19 +0000

Not bad for my first year of blogging. Thanks to all you who read this blog, and heres to an even better 2011!

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

The Leaning Tower of Pisa has 296 steps to reach the top. This blog was viewed about 1,000 times in 2010. If those were steps, it would have climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa 3 times

In 2010, there were 29 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 80 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 16mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was September 10th with 69 views. The most popular post that day was I live in Des Moines, and I like it.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, WordPress Dashboard, burghdiaspora.blogspot.com, linkedin.com, and icerocket.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for place branding, bored audience, audience, audience bored, and “place branding”.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

I live in Des Moines, and I like it September 2010

About June 2010

Work June 2010

Brand Audience: Bored or floored? June 2010

Drake’s new campaign is not putting lipstick on a bulldog September 2010
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