In an era when everything from water to underwear has a dedicated marketing team, it’s certainly no surprise that destinations are eager to slip themselves into sleek, saleable packages.
Riding off into the sunset has a certain romance to it. And many have been charmed by the prospect of exploring the deep blue yonder. Even Tom Petty sang about a place called the great wide open. The uncertain vagueness and implied vastness of destination unknown is thrilling to the wayward traveler. But for the meeting professional, a destination unknown is a recipe for disaster. So, it’s no wonder cities spend millions branding themselves by rebuilding Web sites, reimagining logos and refocusing marketing campaigns in hopes of making the move from destination unknown (or worse: destination undesirable) to destination ideal.
In an era when everything from water to underwear has a dedicated marketing team, making sure that just the right niche group receives the good word of its branded gospel, it’s certainly no surprise that destinations are eager to slip themselves into sleek, saleable packages. But a city’s far more complicated than a tube of lipstick or a sports drink. Can branding work for a city the same way it does for a shoe—especially when the prevalence of branding itself means advertising to a media-overloaded public?
Journalist Lucas Conley tackles the issue in his book Obsessive Branding Disorder, a cynical look at America’s pervasive branding culture. How can cities brand themselves without contracting this disorder? By keeping it simple, local and authentic, Conley says.
“Branding campaigns get wrapped up in these complex systems,” he said. “They do a 500-word mission statement and a 200-word thesis and a 20-word core idea.”
All that planning, spinning and speculating can mean the message gets lost.
“People spend a lot of time playing with the words and a nebulous idea of what the place is about,” said Conley, who suggests that what they should be doing is getting out there and talking to the people.
Authentic and Consistent
The core of a good brand is authenticity, and Conley believes that comes from listening to what residents have to say about their own cities. A flashy brand may look appealing from the outside, but if it doesn’t ring true, it’s practically useless. Branding works best, Conley says when there’s something simple, something common sense, about a place that’s appealing. And authenticity comes from consistency. An effective brand may be new, a logo may be redesigned, but the concepts behind the brand should feel timeless.
“A lot of places will change brand names or their branding appeals from year to year, which just ends up confusing potential visitors,” Conley said. “People won’t remember the place, but they will remember it as changing a lot.”
Preferable, then, is finding the “Just Do It” for a particular destination. There’s a reason why the Nike slogan sticks, and the same can go for destinations if they keep their message consistent.
“You want to be able to plant a flag with your audience,” Conley said. “Make a statement about what your city will always offer.”
But worst of all is when a destination attempts to cover up negative publicity with new packaging. People see right through it, Conley says, citing recent re-branding efforts by a post-Katrina New Orleans as a prime example of inauthentic branding.
“The cover-up element is a bullhorn through which a city shouts ever louder that it has something to hide,” Conley said. “Don’t try to glaze over something negative that’s happened.”
Being disingenuous is always a branding red flag. But what happens when a city doesn’t even have a bad reputation—when a city doesn’t have a reputation at all?
“Not every city has a well-known history with a touchstone to relate to if you’re from outside the region,” Conley said.
In that case, cities can be tempted to stretch too far to create an authentic brand, for instance, digging up a destination’s history for something real but potentially unmemorable.
“That’s a problem cities run into when they’re trying to find something unique to the area,” Conley said. “It might stand up, but it doesn’t stick in people’s minds.”
The best destination brands stay local and focused. Sneakers, for example, are easy to sell, because they mainly do one thing: go on your feet. But cities are far more complicated than shoes—or are they?
More Than One Side
Say “Amsterdam” and many people start giggling—whether it’s the city’s notorious sex trade or their lax drug laws, Amsterdam has been saddled with a certain reputation. And according to Tessa Wernink, communications manager for Amsterdam Partners, the firm that rebranded the Dutch city as “I, Amsterdam,” they’re trying to show that there’s much more there than a high time.
“The key elements that have always been a part of this city’s history are its tolerance, its international outlook and its feeling for trade,” Wernink said.
Taking a page from Conley’s book, the city doesn’t try to ignore its, well, colorful side.
“Over the past decade, Amsterdam’s identity moved toward one that highlighted sex, drugs and rock and roll,” Wernink said.
There’s no denying it, she says, but there’s also much more to highlight. Just as Conley suggested, Amsterdam didn’t try to hide its sexy reputation, they’ve just chosen to add more to it.
“Amsterdam does not deny the presence of its open attitude,” Wernink said. “What we say is, there’s so much more.”
That’s where their new “I, Amsterdam” campaign comes in.
“It is the people that make Amsterdam,” Wernink said. “Because of its openness, Amsterdam attracts a wide variety of people who are free thinkers, open-minded and creative.”
The campaign came out of Amsterdam Partners, a unique collaboration between the city government, businesses and the convention and tourism bureau.
Wernink describes “I, Amsterdam” as “our personal endorsement for our city,” putting a human aspect on a bustling international city. Along with the new campaign, Amsterdam is focusing on a new city aspect as a theme every year.
For 2009, it’s “Amsterdam Art City,” where special events and deals focus on Amsterdam’s artistic background through institutions such as the Van Gogh Museum and the Dutch Opera. Next year’s theme is “Amsterdam Water Sensations,” which highlights Amsterdam as a city of waterways and canals. This way, Amsterdam becomes much more than a famous red light district—though there is that, certainly—and a more well-rounded destination for families, tourists and conventions.
Back to Basics
Simplicity is vital. Conley advises cities not to get wrapped up in the psychology of a theme or aura, and instead to get one message out to the audience. A simplified message can come out of good audience targeting. Branders should ask themselves, “What seems relevant to our audience?” Whether it’s a low crime rate, excellent meeting facilities or amenities for families, destinations should determine what an audience needs most and make them acutely aware of what the city specifically has to offer. Conley also advises taking advantage of new technologies and strategies to convey that targeted message—after all, he noted, viral marketing is very much the future.
In Northern Kentucky, the CVB streamlined not only its image but its entire operation. With a logo redesign and internal restructuring that allowed the CVB to concentrate entirely on meetings and conventions, the area known as the “Southern Side of Cincinnati” is a great example of Conley’s advice on focused, targeted branding.
CVB CEO Tom Caradonio knew Northern Kentucky worked well marketing itself in relation to Cincinnati, but he still wanted to maintain the Kentucky image. So for the CVB’s redesigned logo to go with its “Rethink” campaign, staff made sure a capitalized “N” and “K” came together in the middle of the words “Northern Kentucky,” all beneath a blue “swoosh” meant to represent the Ohio River that separates Northern Kentucky from Cincinnati. Since Northern Kentucky is comprised of 43 cities over three counties, the logo becomes a visual representation of the area’s actual geography.
“We use [the logo] as a locator,” Caradonio said, noting that since the CVB deals with an area without a proper name, it’s hard to easily pinpoint on a map.
The logo itself has a businesslike, corporate feel, and that’s intentional. Two years ago, the Northern Kentucky CVB decided to focus almost exclusively on attracting meetings and conventions to the area, letting Cincinnati’s CVB—and a co-funded “regional tourism network” that Northern Kentucky contributes to—concentrate on tourism.
“We fill up the big blocks in hotels and convention spaces, and the tourism branch fills in the holes around them,” Caradonio said.
The Northern Kentucky rebranding, then, was about much more than aesthetics. It’s not just rebranding in terms of design; it reflects the needs of meeting planners.
Word of Mouth
Conley says people use word of mouth more than any other source for information, and getting a clear brand message to an audience works especially well when people are simply talking about a city.
“People tell each other where they’ve been and where they’d like to go,” Conley said. “That has a big place in [destination] branding.”
Caradonio takes advantage of Internet video technology to send personalized video pitches and follow-ups to convention planners. Once a proposal has been submitted, Northern Kentucky can reply with a video message: “You see my smiling face,” Caradonio said. “I’m talking to you saying, ‘We’re delighted to have you.’”
The new Northern Kentucky Web site also features electronic RFPs and information specifically geared toward meeting professionals right on the front page, with virtual planning guides and details about the riverfront convention center space and nearby dining and entertainment options for post-meeting activities. The CVB is also going paperless with its meeting schedules, offering convention planners the option to do “mobi-marketing” with meeting attendees. Venue and schedule changes can be sent directly to participants’ PDAs, eliminating the paper, reprinting and confusion.
It’s more than brochures, Web sites and advertisements, though, that sell a city—it’s person-to-person endorsements. Conley says people commonly ask themselves, “Are these facts coming from word of mouth or from a branding campaign?” A personal recommendation always packs more punch.
The take-home lesson, then, is to keep destination branding simple, honest and authentic. Overdoing it with flashy campaigns and needless extras can bury the true essence of a destination. Honesty and ingenuity—heck, that’s not just good branding. That’s good business. One+
ANDREA GRIMES is an Austin, Texas-based freelance writer. She has written for the Dallas Observer, the Austin Chronicle, Salon and several articles for One+.
