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From brandchannel.

com Brand Your City: A Recipe For Success By Jonathan Baltuch The most misunderstood and underutilized tool in the typical American citys toolbox for economic success is brand identity. If your city has not taken the time to figure out who you are and taken steps to define it to the world, then it is left to others to define you. There is not a single successful corporation today that would launch a new product or service without very careful attention to brand identity. Companies learned long ago that no major product or service will succeed or survive the competitive world without a clear, positive and effective brand identity. The most common misconception is that advertising and marketing are branding. That would be like defining building a house as a saw and hammer. They are tools of the trade, nothing more. Have you ever seen an attractive ad for a product, service or destination, which upon investigation did not live up to the promise? If you are like me, when that happens, you never again return, and in fact, tell everyone you know not to bother. That is the difference between an ad and a successful brand. A successful brand identity establishes a preconceived expectation that is either met or exceeded by the reality. Once you embrace the concept that a proper brand identity can enhance opportunities for your city, the next step is how is it done? Below are the basic steps that are required. The City of St Cloud, Florida, is in the middle of implementing a comprehensive brand program that includes: 1. Internal Research 2. External Research 3. Logo and Brand Promise Design 4. Comprehensive Brand Identity Package Design and Implementation 5. Internal Education 6. External Education (Public Relations) 7. Advertising Internal Research A long lasting and effective brand for a city is built on the core values and strengths found within that community. The only way to know what that is for sure is to ask. A comprehensive city-wide survey must be developed and distributed to each and every household within the city. This is the only way you can be sure that you are indeed getting at the true core of your citizens without interference from special interests.

External Research This second step should be performed concurrently with the first, that way the results of one do not influence the other. Most cities have no idea how they are perceived outside their little world. Either they are afraid to ask or unable to listen. What most will find is that the way they are perceived often varies dramatically from the reality that exists (remember perception is reality). Logo & Brand Promise Design Armed with your internal and external research, you can define the core values of your city and understand where that differs with the perceptions. With all these thoughts and information now gathered you can begin to create a new brand promise (or if you are like most cities, your first one). The brand promise is a phrase or slogan that becomes part of your logo and an integral part of your city. It represents and paints a mental picture that captures the essence of your city to all that are exposed to it. The brand promise should be short and focused (the perfect one would be one world, although this is rarely achievable). The logo can then be created and should visually support the brand promise and represent the character and/or key visual elements of the city. In the case of St. Cloud, the old logo lacked a brand promise, was visually incorrect and was unattractive.

St Cloud is a city that is about 20 miles from Disney World in Florida. When the old logo was developed in the 60s in the early days of Disney, it was anticipated that St. Cloud would become a big tourism destination. As such, the Disney castle represents almost 50 percent of the logo. In reality the St. Cloud of today has almost no tourism and, more importantly, does not want any part of it. Comprehensive Brand Identity Package Design and Implementation Once you have developed your logo the next step is to make it quickly ubiquitous within the city (St. Cloud changed everything over a 30 day period). This means it must appear on all media the city generates business cards, stationary, vehicles, uniforms, signs, promotional materials and all forms of communication. Internal Education In order for the brand to begin to be established it must become a mantra within the city. It is important to share the results of all of the research with the city staff and the public. Take the time to educate them as to what the results mean and what steps the city is planning to take to implement policy based on those results. External Education (Public Relations) Armed with your external research, you will have a pretty good handle on how and where the citys image is perceived incorrectly. Through press releases,

personal meetings and events you can begin the process of re-educating the public and realigning their perceptions with the reality that exists within your city. Advertising Only now do you even think about beginning the traditional advertising to promote your city. With a new logo and brand promise in hand and hopefully a clearer message to deliver you can begin to identify your target audiences. Long after the effectiveness of a single ad wears off the memory of your brand identity will live on in the minds of the public. _____________ Jonathan Baltuch operates two different firms, MRI and The Edge, which develop and implement brand identity and economic development strategies for cities and governments. He can be reached at jbaltuch@comcast.net.

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