Comments on a Brand
I read the DSJ's article on Scott Crist's presentation to the Chamber luncheon. He adressedthe people who say, "Huh?" when they see the brand, wondering what it means. Part of his comments related to other cities whose slogans he finds obscure. Now, I always thought that a slogan should take off on something a city is already known for; let's see how a couple of hte "obscure" ones he mentioned do that:
"Cleveland Rocks" - Cleveland, OH, is the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which I understand is a significant tourist attraction. The slogan itself says that the city is a young, vibrant place with lots to do.
"Rare, Well Done" - Omaha, NE, is associated with steaks and the beef industry, and the slogan builds on that while, saying (I guess) that it's hard to find a city that does things so well.
"Keep Austin Weird" - This slogan associated with Austin, TX, puzzled me, so I Googled up Austin TX. It looks to me like one of their real slogans is "Go live in Austin" - a clever play, since the CVB's logo says "Austin - Live Music Capital of the World" (or maybe that's the logo/slogan).
Well, we're stuck with "Made Fresh Daily" which has no natural association with the Burg. I hope that their marketing plan makes something happen with it, because I really do want to see Warrensburg succeed.
BW
"Cleveland Rocks" - Cleveland, OH, is the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which I understand is a significant tourist attraction. The slogan itself says that the city is a young, vibrant place with lots to do.
"Rare, Well Done" - Omaha, NE, is associated with steaks and the beef industry, and the slogan builds on that while, saying (I guess) that it's hard to find a city that does things so well.
"Keep Austin Weird" - This slogan associated with Austin, TX, puzzled me, so I Googled up Austin TX. It looks to me like one of their real slogans is "Go live in Austin" - a clever play, since the CVB's logo says "Austin - Live Music Capital of the World" (or maybe that's the logo/slogan).
Well, we're stuck with "Made Fresh Daily" which has no natural association with the Burg. I hope that their marketing plan makes something happen with it, because I really do want to see Warrensburg succeed.
BW
posted by Bill Wayne @ 6:51 AM
2 Comments:
At Tuesday, April 18, 2006 2:28:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Interesting viewpoint, that "Made Fresh Daily" has "no natural association with the Burg". I'm just speculating....but I would guess that Warrensburg wouldn't be near the city that it is today without CMSU and Whiteman AFB.
The continuous churn of people and ideas moving in and out of these 2 organizations, have most definitely shaped Warrensburg's existence, thus far. Can you imagine what our future holds, if we simply promote this fact to the rest of the world? Our town is literally "Made Fresh Daily"
CMSU provides a continuous stream of "fresh" minds, ideas and highly educated young men and women. These are all "real" reasons why someone would want to move their business to Warrensburg. As more businesses start moving to Warrensburg, then more college graduates will decide to make Warrensburg their home, instead of relocating elsewhere.
As you are well aware; many people who retire from the Air Force choose to stay in the area. Most of these retires (many in their 30' and 40's) leave the Air Force with cutting-edge skills. They are highly educated and highly motivated. Other "real" reasons why someone would want to locate their business to the Burg. More businesses, creates more jobs. More jobs, create more households. More households, create more tax base. More tax base, creates better schools, roads, etc, etc. i.e. Warrensburg continues to grow and prosper.
If we didn't focus our marketing efforts on the "FACT" that Warrensburg's very existance, has been and will continue to be, shaped by the replenishing spring of people and ideas, flowing in and out of CMSU and Whiteman, then what should we tell the rest of the world about Warrensburg?
Surely, you don't propose that we tell them our greatest asset is a dog that escaped from his pen and was shot by the neighbor. I don't see that concept bringing many new people or business to our community.
At Wednesday, April 19, 2006 5:45:00 AM,
Bill Wayne said…
Scott Crist - you make some interesting points in your comment, but I think you misses my point - perhaps I should have said "no intuitive connection with the Burg." The fact that 84% of the respondents to the current digitalBurg.com poll don't care for or really dislike "Made Fresh Daily" shows that people don't relate to it.
I don't question the fact that Whiteman AFB and CMSU bring in people who contribute mightily to our local economy and culture. It's just that you're going to have to do a lot of selling to make people buy into the relationship of the slogan to that fact.
You say we shouldn't use a sheep-killing hound dog as the basis for a slogan. Onthe other hand, I wonder why we reject something that is already asociated with us. Old Drum wasn't near as notorious as Jesse James (exploited by both Kearney & Liberty), the gunfight at the OK Corral (Tombstone AZ has built its whole economy around that incident). Perhaps you focus too much on the dog instead of on the concepts of Sen. Vest's speech. Surely, something creative could have been developed involving the Old Drum legend and incorporating the concepts incorporated into the current slogan.
I wish you luck in selling "Made Fresh Daily." Perhaps the people you're trying to recruit to Warrensburg will take to it better than those of us who live here have thus far.
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