Why City Brands Run Out of

Steam and Yours Doesn’t Have To

Presented by:

Bill Baker

Total Destination Management

Portland OR USA

www.DestinationBranding.com

What is a City Brand?

A city brand is the totality of

expectations, perceptions, thoughts, and

feelings that customers hold about a city

– it’s your reputation – it’s your promise of

value that gives you a competitive edge.

The challenge for you as a city marketer is:

To orchestrate the positive thoughts and

feelings that you want to be known for –

then consistently deliver them!

Not capitalizing on the benefits and

opportunities that can arise

City leaders, key partners and stakeholders

need to understand branding and how it

relates to cities

Lack of commitment to the project

The level of understanding needed will vary

across the community

May be a need to break down some silos and

open some doors

1. Insufficient Understanding of Branding

2. Politics and Parochialism

A lack of vision by leaders

The brand is dictated from “on high” and out

of touch with the reality of the place,

customers and its competitive position

Self interest and parochialism

Lip service: leaders do not buy-in or actively

support the project

Failure to value tourism and economic

development marketing

Yes, but great cities to live, work and play

are everywhere – what else do you have to

give you an edge?

A reluctance to invest in the future

3. Mistaking a Logo and Tagline for a Brand

It takes more than a tagline and logo to

create a genuine brand

And it’s much more than an advertising

campaign

It involves more than looking good

And it’s really not about what you say, but

what your customers think

Never, ever conduct a competition among

residents for a logo or tagline – then think

you have a brand!

4. Lack of Stakeholder Buy-in

“The we don’t need to consult anyone”

attitude has repeatedly been proven to not

work

Not engaging the community from the start

Opportunity to look for “potholes” in the

road ahead

Harness local opinions, ideas and knowledge

It takes more than the CVB or chamber’s

marketing department

Everyone needs to be involved in supporting

the brand to greater or lesser extent

5. Too Much Focus on the Short-term

Establishing your brand identity won’t

happen overnight

It takes time, it’s long term and cumulative

Difficult to change perceptions and views in

short term. Afterall, it took years to get your

current image.

Must get beyond heads in beds next week

It takes a strategic plan involving the launch,

adoption and implementation over several

years

Changing perceptions and a poor image can

take decades, but reap huge rewards

6. Overlooking the Customer’s View

Your brand is what your customers think it is

– so pay attention to them!

Insufficient or irrelevant research can be a

problem

Low-cost research techniques can yield

volumes

Don’t let local opinion overshadow the needs

of external audiences

If the focus is tourism and economic

development, don’t research the

demographics and buying behaviour of

residents, its almost irrelevant to the city

brand.

7. Weak and Unrealistic Positioning

The trickiest part of city branding

Positioning designed particularly to keep

locals happy = recipe for failure!

Warm and fuzzy doesn’t cut it with

customers who have their own needs and

desires

Your city doesn’t “have it all” and you’re not

“the center of it all”

Weak positioning = a weak, irrelevant and

unsustainable brand

Must have positioning founded on city’s

strengths that are most relevant to

customers and you can deliver with greater

intensity and personality than competitors

8. Brand Fatigue

You will be tired of your communications and

brand platform long before your target

audience

An inch a month off strategy = miles at year’s

end

Constant need to refresh and innovate but

don’t stray from the brand strategy

Keep stakeholders energized and focused

Stick to the guidelines and brand manual!

Familiarize key new employees, Board

members, elected officials and partners

Conduct an annual forum for board members

and key partners

9. Engaging the Wrong Type of Agency

Don’t be distracted by beautiful advertising

examples and logos when choosing the

agency to lead the brand planning

Firstly set the strategy, then engage the best

advertising, graphic design and web agencies

Follow a proven systematic, consultative and

analytical brand planning process

Engage the services of objective,

professionals experienced in the challenges,

opportunities and pitfalls of city branding

It might be a time when “buying local” is not

in the city’s best long term interests

Telltale Signs That the City’s Brand is

Losing Steam

Controversy and negative local publicity

Failure to attain set objectives

Failure to enhance the city’s marketing

performance

Enthusiasm for the brand is lagging

Not widely endorsed or adopted

Positioning is weakening and becoming less

singular i.e. moving toward “we’ve got

everything” to keep stakeholders happy

Straying from the brand guidelines

Communications and designs miss their mark

and don’t resonate with target audiences

Customer satisfaction is falling

1. Ensure that key stakeholders understand branding – its strengths, limitations and benefits

2. Follow a thoroughly researched, systematic process

3. Engage experienced, objective, professional expertise

4. Don’t rush. It takes more than a brainstorming session

5. Consultation and engagement boosts adoption and use

6. Never loose sight of the real customers, and their needs and desires

Fifteen Essentials for Successful City

Branding

7. Objectivity and honesty. The brand must be grounded in reality

8. Dare to be different. But it must be relevant and attractive to the target audience

9. Focus on experiences and benefits

10. Optimize your tourism identity

Fifteen Essentials for Successful City

Branding

11. Make (and keep) a valued Destination Promise™ and use it as a beacon

12. Play as a team and build partnerships

13. Don’t water-down the agreed strategy

14. Live the brand everywhere

15. Measure, monitor and manage

www.DestinationBranding.com

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Total Destination ManagementPortland, OR U.S.A.

www.DestinationBranding.com