Place branding for the economic developer: AE weighs in on the ‘big debate.’

September 2007

By Kerry Doyle, Marketing Strategist

AngelouEconomics

Place branding is a hot topic within the economic development community, and rightly so. In a world where marketers typically have ‘one shot’ to instantly get the attention of -- or introduce themselves to -- site selectors, consultants, tourists, potential workforce, and their own constituents, having and presenting a cohesive and enticing community identity has profound conscious and subconscious impact.

When the topic of place branding is debated in public and private forums, typically two factions become the primary contenders: The economic development practitioner faced with limited marketing resources but that first and foremost ‘need to get their [city, region, state, country]’s name out there’ vs. The marketing consultant that argues that a brand is not simply a logo and a tagline, but rather a collective of perceptions, messages, and mechanisms that a logo just happens to be a part of.

The former, in many cases, ultimately just wants to hire a graphic designer to create a visual identity that grabs the attention of target audiences and is popular among local decision makers and business constituents. The latter wants to analyze the region’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, competition, resources, and character in order to present a promise and vision statement that ultimately will impact how the community presents itself internally and externally.

AngelouEconomics’ (AE) perspective sits exactly in the middle. The fact is AE has unique perspective because we provide place branding services to economic development practitioners and place marketing consultancy to marketing firms based on unique client need. Having often been asked our stance in ‘this debate,’ it has always been our contention that both factions are correct –- only if they achieve an effective end-result.

And, to us, the end-result resides in a criterion of four parts:

1. An effective place brand makes a promise. To quote a very reputable colleague, Ed Burghard in Interview Magazine explains, “Place branding is about makinga heart and mind-opening promise of what somebody can expect to experience when they invest time or money in a location, and proactively working across a complex delivery system to ensure that promise is realized each and every time.” Burghard’s statement sums up the primary objectives in developing the place brand identity: 1) Consider the emotional and logical assets of the community; 2) Understand that everything about the community is part of its marketing vehicle –- for example, the weather, store fronts, school system, media articles about the area, as well as the sales literature, and 3) If your organization is going to promote a promise statement, you better make sure you can ensure that promise is achieved, at least contextually, each and every time a person reads, hears, sees, and even smells in or about the community.

2. An effective place brand speaks directly to its target audience. The most common goals of the economic development community brand are summed up as: To attract a workforce; To attract industry; To simply announce community assets in a massmedia forum; and, To change perceptions. In our workshops, AngelouEconomics will either conduct research or ask the community leaders to rank and weigh these goals in order of importance. Although the concepts are not mutually exclusive, a place brand designed to recruit workforce will look and feel different than an identity that is designed to attract a specific set of target industries.

3. An effective place brand resonates with stakeholders. A community has three distinct stakeholders: The community at large, local businesses, and economicdevelopment leadership. Each has a unique investment in how the community is personified. For economic development leadership, the community brand is a sales tool utilized to promote the community. In contrast, local businesses look to a community brand for an understanding of the regional point-of-view. Furthermore, a community’s most important sales asset is the people that live in the promoted community. Not only does the economic development leadership need to believe in how the community is advertised, but also individuals need to be able to describe the assets of their community effectively. If the place brand does not ring true internally -– to everyone from the business peer to airporttaxi driver -– the place brand will not resonate to the target audiences and efforts can backfire.

4. An effective place brand is unique. Identify a community that cannot say they have a ‘great quality of life,’ a commitment and loyalty to the business infrastructure, a hard-working labor pool, and a ‘small town feel’ (or metropolitan amenities, or access to both)?  It is a challenge to do so because all of these attributes are completely subjective. Does that mean that all economic development entities should disregard these assets altogether?Of course not. But unless they are a part of what makes the region stand out from direct competition, it is practically redundant to incorporate such statements in the one medium that seeks instant recognition. The same can be said about proverbial terms and phrases that can describe a sense of community. For example, according to the Longview (Texas) News-Journal, a lawsuit is in petition over a commonly-used community brand slogan:

From the majestic mountains of Colorado to the sandy shores of Florida and now the piney woods of East Texas, things are pure and simple. Or at least that's how marketing logos designed to attract people and economic development describe the different areas. Though diverse in topography, the three areas have logos containing the phrase "pure and simple."

So, back to the ‘big debate.’ If the question is: Is a place-brand necessary? Consider this statement found on an online blog about the branding efforts of Rochester, New York:

Like it or not - we are branded. Whether intentionally managed or not, brands exist in the minds of people to whom they should matter. I most often hear the following associated with Rochester by people who don’t know the city: snow, Kodak, downsizing, economically struggling Upstate city, long winters. These are not the words or phrases most of us would want associated with Rochester at the top of people’s minds.

… We should be the cultural gateway to the Finger Lakes, an emerging tourist Mecca. What other city can really lay claim to that?

If the question is about whom is better equipped to develop a local place brand, the cash-strapped economic development practitioner or the comprehensively focused brand consultant, the answer can be both or either. This is not to discount the marketing practitioner that insists that for a city to compete in the global marketplace they need to live and breathe a personality (see Austin as “The Live Music Capital of the World,” and Las Vegas’ “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” as best practices) or the economic development practitioner that does not have the control to legislate a community-wide persona. Rather, AngelouEconomics’ work stems from the perspective that economic developers and organizations need purview to save money and execute improvement and marketing endeavors succinctly and effectively. In the case of place branding, sometimes the economic developer needs hindsight in their primary objectives, their uniqueness, or an understanding of their targets and how to articulate desirable attributes to them. In many instances, a brand firm or a graphic designer will contact AngelouEconomics for this same perspective for their place-brand clients.

Can the economic development practitioner determine these characteristics without external expertise? The answer is: Absolutely.

Is it hard work? Definitely. But think of the rewards.