1 Monitoring your Community’s Brand ACCE Convention 2007

2 What is a Brand?

3 What is a brand? Lynchburg

4 What is a brand? Las Vegas

5 What is a brand? Williamsburg, VA

6 What is a brand? St. Thomas, the Bahamas

7 What is a brand?

8 What is a brand? Seaside or the Hamptons

9 What is a brand?

10 What is a brand?

11 What is a brand?

12 What is a brand? Made Fresh Daily

13 What is a brand? Lynchburg It’s about Emotion.

14 What is a brand? Las Vegas It’s about Experience.

15 What is a brand? Williamsburg, VA It’s about Aesthetics.

16 What is a brand? St. Thomas, the Bahamas It’s about Rewarding.

17 What is a brand? It’s about Trust.

18 What is a brand? Seaside or the Hamptons It’s about Aspiration.

19 It’s about Knowing your Target.What is a brand? It’s about Knowing your Target.

20 It’s about Knowing your Identity.What is a brand? It’s about Knowing your Identity.

21 It’s about consistency.What is a brand? It’s about consistency.

22 It’s about creating the future.What is a brand? Made Fresh Daily It’s about creating the future.

23 “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not around.”What is a Brand? “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not around.”

24 “Branding is what you do about it.”Community Branding “Branding is what you do about it.”

25 Communities Served: Don Peoria, Arizona Glendale, ArizonaGrand Rapids, Minnesota Grand Rivers, Kentucky Grapevine, Texas Greeley, Colorado Gwinnett County, Georgia Hattiesburg, Mississippi Henry County, Georgia Jackson, Mississippi Kenai, Alaska Kenai Peninsula, Alaska Killeen, Texas Lawrence County, Tennessee Lancaster, California Lansing, Michigan Loudoun County, Virginia Lowndes County, Georgia Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Madison, Alabama McKinney, Texas Meridian, Mississippi Mesquite, Texas Missouri City, Texas Mobile, Alabama Overland Park, Kansas Peoria, Arizona Pigeon Forge, Tennessee Plano, Texas Providence, Rhode Island Plymouth, Michigan Reading, Pennsylvania Rome, Georgia Saint Paul, Minnesota Santa Rosa, California Sebastopol, California Seward, Alaska Shenandoah, Texas Shreveport – Bossier City Louisiana Spartanburg, South Carolina Springfield, Massachusetts Sumner County, Tennessee Tennessee State Parks Texarkana, Arkansas Tulare County, California Uvalde, Texas Warrensburg, Missouri Warner Robins, Georgia Williamsburg, Virginia Williamson County, Tennessee Yarmouth, Massachusetts Alliance, Nebraska Anchorage, Alaska Augusta, Georgia Bay City, Michigan Beaches of South Walton, Florida Beaumont, Texas Calhoun County, Alabama Cape Girardeau, Missouri Chandler, Arizona Charlottesville, Virginia Columbus, Georgia Columbus, Indiana Concord, North Carolina Conyers, Georgia Corinth, Mississippi Dayton, Ohio Dothan, Alabama Douglasville, Georgia Dublin, Ohio Fairbanks, Alaska Fort Collins, Colorado Gainesville, Florida Galveston Island, Texas Georgetown, Kentucky Glasgow, Kentucky Don

26 What is the right community for your community brand?

27 Community BrandPrint It is advantageous for a community to speak in one voice and for what is said to be strategic. Concord story…

28 Community Understanding Consumer Competition Insights Imagination

29 Stage 1 – Understanding - Who you are and whyCommunity Consumers Competition Research and Planning Audit Communication Audit Situation Analysis Familiarization Tour Stakeholders/Community - Key Stakeholder Interviews - Stakeholder Focus Group - “Undercover” Interviews - Vision Survey - Mail - Communitywide Survey – Online Geo-demography Consumer Profiling (Residents) Mapping - Inquiry Origin - Attraction/Lodging Origin Geo-demography Consumer Profiling (Residents) Perception Study (Qualitative) - Visitors/Meeting Planners/Group Tour Leaders - Prospects/Site Selectors/Relocation Executives - State-level Executives Perception Study: CAP (Quantitative) Visitors and Non-visitors Lodging Performance Report Brand Message Assessment Economic Opportunity Analysis CAP Study As you can see, over twenty points of research are used. Some qualitative and some quantitative.

30 Community BrandPrint Stage 2 -- Insights Where you should be InsightsInternal Situation Brief Blue Sky Meeting Research Review and Strategy Presentation Brand Essence (reason for being) Brand Values (guiding principles) Brand Truths (help deliver the promise) Brand Promise (what can you provide that other’s cannot) Brand Benefits (consumer appeal) Brand Personality (tonality) Brand Platform Statement Relevant and distinct

31 Community BrandPrint Stage 3 -- Imagination What will get you thereBrand Concepts: three different written creative concepts for communicating your brand Brand Identity Guide: two distinct options for bringing the approved brand concept to life Brand Assimilation and Culturalization

32 McKinney, Texas Challenge: “In Texas, it’s called walking.” McKinney, Texas has a solid dose of Texas swagger and a tendency to do things their own way. Key insights: The fastest growing city in the nation, rolling hills, and green space separates McKinney in a positive sense from the Dallas Metroplex. Strategy: Capitalize on McKinney’s self-sufficient, independent nature with the brand strategy: “McKinney’s got its own”. Don

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54 McKinney Results In 2006, McKinney’s hotel/motel tax was up 22% over with no new properties online In 2006 city sales tax revenue was up 17% McKinney’s estimated population as of Oct. 1, 2004 (4 months before brand launch) – 93,062 McKinney’s estimated population as of Oct. 1, 2005 (8 months after brand launch) – 100,000 McKinney’s estimate population as of Oct. 1, 2006 (1 year and 8 months after brand launch) – 112,000 More than $1 billion invested and 5 million new square feet of development in McKinney in 2006 Hotel motel Tax up 22% - no new properties Sales tax revenue up 17% The population since the launch has increased from 93 thousand to around 112 thousand. More than 1 Billion invested and 5 million new square feed of development in 2006

55 McKinney Results “Unique by nature.” branding received editorial kudos in The Dallas Morning News Two-part feature on McKinney’s branding appeared in Texas Town & Country, the official publication of The Texas Municipal League Feature on McKinney’s branding appeared in Public Management, the official publication of the International City/County Management Association “Unique by nature.” branding won multiple awards: Two IABC Bronze Quill for “Best Marketing Communication” and “Best Strategic Communication” Featured in: Dallas Morning News TML: Texas Town and Country magazine Public Management Magazine –ICMA Awards: Two IABC awards for Best MKTG Comm. And Best Strategic Comm.

56 McKinney Results Brand expanded to encompass Collin County Regional Airport and The McKinney Performing Arts Center at the Historic Collin County Courthouse; each have their own look, feel and logo, but fit into the “Unique by nature.” Brand Collin County Regional Airport’s “Through with Love?” campaign established its unique standing and amenities among corporate airports in the D-FW metroplex McKinney Tourism Services launched a new advertising campaign, “Mr. McKinney would love what we’ve done with his town” in August This campaign expands the “Unique by nature.” brand and embraces the city’s “dual” personalities.

57 Spartanburg, South CarolinaProblem: Go to Greenville. Due to a more developed and concentrated hospitality product nearby, “go to Greenville” was the response heard all too often when researchers asked residents what one should do in Spartanburg. Key insight: Good stewardship of resources demanded that Spartanburg’s internal audience be addressed before significant investment could be justified outside the market. Strategy: Brand a movement within Spartanburg that would create a virtual entertainment district promoting cool cultural happenings in Spartanburg. David

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79 artist in residence program

80 one of the artists blogs

81 "Greenville Getting a PULSE Check: Group Hopes to Make Greenville Hipper" GREENVILLE -- When people think of "cool" cities in the Southeast, the list usually starts with Asheville or Athens. Spartanburg makes the list in some circles. Nicole Pascoe contends Greenville should be on that list as well. Greenville has the nightlife, the art exhibits, the live music showcases, the plays, the festivals, the hot jobs and the housing that should make this former textile town--best known for business--a happening place. Unfortunately these trends and ideas don't come across as cool as it should be, Pascoe said. …Neighboring Spartanburg has a more soulful feel through projects such as Hub-bub that is trying to create an artistic class and trendy facts such as these: art-rock bank Pink Floyd got its name from a Spartanburg native, the Marshall Tucker Band originated there and the drummer for Lynrd Skynrd was born there. While Pasco and Willimans don't want to emulate Spartanburg, they feel Greenville can do much more ...

82 Monitoring your Community BrandImagination Monitoring your Community Brand Hard Metrics Business retention & recruitment Membership Gross Receipts Population Awareness Perceptions and attitudes

83 Monitoring your Community BrandImagination Monitoring your Community Brand Soft Metrics Assimilation & usage Creative elaboration

84 Top 10 ways to derail your brandMake your brand just about a logo and tagline Proceed without research Ignore your culture and heritage focusing solely on your aspiration Engage the press for the first time during the unveiling Have a huge unveiling and ask for feedback before you implement Apply strict controls for usage by private sector and other public agencies Make your brand strategy available to the public before implementation Have your community vote among several logo choices Appoint a large stakeholder group to approve creative development Make a contest of creating your community’s slogan Don

85 Monitoring your Community’s Brand ACCE Convention 2007