What should Helena be known for?
That’s what a committee wants to know, as the community moves forward with finding a unique brand for the city to draw more visitors here.
“We’re sort of on the full-court press of gathering public opinion,” said Matthew Cohn, current chair of the Advantage Helena committee tasked with rounding up people’s thoughts as part of the ongoing branding process.
“We want the public buy-in; we really do want their ideas.”
Working with Destination Development, a Washington state firm, Advantage Helena is collecting people’s thoughts on Helena’s identity and how we choose to show ourselves to the rest of the world.
“Really, the brand is about finding our identity,” said Jim McHugh, director of Downtown Helena, Inc.
City Commissioner Alan Peura, a member of the committee, said he believes the group has overcome the early perception that the branding effort is strictly for the benefit of downtown.
Read more here.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Howard County jobs campaign to target locals
Work in the county, closer to home -- that's the message Howard County's economic development department will try to convey with a new marketing campaign targeting its residents.
The Howard Jobs campaign, with a Web site and radio commercials, is slated to begin Sept. 4. The Howard County Economic Development Authority wants to reach the more than 95,000 residents who work outside the county.
Richard Story, the CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, said in a statement the effort will help local businesses along with residents, who would benefit from reduced drive time and gas costs.
County officials did not disclose the cost of the marketing campaign. Read more here.
The Howard Jobs campaign, with a Web site and radio commercials, is slated to begin Sept. 4. The Howard County Economic Development Authority wants to reach the more than 95,000 residents who work outside the county.
Richard Story, the CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, said in a statement the effort will help local businesses along with residents, who would benefit from reduced drive time and gas costs.
County officials did not disclose the cost of the marketing campaign. Read more here.
No image is no hindrance for Overland Park
By MIKE HENDRICKS
Even to government, a hundred grand isn’t peanuts. That many tax dollars would fix plenty of potholes. Or buy several tanks of gas for the police and fire departments.
However, the city of Overland Park is spending up to $110,000 to buy something a little more esoteric.
An image.
Now, to some, that might suggest the image of a community so well off it can easily blow 110 thou on what amounts to fluff.
Then again, OP wouldn’t be the first city, county or state to buy into the branding trend since “I Love New York” started it all in the 1970s.
Simply put: Your burg is Nowheresville if you don’t have a logo, slogan and marketing campaign. And getting those normally means hiring a consultant who does surveys and hires focus groups.
OP is way behind the pack on this sort of thing.
“This city has never done any kind of branding,” Overland Park spokesman Sean Reilly told me.
True, and the results are all too apparent.
Without branding, OP grew from a sleepy bedroom suburb to the most populous city in Johnson County and the second largest in Kansas. Read more here.
Even to government, a hundred grand isn’t peanuts. That many tax dollars would fix plenty of potholes. Or buy several tanks of gas for the police and fire departments.
However, the city of Overland Park is spending up to $110,000 to buy something a little more esoteric.
An image.
Now, to some, that might suggest the image of a community so well off it can easily blow 110 thou on what amounts to fluff.
Then again, OP wouldn’t be the first city, county or state to buy into the branding trend since “I Love New York” started it all in the 1970s.
Simply put: Your burg is Nowheresville if you don’t have a logo, slogan and marketing campaign. And getting those normally means hiring a consultant who does surveys and hires focus groups.
OP is way behind the pack on this sort of thing.
“This city has never done any kind of branding,” Overland Park spokesman Sean Reilly told me.
True, and the results are all too apparent.
Without branding, OP grew from a sleepy bedroom suburb to the most populous city in Johnson County and the second largest in Kansas. Read more here.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Public Relations — Are you missing out?
When business owners think of marketing their products or services, it ’s easy to think of only traditional advertising and marketing. They fall into the trap of not looking at the whole picture and forget about other important avenues. While advertising and marketing can be effective, the driving force in today’s business communication is identifying, planning and implementing a high-quality public relations program.
Effective public relations is more than just getting ink. It gains favorable attention and conveys a consistent and newsworthy message to the intended audience. When presented as news, the message gains credibility that makes it more effective. An integrated marketing approach that combines advertising with media relations efforts will be much more effective in keeping your brand top of mind.
Public relations can take a variety of avenues, including news releases, newsletters, annual reports, media kits, press tours, feature stories, special events and presentation materials. Public relations needs will vary by company, but they should always be used in conjunction with a coordinated strategic approach. Read more here.
Effective public relations is more than just getting ink. It gains favorable attention and conveys a consistent and newsworthy message to the intended audience. When presented as news, the message gains credibility that makes it more effective. An integrated marketing approach that combines advertising with media relations efforts will be much more effective in keeping your brand top of mind.
Public relations can take a variety of avenues, including news releases, newsletters, annual reports, media kits, press tours, feature stories, special events and presentation materials. Public relations needs will vary by company, but they should always be used in conjunction with a coordinated strategic approach. Read more here.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Partnership aims to draw employers to St. Cloud area
St. Cloud did not make Arctic Cat's original list of possible expansion sites.
But when Thief River Falls-based snowmobile and ATV manufacturer learned about the area's well-educated work force, access to major suppliers and reduced-tax JOBZ program, it took a serious look.
CEO Chris Twomey did his research and spoke with local businesspeople before securing the company a spot on Opportunity Drive in 2005.
Landing a spot on lists like Arctic Cat's is not easy. But the St. Cloud Area Economic Development Partnership is going further than it ever has to promote the area and bring new businesses to Central Minnesota as more employers recognize the possibilities of the dual-highway corridor between St. Cloud and the Twin Cities.
The communities touching Interstate Highway 94 and U.S. Highway 10 are expected to almost double in population by 2030, even by conservative estimates. Corridor counties and others on the northwestern corner of the Twin Cities are among the top 100 nationwide for rapid growth.
The Partnership embarked this spring on its largest marketing effort in its 22-year history.
The latest marketing materials complement The Partnership's ongoing visits with site selectors and prospective businesses, exposure at trade conventions and newsletters.
The campaign's series of four postcards encouraged 1,000 businesses and site selectors to make St. Cloud and Central Minnesota a destination. The cards highlighted the area's "abundance of highly skilled labor," "expanding infrastructure" and "ideal location."
They led up to a June event that brought 25 site selectors and 15 business leaders to the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis to learn about the area's latest developments. The Partnership unveiled a new marketing brochure. Read more here.
But when Thief River Falls-based snowmobile and ATV manufacturer learned about the area's well-educated work force, access to major suppliers and reduced-tax JOBZ program, it took a serious look.
CEO Chris Twomey did his research and spoke with local businesspeople before securing the company a spot on Opportunity Drive in 2005.
Landing a spot on lists like Arctic Cat's is not easy. But the St. Cloud Area Economic Development Partnership is going further than it ever has to promote the area and bring new businesses to Central Minnesota as more employers recognize the possibilities of the dual-highway corridor between St. Cloud and the Twin Cities.
The communities touching Interstate Highway 94 and U.S. Highway 10 are expected to almost double in population by 2030, even by conservative estimates. Corridor counties and others on the northwestern corner of the Twin Cities are among the top 100 nationwide for rapid growth.
The Partnership embarked this spring on its largest marketing effort in its 22-year history.
The latest marketing materials complement The Partnership's ongoing visits with site selectors and prospective businesses, exposure at trade conventions and newsletters.
The campaign's series of four postcards encouraged 1,000 businesses and site selectors to make St. Cloud and Central Minnesota a destination. The cards highlighted the area's "abundance of highly skilled labor," "expanding infrastructure" and "ideal location."
They led up to a June event that brought 25 site selectors and 15 business leaders to the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis to learn about the area's latest developments. The Partnership unveiled a new marketing brochure. Read more here.
Fort Collins brand unveiled
Board and staff members of the Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority this morning were among the first to view the new brand that the city paid a Tennessee-based marketing company $80,000 to craft.
"Fort Collins: Where renewal is a way of life" is the tagline that North Star Destination Strategies of Nashville drafted to brand the city.
Chief city spokeswoman Kelly DiMartino, in a brief presentation at the DDA's monthly meeting, outlined how North Star examined the city's broad traits to focus on a core identity, an "authentic Colorado college town in the foothills of the Rockies," and how its paradoxical qualities could be best exploited.
"They found that Fort Collins was 'green' but also business-friendly," DiMartino said. "They said we were high-energy, but laid back."
North Star last year did a similar branding job for Greeley, under a $76,000 contract that led to the tagline "Greeley: Great from the ground up."
North Star also created a logo, mock-ups of print advertisements and a Web site design all wrapped around the new Fort Collins brand. The logo features the tagline over curling lines suggestive of a river or a foothill skyline. Read more here.
"Fort Collins: Where renewal is a way of life" is the tagline that North Star Destination Strategies of Nashville drafted to brand the city.
Chief city spokeswoman Kelly DiMartino, in a brief presentation at the DDA's monthly meeting, outlined how North Star examined the city's broad traits to focus on a core identity, an "authentic Colorado college town in the foothills of the Rockies," and how its paradoxical qualities could be best exploited.
"They found that Fort Collins was 'green' but also business-friendly," DiMartino said. "They said we were high-energy, but laid back."
North Star last year did a similar branding job for Greeley, under a $76,000 contract that led to the tagline "Greeley: Great from the ground up."
North Star also created a logo, mock-ups of print advertisements and a Web site design all wrapped around the new Fort Collins brand. The logo features the tagline over curling lines suggestive of a river or a foothill skyline. Read more here.
No. 1 Wired City seeks best plan to attract capital
America’s No. 1 Wired City once captured the fancies of journalists around the globe looking for places with a fresh story to tell. Tacoma’s story got told and retold more than 200 times. Not anymore.
The world went wireless. Today, America’s No. 1 Wired City finds itself obsolete technologically, irrelevant to journalists and relegated to a past chapter in the Tacoma saga.
So, this spring, the City of Tacoma made a public plea for expert help with an ambitious goal – instigate a new surge of local and national media coverage that persuades developers, business owners and commercial real estate investors to pour private capital investments into Tacoma.
Four companies – two from Tacoma, two from Seattle – say they can do it and want the contract to identify Tacoma’s next story and share it with the world
However, don’t expect a new brand slogan and logo from this venture, said Ryan Petty, director of the city’s Community and Economic Development Department.
“The time will come again when it makes sense to create some kind of a (new) catchphrase,” Petty said. “This assignment is about helping us increase the flow of private capital into town.”
Later this month, leaders from all four companies looking for that assignment will give their best in-person pitches to City Hall evaluators who will pick the powerhouse public relations team best able to sell Tacoma. Read more here.
The world went wireless. Today, America’s No. 1 Wired City finds itself obsolete technologically, irrelevant to journalists and relegated to a past chapter in the Tacoma saga.
So, this spring, the City of Tacoma made a public plea for expert help with an ambitious goal – instigate a new surge of local and national media coverage that persuades developers, business owners and commercial real estate investors to pour private capital investments into Tacoma.
Four companies – two from Tacoma, two from Seattle – say they can do it and want the contract to identify Tacoma’s next story and share it with the world
However, don’t expect a new brand slogan and logo from this venture, said Ryan Petty, director of the city’s Community and Economic Development Department.
“The time will come again when it makes sense to create some kind of a (new) catchphrase,” Petty said. “This assignment is about helping us increase the flow of private capital into town.”
Later this month, leaders from all four companies looking for that assignment will give their best in-person pitches to City Hall evaluators who will pick the powerhouse public relations team best able to sell Tacoma. Read more here.
'Memphis Delivers' Touts Web Site, Newspaper Ads
In an effort to attract the attention of some outside corporations and bigwigs, the Memphis Regional Chamber has launched a Web site to showcase all Memphis has to offer any business considering a move to the city.
The site, www.memphisdelivers.com, offers a wealth of information, from demographics to workforce data to the core industries that make up the Memphis market.
In conjunction with the launch of the site, the chamber also has kicked off an advertising campaign that began with banner ads along the bottom of online publications such as www.dallasnews.com, the online version of The Dallas Morning News. The advertisements direct viewers to the Memphis Delivers site.
Mark Herbison, senior vice president of economic development for the chamber, said the organization plans to introduce the campaign into cities other than Dallas before the year is over.
"We're also going into San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York," Herbison said. "And all of those cities we're doing between now and the end of the year."
The advertisements probably will be introduced into a new market about every 30 to 45 days, Herbison added.
Besides the banner ads, the campaign also will include sending direct mail materials to targeted companies and business consultants who might be scouting new markets for the companies they represent.
"We're trying to promote Memphis to (these consultants and the decision makers in the companies)," Herbison said. "We look at fast-growing companies and things of that nature. And we just try to stay top of mind, so if they get ready to expand they at least give us a consideration." Read more here.
The site, www.memphisdelivers.com, offers a wealth of information, from demographics to workforce data to the core industries that make up the Memphis market.
In conjunction with the launch of the site, the chamber also has kicked off an advertising campaign that began with banner ads along the bottom of online publications such as www.dallasnews.com, the online version of The Dallas Morning News. The advertisements direct viewers to the Memphis Delivers site.
Mark Herbison, senior vice president of economic development for the chamber, said the organization plans to introduce the campaign into cities other than Dallas before the year is over.
"We're also going into San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York," Herbison said. "And all of those cities we're doing between now and the end of the year."
The advertisements probably will be introduced into a new market about every 30 to 45 days, Herbison added.
Besides the banner ads, the campaign also will include sending direct mail materials to targeted companies and business consultants who might be scouting new markets for the companies they represent.
"We're trying to promote Memphis to (these consultants and the decision makers in the companies)," Herbison said. "We look at fast-growing companies and things of that nature. And we just try to stay top of mind, so if they get ready to expand they at least give us a consideration." Read more here.
Memphis shifting into Fast Forward strategy
Beginning this week business and civic leaders will roll out an ambitious economic growth strategy that has been nearly two years in the making.
After working behind the scenes on the plan for the past 18 months, public officials and business leaders this week will unveil Memphis Fast Forward, an economic growth plan that focuses on crime, education and workforce development, government efficiency and economic development.
Supporters -- including the city and county mayors and heads of the city's most powerful companies -- say the four-part initiative could generate thousands of new jobs, slash crime rates and raise educational standards.
"It's really a plan for the future of the city of Memphis," Gary Shorb, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare, told The Commercial Appeal editorial board Monday. "It is, in my opinion, the best thing we've put together in 25 years in this community."
Shorb will speak about the Memphis Fast Forward effort Wednesday during a Leadership Academy event at Bridges Downtown. Read more here.
After working behind the scenes on the plan for the past 18 months, public officials and business leaders this week will unveil Memphis Fast Forward, an economic growth plan that focuses on crime, education and workforce development, government efficiency and economic development.
Supporters -- including the city and county mayors and heads of the city's most powerful companies -- say the four-part initiative could generate thousands of new jobs, slash crime rates and raise educational standards.
"It's really a plan for the future of the city of Memphis," Gary Shorb, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare, told The Commercial Appeal editorial board Monday. "It is, in my opinion, the best thing we've put together in 25 years in this community."
Shorb will speak about the Memphis Fast Forward effort Wednesday during a Leadership Academy event at Bridges Downtown. Read more here.
City looks at branding plan
Green River may soon have a distinct brand and plan to promote its tourism.
During the Green River City Council meeting Monday evening, Council gave Pat Robbins, Sweetwater Economic Development Association executive director, permission to pursue grants to pay for the brand and plan.
“It's not a study; it's an action plan,” Robbins said.
Robbins said Destination Development will come up with a plan and a brand for the city. It will cost $70,000, however, Robbins is asking for a $25,000 grant from the Wyoming Business Council's Community Development Block Grant and $10,000 from the Joint Travel and Tourism Board.
The Council will need to raise the other $35,000.
What the community must remember, is the plan is designed to attract tourists, Robbins said. Some plans include marketing, logos, signs and design. The downtown areas will be marketed.
The city should have the tourist shops on the main streets, Uinta Drive and Flaming Gorge Way, she said.
“We want to make it as easy to spend money as possible,” Robbins said.
All Councilman agreed to pursue obtaining the grants.
Councilman Angelo Kallas said he would like this project done even if the city doesn't obtain the grants.
During the Green River City Council meeting Monday evening, Council gave Pat Robbins, Sweetwater Economic Development Association executive director, permission to pursue grants to pay for the brand and plan.
“It's not a study; it's an action plan,” Robbins said.
Robbins said Destination Development will come up with a plan and a brand for the city. It will cost $70,000, however, Robbins is asking for a $25,000 grant from the Wyoming Business Council's Community Development Block Grant and $10,000 from the Joint Travel and Tourism Board.
The Council will need to raise the other $35,000.
What the community must remember, is the plan is designed to attract tourists, Robbins said. Some plans include marketing, logos, signs and design. The downtown areas will be marketed.
The city should have the tourist shops on the main streets, Uinta Drive and Flaming Gorge Way, she said.
“We want to make it as easy to spend money as possible,” Robbins said.
All Councilman agreed to pursue obtaining the grants.
Councilman Angelo Kallas said he would like this project done even if the city doesn't obtain the grants.
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