#1. The ten things you need to know about branding

Branding is perhaps the most misunderstood concept in the world, yet here we are smack dab in the middle of the "Era of the Brand." In ten separate posts, we will detail ten of the most important rules we most often use in describing the process of branding a community.

1. Brands are perceptions

Your community's brand is what people think of you. It's a perception. Logos, slogans and nice looking ads are NOT brands. They are just marketing messages used to support and promote the brand. Do we go to Disneyland because their slogan is "The Happiest Place on Earth"? No, we go to Disneyland because of what we know of it, our feelings and perceptions of the theme park. The slogan simply reinforces that feeling.

#2: Brands are built on product

2. Brands are built on product

A brand is a promise, and that promise is built on product. Marketing is how you tell the world - how you drive the stake in the ground that says you "own" the brand. You MUST deliver on the promise - with activities, amenities, and ambiance that fulfill your brand promise. Back in the 70s Volvo owned the brand "the safest car," but this wasn't just self-proclaimed or an empty promise. In national tests, they were touted as the safest car to drive. Even though today they are in the middle of the pack in terms of safety, they still own the "safe car" brand.

#3. You must earn a brand

#3. Brands are earned: Sometimes good, sometimes bad

You never "roll-out" a brand. A brand is something you have to earn. Brands are built over time, particularly community brands. Often communities need to focus on "repositioning" or a "rebranding" effort in order to change perceptions of the community. Often the perceptions are worse than the reality. The process or repositioning is an arduous and time-consuming process that MUST start within the community. 

#4. Brands are built on PR and word of mouth

#4. Brands are built using public relations and word of mouth

You always build a brand through the art of public relations. Advertising is used to maintain your position, once you own the brand. Remember, brands are perceptions - what people think of you. Advertising is what you think of yourself. To succeed you need the third-party endorsement that effective public relations can provide. Start with the web. Blogs, YouTube, reviews, etc.

#5. Brands must be experiential

#5. Brands must be experiential

Community brands must be experiential or activity-driven, not just things to look at. Geography is not a brand,* historic downtowns are not a brand, scenery is not a brand. These are all part of the ambiance. The stage. You can develop a stunningly beautiful theater but if nothing is happening on stage, how many people will go there? Static attractions that are simply things to to see quickly become "been there, done that" experiences, and thus not sustainable brands.

* There are a few exceptions: Niagara Falls, Mt. Rushmore, Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, Grand Canyon, Old Faithful.

#6. Branding is the art of differentiation

#6. Branding is the art of differentiation

It's what sets you apart from everyone else. When someone mentions your community's name, what is the first thing that comes to mind? The name must become synonymous with the brand. When we mention the following communities, what's the first thing that pops into your mind?

a) Salem, Massachusetts

b) Hershey, Pennsylvania

c) Lancaster, Pennsylvania

d) Anaheim, California

e) Williamsburg, Virginia

What communities own these brands?

a) The country-music capital

b) The wine capital of the U.S.

c) The home of Elvis Presley

d) Disney World

e) Mardi Gras

Would you have ever heard of Salem, Massachusetts if it hadn't been for the Salem witch trials that took place 316 years ago? A brand sets you apart from everyone else and puts you on the map.

#7. You must jettison the generic

#7. Jettison the generic

You must avoid, at all costs, the generic in your marketing. Especially these days where the internet has leveled the playing field. Look at slogans for communities anywhere. If the slogan can be applied to virtually any community, then it's too generic. Reading the slogan (which should be four words or less) should tell you, instantly, what the community is about. It should bring a picture to mind. The days of "A great place to live, work and play" are over. That's what everyone thinks about their community.

GOOD SLOGANS:

a) "Game On!" - Round Rock, Texas - The sports capital of Texas

b) "La Dolce Vita" - Pittsburg, California - a themed downtown Italian village just in the beginning stages. They won't use this until they can deliver on the promise.

c) "Artfully Yours" - Salado, Texas - the charming arts village in central Texas

d) "Jump In!" - Moses Lake, Washington - the water sports capital of the Northwest. The community is just in the beginning stages of developing the product that will support the brand.

e) "The Grand American Experience" - Rapid City, South Dakota - the grandest of American icons are here: Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, herds of wild bison at Custer State Park, the Badlands of South Dakota, famous Wall Drug, the Black Hills and famous Black Hills Gold.

BAD SLOGANS INCLUDE:

a) "East Texas. Pure and Simple." - Longview, Texas - $55,000 later, they tossed this aside for "Real East Texas Living." Both of these could fit just about any community in Eastern Texas - the largest state in the U.S.

b) "Unique by Nature" - McKinney, Texas - this could fit any town anywhere. "Unique" is the most overused word in branding. It's come to mean nothing.

c) "Naturally Connected" - Peoria, Arizona - Who ISN'T naturally connected? There are hundreds of these: "Naturally Yours," "Naturally Fun," "Nature is Our Middle Name," etc., etc.

d) "Great From the Ground Up" - Greeley, Colorado - Who isn't? Most everyone thinks this of their community. That's why they live there!

e) "Every Path Starts With Passion" - Gainesville, Florida - this sounds more like a mission statement than a brand. It also sounds like they are just starting out and are not done yet. Not ready for all of us to visit.

Do any of these slogans tell you what the community is about? Does yours? Do they bring a picture to mind? An expectation? Slogans developed in this manner may make locals feel good for a few weeks, before they become passe, doing nothing to attract new residents, visitors, or industry. They do nothing to se their communities apart from everyone else.

#8. Say no to focus groups

#8. Say no to focus groups

You never build brands using focus groups. Period. If creative services come into your local focus group and sell you on a logo or slogan, are they going to sell it to every other person on earth who sees it? If a slogan has to be explained, toss it. When it comes to creative services, cute and clever rarely work. Wenatchee, Washington is the apple-growing capital of the world, but while "Naturally Appealing" (shown with a peeled apple) is cute, does it make you want to go there? Does it really showcase an activity, an experience?

#9. Find your niche, your specialty

#9. Find your niche, your specialty

Communities must understand the difference between their "primary lures" and their "diversions." The primary lure is the thing that no one else can do or get closer to home and makes you worth a special trip. Diversions are the things you have that we can do closer to home, but will do them while visiting you. Golf, bird watching, hiking and biking trails, parks, local museums, historic downtowns, wineries, and outdoor recreation are - for the most part - diversionary activities. It's critical to promote your primary lure first, diversions second.

Sometimes a typical diversion qualifies as a primary lure, if it is truly outstanding. If you have a biking trail that is unlike any other (look up the Route of the Hiawatha near Wallace, Idaho), then promote it. If it sets you apart from everyone else, go for it! Bikers travel across the country to ride the Hiawatha, which meanders over seven high trestles, through ten tunnels, and is best know for the Taft Tunnel, which burrows under the Idaho/Montana state line for 1.78 miles.

It's OK to be a diversion. Eighty percent of visitor spending takes place on diversions. Why do you think Disney built Downtown Disney right outside Disney World? To grab some (or most of) that 80%.

#10. It takes a village

#10. It takes a village and continuity

It takes a village to build and own a brand: everyone on the same page and pulling in the same direction. It's a team sport. Can you imagine what would happen if every Coca Cola bottling plant designed its own Coke logo, label, and ad? It wouldn't exist as a brand. You are much more powerful as one loud voice than a number of small independent voices. So it's vitally important for the local government, chamber of commerce, business groups, and destination marketing organizations to all work in concert.

Conclusion: "Something for everyone" is not a brand

Find your niche and promote it like crazy. This is the age of specialization - being known for something specific. It's far better to be a big fish in a small pond, then grow the size of the pond, than it is to be a small fish in a big pond. In the U.S. alone every community has 15,000 other communities trying to compete with them. What sets you apart from everyone else? Whatever it is, build your brand on that.

And when you look for professional guidance, don't get duped by flashy ads and nice logos. Look at the samples and see if the work really sets their clients apart from their competitors.

A website that can close the sale

Nearly 94% of web-enabled households use the internet to plan their travel. Yet more than 70% are frustrated by the experience. Why? Because communities promote generalities and little in the way of specifics. Additionally, the peak months for empty-nester travel are April, May, September and October, yet most communities promote the traditional summer season - June, July and August. If you hope to extend your seasons, garner increased stays, and want to have a website good enough to close the sale, then try this:

1. Make your home page simple to navigate and try to keep the links unified and, if possible, have seven or fewer. Make it a progressive experience, not a confusing one.

2. Allow the visitor to "pick the season" they hope to visit. Use six seasons, not just four:

• December & January (winter recreation)

• February & March (romantic getaways)

• April & May (spring - gardening, historic homes)

• June & July (first half of summer)

• August & September (second half of summer - notice that summer is four months, not three)

• October & November (fall color and fall holidays)

3. Once they pick a season, then give them options: "Pick your passion." This would provide a list of activities (with specifics) that can be experienced during that two-month period. This is important if you hope to extend your seasons. If I want to visit you in early March, what is there to do? Why should I visit you that month?

4. Create detailed itineraries. More than 40 million Americans subscribe to travel publications. Why? Because they provide specifics, not generalities. People use the internet to find details, details, and details. Provide itineraries by:

• Type of travel (RV, motorcycle, car, bike, tour bus)

• By season - using the six seasons

• By experience (history, wildlife, recreation, education, culinary, etc.)

• By length of trip (half-day, one, two and three-day trips)

If you follow this formula, you will win in increasing your tourism revenues. If you do this, let us know and we'll promote your website. 

Downtown: A community's heart and soul

Having worked in the tourism industry for more than 25 years, we've come to realize how important downtowns are to any successful tourism effort. In fact, we believe that the heart and soul of any community, besides its people, is its downtown. The number one diversionary activity of visitors, in the world, is shopping, dining and entertainment in a pedestrian-friendly, intimate setting. And isn't tourism about getting visitors to spend money in your community? In fact, this diversionary activity is where nearly 80% of all visitor spending takes place. But downtowns aren't just about visitors - if your local residents don't (or won't) "hang out" in your downtown neither will visitors. Downtowns are about community as much as tourism.

Want a few downtown tips?

1. Give downtown a name. Make it a destination, not just a "central business district." Would you rather go to "downtown San Diego" or "The Gaslamp District"? In New Orleans, "The French Quarter" and "Bourbon Street" have much more appeal as destinations than "downtown New Orleans."

2. Narrow the streets - make it intimate, pedestrian-friendly, widen the sidewalks.

3. "Rearrange the furniture" - or in the case of downtown districts, change the business mix. What is your downtown about - or district in downtown? Is it a civic center? Arts district? Entertainment district? Dining district? Shopping district (destination retail)? Find your niche, and remember, the more you have of the core "brand" the further people will come and the longer they will stay. Two quick examples of successful downtowns are Carmel, California and Jackson, Wyoming. Both host millions of visitors a year, and both have a solid focus on visual arts. Carmel, with 120 galleries, is the home of fine art. Jackson, with 85 galleries downtown, is the home of Western art and is now the "Home of Western Living." What's your focus? What is your downtown, a individual districts in your downtown, about?