A lot of cities seem to be struggling these days, and are on the verge of bankruptcy. Thought I’d let my marketing mind wander and give some guidance. [I’m obviously totally ignorant when it comes to the dynamics of city management, so apologies for any illogicalities.]
My starting point: a city is no different from any other brand, business or product. And I’m assuming that “city marketing” is more than just promoting your city. It’s not about a slogan. Actually, it is more holistically about safeguarding the perception and the content of the city, and consequently about city brand creation.
So, if the “content” of a city = its architecture + shops + infrastructure + image of governance system + the novelty (innovation) it brings regularly + its universities + its sport-teams, then how are you doing against that as a city? What “experiences” do you give your visitors and inhabitants? What does your S.W.O.T. look like?
picture: Brugge, one of my favorite cities in my home country Belgium (why? its history, the ambiance that is always there, the many activities, the buzz, its unique architecture, its people, its safety)
Why is this “content” focus important for cities?
- The content of your city determines the kind of “consumer” (i.e. citizen, tourist, and investor) you attract, and hence the kind of income you generate!
- It determines the perceived image of your city, and hence the perceived “value” in the mind of the consumer (read: visitor, investor, potential citizen).
- Your p&l needs sufficient revenues and profit to invest and attract more or better (read: premium) inhabitants. That means you need to profile your city, advertise for it, manage crisises well, and so on.
It your city content is broken, then fix it!
- If your city content doesn’t match where you want it to be, then fix. [See the metrics list below to get a feel for how far off you are from the ideal]. Be drastic. Reorganize what shops can go where and where not. Create a golden mile. Invest (more) in accessibility. Etc…
- With a city, unlike with a simpler business, change will take time. It might take a long long time to “upgrade” your image, and make the content match. But if you don’t start, you’ll never get there. Put a vision and an action plan in place, align every important stakeholder, and make it work. Look at what Dubai achieved in 10-15 years -they went from zero to hero, no less than that!
- The tough call is on smaller cities I guess, because drastic changes might be painful at first. But the win is relatively bigger as well!
A great presentation on city marketing and its revenue systems is here:
Questions you need to ask yourself as a city manager (i.e. metrics/kpi’s you need to follow):
- Basics: do people know the city? Do they know what it stands for? Do the love it, and why? Who do they see as competitor cities, and why? How frequently do the visit, and why? Do they want to live there, and why or why not? Are the ones who live there happy, and why or why not? Where are the improvement areas? Etc…
- What’s the value of % green surface vs concrete/building surface in your city? Does it have a “homy” feel? What’s the likability?
- What “landmark” destinations do you have in your city (i.e. what makes your consumer come back? What are the “benefits” or your city?)
- What are its great attractions? What experiences can they have? What experiences did they have?
- Is your brand name (read: city name) strong enough? What are the awareness and liking trends? Where are your “heavy users”, and your brand advocates?
And hence, are you active (enough) building these perceptions, in reality + in media + on social media ?
picture: Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where I live now. In vast contrast to Brugge, above. Dubai is a city of the future, empty when it comes to history and culture, but with lots of “entertainment” and “experiences” to offer.
Growing your city’s performance, visits, business, budget:
- Find ways to “sample” your city (!):
– Promote its food and drinks as widely as possible
– Create a “city-within-another-city” booth showing great reasons why people should come
– Give out free trips for travel bloggers
– Be (good!) friends with airlines, travel agencies, etc!!! They bring your people/visitors/consumers in, don’t forget!
- Enhance accessibility: if your roads are clogged, then how do you think people will get in? Make the city easy to get in, navigate around, get out. See it as managing a website: speed of access, clarity of navigation, indicated points of interest, etc.
- Invest! Nothing comes for free. You’ll have to invest actively in the right “marketing mix” to get the effect and results you desire. Not different than for any other product, brand or experience.
- Most importantly, appoint a marketing director as part of the city’s critical core (political or non-political) staff, and empower him/her well…this is a revenue generator!
More interesting perspectives on city marketing:
Thank you for reading this blog post,
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Only a smiling visitor here to share the love (:, btw great design and style. “Better by far you should forget and smile than that you should remember and be sad.” by Christina Georgina Rossetti.
Very interesting points you have observed, thank you for putting up.