Photo by Chris Scott
Some time ago we were asked to contribute to a new place brand identity to help raise the profile of a former industrial town, that in recent years had been struggling.
With significant new investment on the horizon, that would help regenerate the town, it had been decided to start the process of marketing the region.
The goals of the project were to attract and retain talent, to increase inward and external investment, to gain higher visitor numbers, and to empower people to advocate for the town.
One of the challenges of a place branding project of this nature is it can very easily feel like something that is being imposed from the outside.
Post-industrial towns have often seen multiple attempts to make a difference come and go over, with typically limited success.
After a splashy announcement, the buzz of activity usually fades, and local people are left with pretty much what they had before.
For this reason it is understandable that any attempt to introduce a new identity will be met with cynicism.
For a place brand to be adopted at scale it must feel honest, organic and authentic – and not perceived as ‘just marketing.’
In practice this means approaching the project with honesty. There is no point ignoring the challenges or brushing people’s lived reality under the carpet.
Our approach is to engage in a discovery exercise, where residents and businesses are polled about perceptions of where they live. We develop a narrative that acknowledges challenges and conveys a new sense of momentum and progress.
Positive messages, grounded in reality, can overcome negativity (so long as the focus really is ‘grounded in reality’).
If a region has been facing economic challenges, but is going to be the recipient of significant capital investment that will make a tangible difference, then this needs to be clearly communicated as the reason why the time is right for a new identity.
There is probably no better example of a successful place branding campaign than ‘I Love New York’, which was created by Milton Glaser in the 1970s, when the city was in a dire situation, bankrupt and overrun by crime.
“Suddenly the city simultaneously got fed up and said, ‘It’s our city, we’re going to take it back, we’re not going to allow this stuff to happen,'” explained Glaser. “And part of that moment was this campaign.”
