I Love New York

Hi and welcome:

Please read the article at the link below to understand better my blog post this week:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/pb.2013.11

We normally thinking of branding with regards to products and services.  However, places can be branded too.  Robert Govers, makes this point in his article “Why place branding is not about logos and slogans.” Govers believes that place branding is about making “something identifiable as distinctive.”  It is true that products and service are also usually distinct in some way.  But products and services can also be very much alike.  In some cases the only distinction between two products or two services is the slogan or logo used to advertise them

Places are different.  They are inherent distinct from other places because no two places are exactly alike. 

Some products are extremely like each other, even when manufactured by different companies.  In those instances, the products can come to be seen as commodities, like copper, or iron.  Manufacturing is about mass production.  The technology of modern manufacturing makes it possible to reproduce nearly identical products millions of times.  Consumers have come to expect that Tide detergent will be the same product every time, and so will McDonald’s hamburgers.  Expectancy of commonality makes the products distinctive from other products that may be similar.  For example, McDonald’s Big Mac, is distinctive from the Burger King Whopper.  Both are burgers, but have distinctive taste, form, and ingredients.  In fact, the Whopper has been promoted, distinctively, as a burger that you can “have your own way” by adding or deleting toppings.  Most other burgers at fast food restaurants do not have this “distinctive” option. 

However, places are not products or services.  Places cannot be mass produced.  Each place is unique and distinct from all other places.   Places do not carry the burden of replication, except in one aspect.  Places must maintain a constant image for all visitors.  Places must insure that visitors can experience the same thing every time.  For example, Niagara Falls is world famous for the beauty of the waterfalls.  The falls are a constant that people expect.  Some may not know it, but Niagara Falls can be turned on and off and the flow of water is regulated.  So the administrators of the Falls have a responsibility to make sure that the Falls are flowing at peak tourist times to insure that visitors get the experience they expect. 

As Robert Govers said, for place branding there has to be something that can be identified as distinctive, to set the place apart, making it special.  Every place has some distinct feature.  It could be history, landscape, culture, or a combination of these and other things.  Marketing a place, then, has to focus on the distinct features of the place.  The place could be a small town, a big city, a state in the USA or a country, like the USA or Canada. 

As communicators, we take messages and use them to communicate ideas, beliefs, thoughts, actions and yes, products and services.  We also communicate places. 

 

The image of a place can be used in combination with a logo and a slogan, to create a promotional campaign to attract visitors to a place, and guide them about the things they can do when they arrive.  The internet, including mobile apps, can be used in these campaigns.  In this respect, a place becomes more like a product or service.  Combining a place with a logo was done successfully with the "I love New York" promotion.  The heart shape in place of the word “heart in “I Love NY” has captivated tourists for many years.  The “I Love NY” logo (and slogan) combines place, logo, and slogan to promote tourism.  Using the logo/slogan can be used on almost all visual media, including newspapers, the internet, television and promotional materials.  Many places have found that combining a logo/slogan with the place works to promote tourism.  In this respect places act like products or services and take on a logo/slogan to promote the place, often using the same advertising methods that products and services use. 

Therefore, it can be safely said that place branding is not irrespective of logo/slogan usage.  In fact, a place can benefit from a logo/slogan as much or in some cases more than a product or service.  Govers argues that places must rely on distinction at the expense of logo and/or slogan.  I have come to a different conclusion.  Places can and should explore logo and slogan use in their effort to take advantage of the distinct place they claim.

 

Govers asserts that “as places already have (more often than not meaningful) names and landmarks, the amount of time and investment generally spent on designing logos and slogans as opposed to actual reputation management for places, seems to be a waste.”  I agree with Govers that the time and investment “generally spent on designing logos and slogans” could be put to better use in some cases.  However, as the “I Love NY” logo/slogan makes clear, a good logo/slogan can be useful and help to build reputation for a place.  I contend that it is not an either or situation.  One does not need to choose either logos/slogan versus reputation management.  Both should be pursued, with resources allocated in a wise way.    In some cases Govers may be right, and the correct path to take would be to ignore logos/slogan development to focus on reputation management.  But one size rarely fits all (except in hats) and it would be wise to consider a combined campaign, rather than focusing on one or the other. 

 

People like catchy phrases, and good graphics.  Linking a good logo with a good slogan, while practicing reputation management  can be a win-win-win for a place, looking to brand the distinctions of the place that make it stand out from all other places.

 

The internet is full of logos and slogans.  And, there is no shortage of distinctive places on the internet.  The right combination of logo, slogan, and place can be lucrative to a place.  Using strategic communication tools to research and build an effective promotional campaign that combines internet and traditional media can result in a very successful campaign for a place.