Destination Branding: Oak Park, IL Case Study

When it comes to destination branding, color-by-number is a big no no. It's coloring outside the lines that'll get you noticed. Consider the case of Oak Park, Illinois, a tiny tourism town making big waves with a brand that defies conventional thinking.

Sharing a border with Chicago, Oak Park is home to the largest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. But stakeholders feared this Wright rep had them pigeonholed as an architectural day trip from Chicago . . . an identity that failed to encompass the myriad other unique, interactive attractions and assets offered.

Looking to broaden their appeal, leaders launched a branding campaign designed to showcase what's Wright, without sacrificing all the rest.

North Star research found that Oak Park visitors are younger than expected. For this intellectually curious crowd a big part of the city's appeal is not just its beauty or attractions. They are also drawn by the legacy of free-thinking innovation left behind by a group of trailblazers whose personalities are as big as their brilliance. They come to find inspiration in the footsteps of genius nonconformists such as Wright, Ernest Hemingway, Ray Croc, Homer Simpson, Ludacris, Edgar R. Burroughs and comedian Kathy Griffin.

The resulting brand positions Oak Park as the destination for visitors looking to walk a path of discovery and find inspiration in the footsteps of genius. Featuring the strapline, Step Out of Line, and a sharp architecturally inspired logo, the identity package resonates with the faces and philosophies of the Oak Park innovators who inspired it.

According to North Star CEO, Oak Park's leadership took real initiative. "They weren't afraid of being different, really standing out," he explained. "They wanted to make their heritage hip and cutting-edge. There's nothing cookie cutter about their heritage and there is nothing cookie cutter about this brand. It appeals to that little bit of rebel in all of us."

Turns out that rubbing elbows with renegades really does have its rewards.



"To get noticed, particularly from a tourism perspective, a brand has got to have character . . . take some risks, if you will. We are thrilled with the way North Star identified what it is about Oak Park that gives us character and translated that into an identity with appeal for a visitor. Everyone is excited about seeing it come to life. The morning I presented the brand to our tourism committee they gave me a standing ovation. My first!"
- Rich Carollo, President and CEO, Visit Oak Park



The strapline, Step Out of Line, invites visitors to literally step out of the long lines and staid attractions found in many places. Figuratively the line lures visitors with the ideas of individuality, discovery and a bit of rebellion. A stylized architectural logo is reminiscent of the brilliant rebel Frank Lloyd Wright.

Marketing Your Destination

Marketing your destination: Eavesdropping on Word of Mouth

I went to lunch the other day with friends and everyone started talking about trips – good and bad – they had taken in 2009. By the time dessert was over I had jotted down two absolute “must visit” places on my napkin and made a mental note of one destination (bad traffic, too expensive) NOT to visit. That same week I paid a visit to my favorite blogger (www.thepioneerwoman.com) to get a recipe and ended up driving to the drugstore to buy a lipstick she gushed over. And it wasn’t even my color.

That, my friends, is the power of word of mouth (WOM, it’s so important it even has an acronym!). And it is just as important for a community or destination as it is for a product. People will actually make the decision to move someplace (not just visit but RELOCATE) based on the positive review of a friend. Bottom line, the recommendations of friends, colleagues, even strangers carry more weight than all the marketing and advertising in the world because it is unbiased and based on experience. When you think about it, social media is really just word of mouth on high-tech steroids.

(Need some more statistics on the power of WOM? Check it out. http://freshchat.com.au/the-power-of-word-of-mouth)

So what are people saying (blogging, tweeting, Facebooking) about your community or destination? That conversation is essentially your “community reputation.” Your reputation is essentially your “community brand.” And there are lots of things you can do to refine, change or improve it. But first – and this is a biggie – you gotta know what they are saying.

I am really interested in hearing about how you monitor your destination’s word of mouth reputation so respond, respond, respond!

In the meantime, take my word of mouth suggestion and check out this book, “The One Number You Need to Grow” by Fred Reichheld ( harvardbusiness.org/.../one-number-you-need-to-grow/.../R0312C-PDF-ENG). The book is about the value of word of mouth endorsements to corporations but we think it also has applications for eavesdropping on your community or destination’s reputation.

North Star Press: The Bottom Line: Rebranding a City

The bottom line: Rebranding a city
19 August 2009

David N Cicilline, Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island in the US
'Providence is fast becoming a hot-bed for young social entrepreneurs, those creative individuals who take an innovative, untested idea for positive social change and develop it using entrepreneurial principles'

How one city is using social enterprise to turn around its fortunes and rebrand itself, by David N Cicilline, Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island in the U.S.
One of the key challenges facing any city globally, especially in hard economic times, is brain-drain... or failing to retain talented young people in one's community.

For small cities in the US (and overseas) trying to expand their economies, such as Providence, Rhode Island the question of how to engage and retain our brightest students and most talented individuals is particularly pressing.

But Providence, Rhode Island's historic and quirky state capital, is embracing its creative past (as the home to the Industrial Revolution in the US) with eye towards a future economy steeped in the creative/knowledge economy, and recognising social enterprise as a key ingredient to our future success.

Building on one of its finest assets - its large number of artists, designers, student and faculty innovators at such schools like Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design - the city recently re-branded itself as Providence: The Creative Capital.

Like any other city, Providence welcomes and seeks to attract large corporations to provide jobs, grow the economy and broaden its tax base, yet civic leaders here recognise that it is Providence's creative small business community (along with a large creative non-profit sector) that gives the city its unique identity and that offers the most attractive opportunities to our best and brightest minds.
Furthermore, Providence is fast becoming a hot-bed for young social entrepreneurs, those creative individuals who take an innovative, untested idea for positive social change and develop it using entrepreneurial principles.

Creative small businesses and social enterprises are flourishing here due to Providence's ideal nexus of geographic and socio-economic elements: its location between New York and Boston, proximity to the ocean, beauty and authenticity, innovative culture, small scale that facilitates easy networking, a creative community that fosters support and connectivity, relatively low rents and costs, availability of historic, funky buildings, and the institutional support and resources of city government and higher education, particularly the world-renowned design school, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and the Ivy League Brown University.

Brown and RISD recently established pioneering programmes to train, mentor and support budding social entrepreneurs, in partnership with community organisations and institutions in Providence. Brown University's two-year-old Social Innovation Initiative and RISD's year-old Design for Social Entrepreneurship advanced studio in industrial design. Dozens of social entrepreneurs have come through these social enterprise 'farm systems' with the prospect of hundreds more to come in the near future. Brown and RISD are national leaders in the cultivation of social entrepreneurship, with Providence as their breeding ground for, and beneficiary of, talent and economic growth.

Some examples of Providence's social entrepreneurs include:
Runa: a blended business and non-profit foundation started by Brown graduates, based in Providence and Ecuador, that generates income to conserve endangered Amazonian ecosystems and provides sustainable employment for the local populations through sales of an original health-energy drink made from a native rain forest plant.
Capital Good Fund: a social enterprise based in Providence, Rhode Island with the mission of creating a poverty-free, inclusive green economy through innovative microfinance. To achieve this, it makes loans to high-impact low and moderate-income entrepreneurs that want to start or expand businesses, to legal permanent residents that want to apply for U.S. citizenship and to individuals that want to build their credit score and reduce their energy consumption through its 'green credit builder' loan product. It works with business borrowers to incorporate green products and services, to identify ways of reducing energy costs and implementing best practices such as recycling and proper use of windows, shades and thermostats.
EpiVax: founded in 1998 and led by renowned immunologist Dr Annie DeGroot with the goal of developing a world AIDS vaccine, this Providence-based for-profit company also sustains the GAIA Vaccine Foundation, a NGO that operates an HIV/AIDS clinic in Mali, Africa. Locally, EpiVax is also establishing a free healthcare clinic in Providence's poorest neighborhood, as well as developing vaccines to fight against TB, Smallpox, Influenza, HPV, and other diseases.

As our city's economic agenda moves forward, my administration will be paying particular attention to the need of social enterprises, and how municipal government can play a role in helping them achieve their goals.

These ventures play a far greater role in our city's economic ecosystem beyond their revenue earnings or employment figures. Traditionally smaller enterprises, they are playing a key role in differentiating our city nationally and globally, attracting a different kind of entrepreneur here, providing inspiration to our larger private institutions to innovate, and strengthening the fabric of our community by creating societal change. They also present unique opportunities for communities, like Providence, to be linked with other innovative communities throughout the world.
Thank you social entrepreneurs! Your impact is not lost on me, and the role you have played in strengthening the fabric of our community here, and elsewhere, thus allowing us to truly realise our brand of being The Creative Capital.

Community Branding: Goldsboro-Wayne County Case Study

Sometimes a community discovers its brand essence at a point in history when that essence is most exceptional and welcome.
Such is the case with Goldsboro-Wayne County, North Carolina. Boasting diverse assets including Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, barbeque, festivals, great health care, natural beauty and friendly residents, this charming community often had trouble defining itself. In the words of one stakeholder, "We are like a collection of pearls in search of a unifying thread."

To identify that "thread", North Star looked deeper than the community’s many assets and found a common attitude focused on serving and giving. In sharp contrast to the rampant commercialism and consumerism that defined our country in past years, this attitude is all about cherishing and preserving the things that really matter. Neighbors who care, leaders who do the right thing, the importance of giving back, time with family and children, a supportive business environment, affordable housing, excellent health care, exceptional customer service for visitors, employment and education opportunities, and quality of life.

North Star recommended positioning Goldsboro-Wayne County as a place for families who appreciate small-town Carolina living where life is built on the idea of spirited service so you live a life of value. The strapline, "A Community You Can Count On" sets up Goldsboro-Wayne County to succeed by focusing on concepts that the nation is embracing such as service, giving, and dependability. And the nature of the brand strategy resulted in an action management plan with tactics for building the brand community-wide that are affordable and affirming. By removing the barrier of costly product or infrastructure development, this City brand allows Goldsboro-Wayne County to implement its identity despite tough economic times.

Community Branding: Dayton, Ohio Case Study

Collaboration always makes things better. And that idea is exemplified by the new Dayton, Ohio community brand. This innovative city took the brand research, strategy and creative developed by North Star; added a dash of creative genius from local Dayton talent and rolled out the end result to great response.

So why did Dayton pursue a community brand in the first place? Despite a proud past of history-changing creations, original thinking and patents, Dayton was struggling with a negative self image and brain drain as young people left for other places. The brand was developed concurrently with the launch of a creative class initiative. The goal; shake off the tired "rust belt" stereotype, replacing it with an identity focused on the extraordinary environment for creativity that defines Dayton’s past, present and future.

Research found that while Dayton’s most identifiable invention is the airplane, the legacy of innovation extends far beyond flight. Dayton’s creative nature has touched people’s lives in countless other ways as well, including art, architecture, science and industry.

Original thinking has allowed creativity to flourish in business, technology, academia, the arts and virtually every arena of contemporary life. The city attracts, welcomes and rewards originality – in thought, in deed and in character. The result is a community energized not by the status quo but by what can be. And that thirst for innovation is exemplified by the enormous number of patents city residents continue to obtain on a yearly basis.

Recognizing that a direct correlation exists between the patented inventions a city produces and the size and strength of its creative class, the brand positions Dayton as a warm Midwestern city where the best of the past is constantly improved and adapted for use in today’s world creating a progressive future with character.

Visit the Dayton Originals website to see this brand in action! http://www.daytonoriginals.org/