The North Star Solar System Research Universe

One of the first tasks I was given as an eager new research assistant at North Star was what we lovingly refer to as the Solar System. This community research product is a colorful explosion of data carefully crafted into floating balls of visitor information. A data explosion of this magnitude in the North Star travel research department is like Christmas in, well, whatever month it happens to be. North Star considers it a top priority to stay on the cutting edge with regard to its community research services and the Solar System product is a perfect example.



This study is a goldmine of information for our clients. Not only can it tell us where visitors are currently coming from but also where potential for future visitors may exist in different markets. The pretty colors tell us how far away that potential market is from the market in study. Finally, the size of the bubbles gives us an idea of the markets size.

And you just thought it looked like a 3rd graders science project!

~ Anthony Domine

The Case for a Community-Wide Strategic Plan: Brought to you by the Great Nashville Flood

“Get me sandbags! Boards! Bricks?? Anything!!!” Cliff yelled over the roaring of the new whitewater river that was rushing across my screened-in patio. Thank the good Lord above for good friends. When I called him to tentatively ask what one should do if one unexpectedly finds themselves splashing through their living room, Cliff came straight over, guns blazing, wearing a Superman hat and wielding a wet/dry vac.

The irony of the Superman hat did not escape me, but there was no time for such philosophical reflection. The Great Nashville Flood had begun, apparently in my backyard, and Cliff had already jumped right into action pushing water away from my door and cursing the gods. Now, the one thing Cliff didn’t come with was a plan. We didn’t know what we needed to do, we just knew we had to do something. Believe it or not, in this precise moment I thought about community branding and how often we talk to communities who are pushing forward (or sometimes sideways or even backwards) with no guiding strategy. Without a plan, there is only trial and error, guesswork and experimentation. Trust me on this one: this approach ultimately takes much more energy than a well-considered strategic plan.

For instance, Cliff and I swept water away from my backdoor and on through to the other side of the patio for two straight hours that morning before we realized that the water was only getting higher and still getting in the house. “Cliff, this isn’t working!” I panted, wet to the bone and wielding a giant handled squeegee. We stepped back for a moment and assessed the situation, despite the anxiety we felt at the fact that the water rose every second we stood still. The water was rushing into one side of the patio, past the backdoor, and out the other side. The problem was that the patio was filling faster than it could drain out the other side. Together we developed the strategy of digging trenches in the ground and driveway gravel to divert the water away from the house at its source. Thirty minutes of hard labor and 6 trenches around the patio later, we could finally rest and only casually sweep water away as we watched the water rush on by on the course we designed for it. Not only was this much easier, it also kept the water from rising any more in my living room, ultimately saving the rest of my house.

So often communities feel that with limited resources, tight budgets and offices short on staff, they can’t always afford the time and resources it takes to step back to assess the situation, create a strategic plan or make sure their messaging is consistent with their competitive identity and vision as a community.

Communities often have so many leaks to plug and water to manage in their immediate vicinity that they don’t stop to assess whether they’re pushing it in the right direction. They see the water rising and work harder, faster to keep up. Sound familiar? But ask yourself? Are you working smart… or just hard?

~ Shannon Gray

The Quest for Squeaky Cheese

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of traveling to beautiful Marathon County, WI for one of North Star’s signature In-Market trips as a part of our Community Branding process. Before even setting foot in Wisconsin I knew this trip was going to be right up my alley.

When our client Dave, with the Marathon County Development Corporation (MCDEVCO) provided North Star with some preliminary itineraries for our familiarization tours, I fell in love with one in particular. Let’s just say that food means the world to me and when I saw an itinerary that included a tour of Colby (yes, the birthplace of Colby Cheese!), I was sold.

This was my first trip to Wisconsin and I was not sure what to expect. Everyone has seen at least one Green Bay Packers game on TV, but I had a feeling there was a lot more to Wisconsin than beer and cheese. Turns out I was right… but I have to say that the beer and cheese were amazing.

On my familiarization tour, my gracious and quite knowledgeable tour guide, John Small from the Village of Marathon City, began telling me stories of local food and beer that were enough to incite Pavlovian drooling. But the one item he mentioned, which little did I know would turn out to be my personal quest for Atlantis, was something so bizarre and foreign to me that I hesitated to believe in its existence. That one thing was… wait for it… “squeaky cheese.” Being born and raised in Maryland, the only time I would ever heard squeaky used as an adjective was when a friend got a new pair of tennis shoes.

I decided that I was not leaving Marathon County until I tasted the squeakiest cheese around.

The familiarization tour that ensued proved to be a day chock-full of adventures. We began in the Village of Marathon City and then continued West on I-29 to Edgar, Athens, Abbottsford and finally Colby, the Mecca of cheese. While the quaint downtown was absolutely appealing to all of my senses, I was in search of something so delicious, that only some fresh, squeaky Colby Cheese could satisfy.

My tour guide from the city of Colby, Connie Gurtner, let me in on a little secret during our tour. She told me whispers of fresh Colby Cheese found at her impressive meat and cheese shop, Ray’s Market Meats. I politely asked her to take me there immediately.

It was love at first bite. The Colby she let me taste was not in curd form, but it still made my teeth feel squeaky clean, a sensation only comparable (so I’ve heard) to how your teeth feel post getting your braces removed. Strange description, I know, but the sensation is unlike most food experiences I have ever had. Much to my delight, each bite produced an audible squeak, not loud enough to make you uncomfortable, but loud enough to make you think there is potentially a mouse running amuck by your feet.

Before heading back to the amazing Jefferson Street Inn, ideally located in the heart of downtown Wausau, we stopped at Hawkeye Dairy in Abbottsford to pick up some meat and cheese trays for our meeting later that night. At Hawkeye, I had the pleasure of tasting fresh string cheese. I had no clue string cheese came in “fresh” form but it was truly delicious and the perfect combination of sweet and salty. It left me wanting more and luckily the owners sent me home with a big bag! I also got to try my first cheese curds at Hawkeye. The owners let me know that if you throw the cheese curds in the microwave they become extra squeaky… which of course I tried as soon as I got back to the hotel.

I can honestly say that I didn’t leave Marathon County hungry, and that’s just the way I like it.

~ Will Solomon


Hawkeye Dairy in Abbottsford, Wisconsin

Flooding and the Spirit of Nashville

Last Friday afternoon North Star’s Nashville office put together a care package of old clothes, blankets, and shoes for the people of Yazoo, Mississippi. Mississippi is our client, but also a friend, and had experienced a lot of damage and devastation from a line of tornadoes.

Skip ahead two days to Monday in Nashville. Beautiful 80 degree weather belies the constant rain that has battered our community for 48 hours. The worst flooding this area has endured in decades, maybe ever. In a matter of hours, the creeks, river and lakes that help define Middle Tennessee had started overflowing their banks. In a matter of minutes, cars were covered, houses uninhabitable, roads closed. We watched in horror as a portable school floated down the freeway, breaking into hundreds of pieces. As railroad tracks were ripped up and bridges crumbled. As houses half covered with water on the bottom burned wildly on the top because of electrical shorts. As water flipped vehicles over like Matchbox cars, dashing them against buildings and trees and other cars.

Even though the rain has stopped, we wait to see exactly when the Cumberland River – that huge body of water that snakes through Middle Tennessee and one of the most scenic parts of downtown – will crest. It is currently at more than 51 feet and is anticipated to rise maybe a foot more. To put that in perspective, on Friday afternoon it was at less than half that. And all that water isn’t gentle or placid. It rushes, whorls and plunges. It is 26 feet deep in our beautiful new Symphony Hall. Eight feet deep in the magnificent Opry Land hotel.

Boats filled with exhausted – and I mean totally wiped – rescue workers make trip after trip into neighborhoods, hotels, highways. People clutch pets and photo albums; wedding dresses and the hands of children. Even as I write, hundreds of people still crouch on rooftops, wait on the upper floors of their homes for help or sit in cars (where they have been for more than 12 hours).

My children’s school is under water. My neighbor’s house is underwater. Water treatment plants and churches and baseball fields and lives . . . all under water.

And yet, I have never been so proud to be a Nashvillian. Everywhere you turn people are helping. The government is acting quickly, calmly and efficiently. No one is whining or giving up or even really complaining. It was a terrible weekend. It is a terrible day. But perhaps ultimately a defining moment.

Every time North Star does research in a community that has survived a major natural disaster, the community response to that disaster is one of the things people report being most proud of. “We pulled together.” “We did what had to be done.” “We rebuilt.” “We are tough.” “We are resilient.” “We take care of our own.”

The Nashville brand is all about music and without a doubt, that reputation is well earned. But maybe, just maybe, the true spirit of a place . . . just like the true mettle of a person . . . is found in the way you act during adversity.

~ Christi McEachern