The Politics of Community Branding

There’s a popular saying in marketing circles that the four P’s of marketing are price, promotion, product and placement. In other words, those are the elements that must be considered for a successful marketing mix.

So what are the four P’s of community branding? Politics, politics, politics and politics.

When it gets down to it, community brands are typically initiated by public sector entities, which are often accountable to city councils and other elected officials, who are accountable to the citizenry. Throw into the mix differing political priorities, elections, diverse tastes, committees and consensus, changes in administration, budget concerns, personality clashes and about a hundred other factors and you can begin to understand some of the challenges that go hand in hand with community branding.

Check out the top community branding blunders!

In fact, there are a number of key points during the branding process where the project can derail. The key to success is not a “perfect” logo and tagline that everyone loves (diversity of likes and dislikes guarantees that such a thing does not exist!). The key to success is strong, savvy leadership that understands the purpose and possibilities of branding as well as the unique politics of the community.

North Star recently completed a branding project with Glendale, California. Alison Maxwell, the city’s Deputy Director of Economic Development, used education and understanding to guide the community’s fledgling identity through council approval and a media introduction to the public. Following is a sampling of the many things she did right

• Met with North Star to ensure she had a thorough understanding of the brand process, the brand strategy, the purpose and the potential.


• Worked with North Star to reduce more than 200 pages of research findings, insights, creative recommendations and strategic action ideas to a 20-slide presentation that focused on:
  
  
  
  • The city council’s initial goals for the brand initiative
  
  
  • Brief discussion of how branding is not all about a logo and a line
  
  
  • Successful branding campaigns from other products and places (to show evolution and diversity of design taste)
  
  
  • Critical findings and insights from Glendale
  
  
  • How those findings led to a brand strategy
  
  
  • Examples of how that strategy can be brought to life creatively throughout the community (with a focus on economic development)
  
  
• Ensured that the presentation was fast, interesting and informative.


• Did not focus on the logo and strapline or show them in a vacuum. Choosing instead to show those elements only in the larger context of other creative deliverables.


• Previewed the presentation with her staff and the mayor, shortening and refining it further based on their input.


• Met individually with each council member to review the presentation and answer any questions.


• Garnered support from high-profile business leaders from the community, showing them ways that the brand identity could help grow their business and strengthen Glendale’s economic viability.


• Invited business leaders and representative community members to the council meeting where the vote was taking place.


• After the new brand identity was approved, met with the media to answer questions focusing on critical talking points such as why the brand was necessary, research findings and economic development implications. Ensured that enthusiastic brand supporters in the economic development realm were available for interview.


• Developed a plan for integrating the brand in the most critical, effective, high-profile areas within a limited time frame.

What high-profile initiatives have been derailed in your community? What was the cause of the conflict? Was there anything that could have been done to result in a more positive outcome?

~ Christi
christi@northstarideas.com