Cleveland+, Plus
And anyway, why did the Greater Cleveland Marketing Alliance hire a Detroit-based advertising agency to handle the campaign?
Because there are no creative people in Cleveland?
Because of that old lame-ass excuse that Clevelanders can't be trusted to talk up their own city?
Because it thought an out-of-town company would be better suited to market Cleveland to outsiders?
Maybe that last one has an element of truth in it, but I still think it's based on a misconception. I think your average Joe Blow in Cleveland probably doesn't have much perspective on how things are elsewhere, but you know what? Your average Joe Blow in New York doesn't either, or on the Jersey Shore, or probably anywhere else. I mean, it's not like handing your marketing campaign to your 80-year old neighbor Mr. Brezinski, who's got an IQ of 2 and doesn't have anything good to say about the place. But surely, the smart, snappy, creative types who choose to base their efforts here instead of leave could be trusted, right?
Eh. Maybe I'm getting too paranoid. Detroit's in the Great Lakes, at least.
Because there are no creative people in Cleveland?
Because of that old lame-ass excuse that Clevelanders can't be trusted to talk up their own city?
Because it thought an out-of-town company would be better suited to market Cleveland to outsiders?
Maybe that last one has an element of truth in it, but I still think it's based on a misconception. I think your average Joe Blow in Cleveland probably doesn't have much perspective on how things are elsewhere, but you know what? Your average Joe Blow in New York doesn't either, or on the Jersey Shore, or probably anywhere else. I mean, it's not like handing your marketing campaign to your 80-year old neighbor Mr. Brezinski, who's got an IQ of 2 and doesn't have anything good to say about the place. But surely, the smart, snappy, creative types who choose to base their efforts here instead of leave could be trusted, right?
Eh. Maybe I'm getting too paranoid. Detroit's in the Great Lakes, at least.
Labels: Cleveland
posted by Christine Borne at 2:46 PM
5 Comments:
Well, Doner has a sizable Cleveland office, which completed this work. The PR firm doing the media relations is Dix & Eaton, another Cleveland company. I thought the same thing a while ago when they picked their ad agency, but then I was told that Doner IS local (although based in Dee-Troyt).
The other question you mention in your other post is interesting. From what I understand, "Northeast Ohio" was not playing in focus groups. They felt Cleveland had the most name recognition, so they piggy-backed on that.
Overall, I find this campaign uninspiring. But the one thing I do like a lot is the fact that all the communities can download specialized marketing materials wit h their own logos and messages (ie Akron+ and Hudson+). That's a pretty interesting, holistic idea.
Will any of this work? I don't know. I think the biggest hurdle is going to be the people here.
It just seems like there's not much to the campaign, you know? Maybe that's a good thing, though - it won't seem overdone. Like I said, I'm reserving judgement.
I'm curious, how do you think the people here will be the biggest hurdle?
Just the fact that they have to address public negativity is one big hurdle other places don't have to consider as much. I saw a story on Channel 3 and they were asking people on the street their thoughts on Cleveland+, and one grouchy woman goes: "Cleveland minus, if you ask me." To me, it was unclear if she was talking about this campaign or the city itself. And what a bitchy thing to say.
I think anything will be an easier sell elsewhere than it will here. Just look at this article from Pittsburgh: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07117/781390-28.stm
I guess the grass is always greener!
While I've said I don't particularly like this campaign, that doesn't mean it won't work. I hope it does.
There does seem to be a significant element of negativity in... NEO (sorry, I just think Cleveland+ sounds like either a dietary supplement, a pregnancy test, or a Clockwork Orange drink).
I addressed this in a blog post a few months ago. To wit:
We should focus on what we do have and work to preserve and improve them, rather than just throwing our hands in the air and saying, There's nothing to do here!! Our reputation as a meaningless, jobless city whose state is only notable every four years in the presidential election is bad enough, without its own residents being self-loathing sadsacks to make it worse. :)
While it's great to attract outsiders to the area, I think it couldn't hurt to market the region to its own residents as well. Remind them of what the area offers and that there's more to life than just 9 - 5.
I think it does help, somewhat, to look at NEO as a region, however, rather than having Akron try to compete with Cleveland. There are only so many people here. Every time a new shopping center opens, it steals customers away from another one. Perhaps looking at the region as a whole will lead to better planning in development?
I pesonally have alot of faith in the campaign, I recently bought the domain name clevelandpluscommunity.com (site is not developed yet), which I plan on promoting the campaign as well as providing a voice for our communities
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