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Can you find examples of 10 regions/cities that have created a brand around a specific competitive advantage? How have they developed and leveraged that positioning?
Hello! And thank you for your question about the brands created by ten regions/cities The ten I researched were Amsterdam, Arizona, Austin, Bogotá, Boston, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Lisbon, Michigan and Napa Valley. These regions and cities have created brands around specific competitive advantages and have continued to develop and leverage their positions through social media efforts, advertising, partnerships with other organisations and adding a growing number of events and festivals.
METHODOLOGY
To begin, I read through multiple lists on top city brands around the world. I tried to provide a variety of cities and regions both in the United States and beyond. From there I researched the tourism websites as well as news articles that discussed the brands of the various cities/regions.
AMSTERDAM
The "I Amsterdam" city brand was launched in 2004 and "reflects the diversity, cohesiveness and individuality of all Amsterdammers. Together they shape the city they love." The public-private partnership, Amsterdam Partners was formed to market the city and to expand cultural awareness through its focus on the core values of Amsterdam: "creativity (creativiteit), innovation (innovatie), and its spirit of commerce (handelsgeest)." The "I Amsterdam" brand has an extremely accessible website, social media including Facebook and Twitter, an app and giant letters spelling out the slogan/brand "I AMSTERDAM" where one set of them is estimated to be photographed at least 8,000 times each day allowing the brand to develop and be spread "across the web on blogs, magazines, photo sharing sites, and Google image search." Amsterdam is staying current on worldwide trends such as working with Air BnB to allow citizens of Amsterdam to share their home "for a period of 60 days per year." It is the first city in Europe to leverage this position.
ARIZONA
Advertising for the "Summer in AZ" campaign began in 2015 by the Arizona Office of Tourism as a way to get Arizonians to vacation within their home state throughout the summer. Focused on sightseeing excursions, outdoor adventures, water wonders, urban escapes and family fun, the campaign was so popular that it now has it's own website and is a continued form of branding for the state of Arizona. "Summer in AZ" was advertised in magazines, newspapers, radio and online, as well as through social media efforts, digital billboards and movie theatre placements. According to an article in Business Wire, "the Arizona tourism industry brings millions of visitors annually to the Grand Canyon State. In 2013, more than 39 million visitors spent $19.8 billion throughout the state, contributing nearly $54 million each day to Arizona’s economy."
AUSTIN, TX
Austin has created a brand around the live music and arts scene within their community. With 250 venues throughout the city, every style of music is represented from Brazilian samba to rock and bluegrass. Austin has continued to leverage their position as "Live Music Capital of the World" by hosting over fifteen music festivals per year. Austin is also well-known for local, craft food and drinks. The city was featured in Lonely Planet's North American travel section, quoting Austin's tagline "Keep Austin Weird." The Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau has been responsible for marketing the community both nationally and internationally "as a premier business and leisure destination, thus enriching [their] community's overall quality of life." The ACVB works with Strategic Alliances and All Access Austin in their marketing efforts. Austin has won multiple awards such as "America's #1 Fastest-Growing City" by Forbes (2013 & 2014), "No. 1 City to Watch in 2014 by Forbes (December 2013)," #1 on "Top 12 American Boomtowns" by Bloomberg (April 2013), "9th most innovative city" by Business Insider (February 2013) and #1 on "Ten Best Cities in the U.S. to Live, Work, and Make Movies" by
MovieMaker Magazine (January 2013).
BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA
Bogotá, Colombia made the list of "Top 100 World's Best City Brands" for 2017 as number 96. Their brand centres on diversity, rich history and lush landscape. The Colombia.travel website offers information about the capital, its museums, history and fresh markets, as well as its proximity to the Andes mountains. The site divides information into the categories adventure, culture, nature, sailing, sun and sand, health tourism and meetings with lots of quality photos and links to external sites for hotels and restaurants. The official colombia.travel Instagram by Colombia Travel & Tourism has 13.4K followers and helps to continue building their picturesque brand.
BOSTON, MA
The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau utilises "BostonUSA" as their city's brand. With the competitive advantage of being "a quintessential blend of colonial history and cutting-edge innovation," BostonUSA is proud to share their history with people from all over the world. They do this by offering their website in ten different languages. BostonUSA offers information on travel to the city and upcoming events, helping to develop their welcoming and fun brand. They also partner with MA Massachusetts, "It's all here" to gain access to additional potential visitors. Boston was named one of the top U.S. city brands by Travel Market Report.
CHICAGO, IL
Chicago was recently listed as one of the top U.S. city brands by Travel Market Report. Chicago's tourism campaign "Choose Chicago," focuses on the myriad of activities the city has to offer. Their website states: "The world's best food. The world's best museums. Architecture that awes. And enough shopping for days. Find it all in Chicago. With events every weekend, plus live music, theatre and comedy every night — winter in Chicago buzzes with energy and excitement all season." The city boosts over fifty museums and the advertisement of these museums by Choose Chicago is one way the city leverages its brand. Chicago also offers dozens of festivals annually, including Chicago SummerDance, Chicago Air & Water Show, Chicago Blues Festival, Grant Park Music Festival, Taste of Chicago, Chicago World Music Festival and Chicago Jazz Festival.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
"Experience GR" is the tourism campaign for Grand Rapids, Michigan, also known as "Beer City, U.S.A." and named the #1 U.S. Travel Destination in 2014 by Lonely Planet. Grand Rapids claim to fame is the density of local breweries surrounding the Grand River, as well as the emphasis on local food, culture and art. In 2015, Experience GR developed the "Beer City Passport" and in 2016 the passport was remade to include the newest Grand Rapids breweries. The city hosts multiple beer festivals each year as well as the "radically open, independently organized international art competition," ArtPrize to keep tourists visiting the vibrant city.
LISBON, PORTUGAL
The "Go Lisbon" unofficial tourism site helped to get the word out about Lisbon, "City of the Sea." The official tourism website "Visit Lisboa" offers information about the city and the surrounding countryside in six different languages. Lisbon is currently 38th on the "Top 100 World's Best City Brands." Lisbon focuses its brand on culture, value, location and climate. The pedestrian-friendly aspect of the city can be traced back to Expo '98, that reinvented the ports and refocused the streetscape on pedestrians. Today, Lisbon is seen as "Europe's West Coast," filled with scenic vistas, sandy beaches and medieval neighbourhoods. "Travel + Leisure" named Portugal "destination of the year" in 2016 with 30% of all tourists in 2015 visiting Lisbon. The Lisbon Tourism Association/Visitors & Convention Bureau "was established in 1997 and its main objectives are: The sustained tourism development in its area of intervention.
The promotion of Lisbon as a tourist destination in leisure articles. The promotion of Lisbon as a venue for congresses, fairs and as an incentive trip destination. The provision of Information and support for visiting tourists." They are continuing to develop this position as outlined in their "Strategic Tourism Plan for the Lisbon Region" for 2015-2019.
MICHIGAN
The "Pure Michigan" campaign began a decade ago in an attempt to bring more tourists to Michigan by selling the natural and diverse beauty of the state. With billboards, print ads, online posts and radio segments voiced by Tim Allen, the campaign is a growing success with "the state's return on every dollar invested in Pure Michigan [at] nearly $7." This January, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation revamped the Pure Michigan website. According to spokeswoman Michelle Grinnell, the first three weeks with the new site have seen very positive numbers "in terms of visitors coming to the site [and] how long they're staying on the site."
NAPA VALLEY, CA
Visit Napa Valley has built a brand based around wine. Visit Napa Valley is the "official tourism marketing organisation for the Napa Valley." Partnering with organisations such as California Dream Big, Visit the U.S.A.com and San Francisco Travel, Visit Napa Valley's main strategy is to "develop and implement marketing programs aimed at targeted consumers to build overnight stays." The region contains over 400 wineries, resorts, bed and breakfasts and hotels. Wine tours, wine education and hot air balloon rides are popular in the valley. Wine Country Media, founded in 1994, operates one of the many Napa Valley tourism websites which features wineries and hotels in the area.
CONCLUSION
Amsterdam, Arizona, Austin, Bogotá, Boston, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Lisbon, Michigan and Napa Valley are all cities/regions that have created brands around specific competitive advantages and have continued to develop and leverage those advantages. Thank you for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!