Posts Tagged ‘branding’

Hood River Biz Buzz

June 7th, 2010

Last week I wrote a post suggesting rural communities should conduct video interviews of entrepreneurs in their communities as a way of showcasing local businesses and building their community’s brand as a great place for entrepreneurs.  A couple days ago I stumbled across a blog that’s doing something very similar.

Hood River Biz Buzzrepresents the community of Hood River, OR (pop. 5831 according to the 2010 Census).  The blog’s “About” page offers the following as its purpose: 

A big part of what makes Hood River special is the vital business scene. Frustrated with the lack of local media attention to business news, I thought that a blog would be a good first step to share what I learn in my various work and volunteer activities.”

Peruse its posts and you will discover articles featuring local businesses, upcoming community events, and the latest news.  It’s a bit more expansive and eclectic than what I was talking about the other day, but I think that’s what makes it so fun and interesting.  It definitely leaves me with an impression that Hood River is a place I’d enjoy.

Stu Watson, the blog’s publisher, is a professional journalist with over thirty years of experience.  The blog, however, is a volunteer activity and a display of his love for his community. 

When I called on people to interview entrepreneurs in their community, I had in mind community volunteers being engaged in the project.  After all, that’s who gets the work done in most of the rural communities in our part of the country. 

If your community has someone with Stu’s experience, I’d highly recommend you engage him or her in the effort.  If not, look for other alternatives.

I like the idea that Rebecca Terk left as a comment on my blog post:

I do think this is the kind of project that community volunteers could pull off with some assistance, but I also think that group of volunteers has to be diverse enough in order to be able to identify different facets of the entrepreneurial efforts in the community.

I wonder if it’s also something that could be accomplished in a media/journalism course (do they still have such courses?) on a high school level if the school had faculty savvy in this area. That ties in young people and what they see as valuable/cool/attractive about a community (the promotion of which could attract more young people to the community).”

I love the idea of youth engagement.  I can see the project being a perfect match for a media/journalism course or even a business class for that matter.  It’s also an opportunity for community volunteers to contribute their knowledge to young people.  I know most educators would welcome a volunteer with knowledge of video production expertise in their classroom.

Whether it’s a blog like Hood River Biz Buzz or a series of video interviews with student involvement, I hope you find a way to lift up entrepreneurs and build a stronger brand for your rural community. 

Note:  I discovered Hood River Biz Buzz in a blog post by Rural Tourism Marketing, another excellent resource.

Photo Credit:  BillFromSpokane - Flickr

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Advertising is the price “we” pay for being un-original

June 3rd, 2010

After cleaning out a desk drawer this morning, I discovered a small piece of paper lying on the floor.  I assumed it must have escaped the horde of papers that had accumulated in the drawer since I last cleaned it three-or-so years ago.  Over time, I’d placed most of the papers in the drawer thinking they were too valuable for the dumpster.  Apparently not.  They all ended up in the garbage — except this escaped piece of paper with just one phrase written on it:

“Advertising is the price companies pay for being un-original.” 

I couldn’t remember when or why I wrote these words down.  But they certainly spoke to me today.   They came after Becki fielded a phone call from a gentleman from Arizona.  He has an interest in rural community development, had discovered the ReImagine Rural blog, and wanted to stop in next week to see our community and chat.  Upon hearing this, I said to Randy; “Isn’t blogging more effective than any advertising the Rural Learning Center has done in the past?”

The phrase also made me think about my recent post on community branding.  Although I still maintain that a community brand is a worthwhile investment, this phrase highlights that communities who engage in innovative and interesting activities don’t need to invest as much in a brand awareness advertising campaign.  If innovative, original things are happening in your community, word of mouth advertising will take over.

And finally, the phrase connected with some advice I’ve recently shared with a colleague who is helping her community create a tourism development strategy.  It’s been my experience that people get too stuck on the idea that advertising is the key to tourism.  Advertising helps, but you have to offer a great experience first. For example, take a look at the Barn Quilts of Sac County.  The quilt designs community members showcase on historic barns creates a unique experience that attracts visitors to the region. And because it’s unique, they’ve received a lot of free publicity.  (Just Google the project if you want to see how much publicity.)      

Where did the phrase come from?

The more I thought of the phrase, the more I kicked myself for not writing down who the phrase should be attributed to.  Thank goodness for Google.  A quick search and I discovered that Yves Behar used it in a TED talk titled “Yves Behar on designing objects that tell stories.”  I’ve embedded the video of his talk below.

 

In his talk, Behar tells us that the phrase inspired him to start his own design company.  I doubt Behar has thought much about how the phrase applies to rural communities.  But based on my recent experiences, I’d have to say it applies to a lot of situations.

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Does Branding Matter?

May 28th, 2010

Mr. Madville Times himself, Cory Heidelberger, kicked up a storm a couple days ago in a blog post by claiming that communities are wasting their time — and more importantly their money - by redeveloping their brand.  It caused me to do a double-take because earlier that same day, I had plugged the importance of establishing a strong community brand in a presentation I made to some folks down in Kansas and Nebraska. 

So who’s right?  Does branding matter?

At the center of the controversy was the community of Brookings, SD’s and their recent rebranding efforts.  The community felt they needed to refresh their brand because various community organizations were marketing the community in different ways.  To help everyone get on the same page, they hired a Nashville, TN community branding entity. 

Cory’s objections seem to rest on the following arguments.

Bottom line, Cory doesn’t think branding works for communities.  Some of the commenters to his post agreed, some didn’t.  I appreciated that they made me rethink my thoughts on the subject.

The bottom line for me is if we want people to choose our rural communities as places to call home, we need to pay attention to our branding.   Our brand is our collective identity, expressed in many ways when people encounter our community. 

 Too often our small rural communities are known for the last basketball championship.  Or worse yet, for being places that time forgot.  But changing that identity doesn’t mean we have to rush out and hire a branding company for $80,000.

Start by getting together as a community:  talk about what you want your community to be known for, make sure it connects to your vision for the future (if it does, it will help you achieve that vision.), and figure out how you are going to communicate it to others. 

Visual elements like a logo and tag line are important, but actions are more important.  You have to be able to live up to your community brand.  If you want to be known as a friendly community, you’d better make sure residents (especially those who deal with newcomers like cashiers, waitresses, and elected officials) embody friendliness.  If you want to be known for supporting entrepreneurs, make sure you celebrate their accomplishments (like posting interviews with them on YouTube). 

So, the big question is, does your community’s brand reflect who you really are?  If not, people will see right through it.

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4 Reasons to Interview Entrepreneurs

May 26th, 2010

Have you ever thought about conducting video interviews with entrepreneurs in your rural community and posting them to YouTube?

One organization to do just this is the Prince Edward/Lennox & Addington Community Futures Development Corporation (PELA CFDC).  I recently stumbled across a video interview (embedded below) with the owners of the Prince Edward County Lavender Farm.  It led me to discover a series of interviews with entrepreneurs on the PELA CFDC YouTube channel. 

PELA CFDC is a community based non-profit corporation focused on encouraging entrepreneurship and economic development. 

I’m not sure what goals PELA intended for the videos, but I’d offer the following 4 reasons your rural community should strongly consider interviewing entrepreneurs and uploading them to YouTube. 

1) Entrepreneurs deserve all the attention they can get. Being an entrepreneur is no easy task, and rural communities often forget to celebrate them. This is one easy way for you to help them receive the attention they deserve.

2) Asking their stories will help connect the entrepreneur to your community. Hugh Weber does a nice job of explaining how this works in a post titled “When their story becomes your story.” Hugh tells the story of being interviewed by Mutual of Omaha last summer, and explains how he “developed a fondness” for the company as a result of sharing his story with them. I think enabling entrepreneurs to share their stories will produce similar results. (source: Hugh Weber, “When their story becomes your story: Mutual of Omaha’s AHA moment,’ We Discover Stories, April 28, 2010.)

3) It’s a great way to showcase entrepreneurship as a part of your community’s brand. Many communities try to sell this concept by telling people, “Entrepreneurs love our community because we’re a great place to do business.” I’m seldom convinced. I’d much prefer to hear stories from the entrepreneurs themselves.

4) It’s easier to accomplish than you think. PELA CFDC hired a production company for their project and the videos definitely were well done. If hiring a production company is something you can’t afford, I’d encourage you to produce the videos yourself. Purchase (or borrow) a high resolution video camera, find a computer with free or low-cost video editing software, and teach yourself to produce a video. I’ve learned how to do it myself…and if I can do it, anyone can.

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Branding: Triumphs over adversity

April 13th, 2010

In Made to Stick, Dan and Chip Heath shared how to build compelling stories that people remember.  In a recent article for Fast Company titled “Jared: The Power Story,” Dan highlights “how stories about triumph over adversity make for better brand messages than … math.” 

To make his point, Dan describes the story of Jared, who lost 250 lbs. eating Subway sandwiches each day.  Everyone knows (and remembers) the story; it had an incredible positive effect on Subway’s brand. 

Stories about triumph over adversity.   I like it.  What compelling stories does your small, rural community have about people who have overcome adversity?

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Everybody’s got a story

March 26th, 2010

A Florida family leaves a small, rural North Dakota town; not because they couldn’t stand the cold weather, but because they couldn’t stand the cold shoulders of the town’s residents.

Many of our rural fans are familiar with the above story.  I’ve written about it in the past.

For whatever reason, the story travelled with great velocity.  It wasn’t long after I’d written about it that a friend informed me that Minneapolis radio talk shows were ripping rural communities as places filled with narrow minded people who don’t like outsiders.  Sadly, the story reinforced negative stereotypes and harmed rural communities everywhere. 

I had already purchased my ticket to OTA Session when this story emerged, but it reinforced my desire to use what I learn at the event about storytelling and technology to help rebrand Rural America.  

Stories matter

“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”  Hey right!  Words do hurt, and when they are used to tell stories, their damaging effects grow exponentially.  Case in point, the Hazelton, ND story mentioned above.  

But stories can be equally powerful for the positive.  Let me give you an example.

The Miner County Cash Flow Story

At the Rural Learning Center (RLC), we love telling the story about the Miner County Cash Flow project.  Back in 1995, young people in our community ignited a movement of community revitalization.  After studying local spending habits (which were disappointingly low) through a community survey, the high school students set out to change people’s behavior.  They shared what they had learned with the community, and challenged residents to spend 10% more within the community in the next year.  Long story short, their efforts paid off.  Sales increased a whopping 40% the next year.  

The story could have ended there, but it didn’t.  Residents banded band together to figure out what else they could do. They attracted the attention of the Northwest Area Foundation in St. Paul, MN, forming a 10-year partnership with them; they developed an economic development strategy that produced over 200 jobs in a community of 2,800 people, and they continued to support the local economy producing record sales tax growth.  

We love to share the story, not because we want to brag about what has been accomplished, but because the story communicates the RLC’s values, in a fun, entertaining fashion. People understand that we believe:     

In short, people “get us” after hearing the story.  They understand what we are trying to accomplish, and they begin to develop an emotional connection to our work.  I’m convinced that without this, our efforts in Miner County would not have been nearly as successful as they have been.

(Note:  The Cash Flow project story is so captivating that Dan & Chip Heath used it as a story in their latest book Switch:  How to Change Things when Change is Hard.)

Everyone’s got a story

Over the last few years, I’ve had an opportunity to travel across the region and work from other rural communities. I often ask the community members I meet; “What’s happening in this community?  What makes this place special.”  Their answers amaze and frustrate me. 

Usually, their responses reflect the “humble approach” OTA Sessions organizer Hugh Weber talks about; they tell me, “Nothing special ever happens here. We’re just a small, town that’s a pretty good place to raise a family.”   I’m not inspired. 

But as we talk further, I often stumble across some pretty interesting ideas; they do have remarkable stories; they’re just not telling other people about them.   In other words, they are just as special as Miner County — perhaps more so.  

But perhaps they need help unearthing their remarkable stories.  And then they need to work harder at sharing them with other people. 

Luckily, technology has made this job a lot easier.

Technology is part of the answer

Before ending this rather long post, I want to share one last idea; technology is a big part of the answer.

The more I’ve learned about social media, the more I’ve come to understand the incredible opportunity it presents us living in rural communities.  Social media enables people to tell their stories:

The bottom line is that never before have rural communities have been better positioned to tell their stories.  If we can unearth the stories that communicate who we are (our brand) and then use technology (like social media) to share our stories, small, rural communities have an incredible opportunity to rebrand themselves as places of opportunity. 

I’ve got a lot to learn today at OTA Sessions. I’m so thankful that people like Chris Brogan, Mitch Joel, Julien Smith, Spike Jones, Tim Brunelle, and Jonathan Harris are willing to share their wisdom with everyone at OTA Sessions

 

Photo Credit:  I shot the above photos at the groundbreaking ceramony for the Buffalo Ridge Resort & Conference Center in Gary, SD.  Talk about an amazing story.

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Civic Riders and Storytellers

March 24th, 2010

I love listening to storytellers.  Some people seem to have a special gift to entertain, motivate, and educate by describing an event or activity.  Many good storytellers learn and practice their art around the campfire, and I’m envious of their skills.  It’s this envy that motivates my desire to intend the OTA Sessions in Sioux Falls, SD on Friday.

If this is the first time word of the OTA Sessions has reached your ears, I’d encourage you to check out this previous post and the OTA Sessions website.  You will discover an incredible group of speakers;  perhaps the most talented to ever grace the stage of the Orpheum Theater in Sioux Falls. 

But there’s more.  The Rural Learning Center, in conjunction with Deep Bench, is sponsoring a post-conference workshop called “Civic Riders: Discovering the Story of Rural America.”  The vision for the event is that we will launch the development of a process that helps rural communities build stronger brands through storytelling.  Spike Jones, a storytelling guru, is sticking around to help lead the session with Hugh Weber. 

Time is short, but we still want to share the details:

 We think it’s a great opportunity for our small towns, and we’re hoping that you and other rural community members will participate in its development.  See you Friday!

 

Photo Credit:  Bunky Pickles - Flickr

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Who’s ready to help build a new brand for rural?

March 19th, 2010

I love pictures of old barns.  Whether on the verge of collapse or meticulously maintained, they convey a beauty that captures my heart. 

My gut reaction to these photos has changed, though, as I’ve discovered that my searches for “Rural America” on Flickr are dominated by old barns, junked cars, and vast empty spaces.  It seems that “rural” and “abandoned junk” are synonyms online.  

Pictures are worth a thousand words; it’s no wonder that outsiders believe that all of the talented, creative people have left Rural America.  But what’s a person to do about it?

My short answer is: let’s take responsibility for our rural brand.  Let’s author a new brand for rural places that conveys an image of life, people, and opportunity.  I feel like the stories and images to accomplish this already exist; we just need to learn how to reveal them more effectively. 

That’s what I hope to learn from the OTA Sessions held in Sioux Falls, SD.  And it’s why the Rural Learning Center is offering a free ticket to the event for someone who shares our passion.  More on the free ticket later. 

OTA Sessions

To say Lindsey and I are excited about the OTA Sessions is an understatement. We’ll be there with a host of enthusiasts who want to “deny the lie” that our region lacks talented, creative people.  Hugh Weber, the event’s organizer, has lined up what I think may be the most talented group of creative people to ever grace the Sioux Falls Orpheum Theater’s stage.  Those OTA Sessions presenters include: Jonathan Harris, Tim Brunelle and Spike Jones. Your ticket also gets you admission to a separate event that morning, also hosted by Hugh Weber, featuring Chris Brogan, Mitch Joel, and Julien Smith.

When I first wrote about OTA Sessions a few weeks ago, I called on people to “make it a rural thing.”  My intent was a call to action for rural enthusiasts to (1) attend the event and (2) create a project that benefits rural places with what we learn.  Since that time, Lindsey and I have had on-again-off-again conversations with Hugh about what we could do to help make the later part of this challenge happen. 

OTA After-Hours

And, today, we’re pleased to announce that the Rural Learning Center will sponsor and host an OTA after-hours event for rural community leaders and everyone else (genuinely) interested in our rural places.  We’re calling it “Civic Riders - Discovering The Story of Rural America.” Best of all, speaker Spike Jones and organizer Hugh Weber will be there to guide our conversation and help us figure out how we can begin changing the perception (the brand, if you will) of our rural communities.  We’re going to do something together, and we want you to join us.

So, here are the details:  “Civic Riders” with Spike and Hugh–Friday, March 26 from 7:00-9:00 pm at the Orpheum.  If you are a rural community leader or resident, rural development practitioner, or just really care about rural places, we hope you’ll stick around after the conference and join us.  We’ll post more details about the after-hours event in the coming days, so stay tuned.

Win a free ticket

Oh, and as a part of our sponsorship, the Rural Learning Center has received a few OTA tickets, and we want to give one away.  So here’s the deal:

We also have scholarship tickets available.  These are half-price tickets ($75), but will NOT include any of the free books.  If interested, send us an e-mail (Lindsey.Karlson@RuralLearningCenter.org), and we will send you a special registration code. 

OTA and the after-hours event will be great opportunities for us to learn and then dream big about how we can change how the world looks at rural places. I can’t wait until Friday.

 

Photo Credit:  bulletproofsoul67 - Flickr

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Miller, SD has got Facebook figured out

October 13th, 2009

I’m always on the lookout for rural communities that are using social media to build conversations.  Recently, I found a great example with Miller, SD. 

Joe Fiala and Amy Howard of On Hand Development Corp. launched the Miller, SD Facebook page on Sept. 24, 2009.  Within weeks they built over 500 fans, which is very impressive in a community with a population of approximately 1530 people. 

Amy Howard and Joe Fiala, On Hand Dev. Corp.

What has impressed me more than the number of fans is how people are interacting on the page.  Lots of people start Facebook pages, but not many do a good job of generating conversations with their fan base. 

Joe and Amy do.  They even have people who have moved away from the community saying how much they miss the community.  Impressive.

With that in mind, I contacted Joe to find out what’s the secret sauce in his recipe.  The following interview  with Joe is the result. 

 

Why did you create a Facebook page for the community of Miller?  Does it connect to your organization’s goals? 

We were looking for ways to engage our community utilizing the internet beyond our “regular” website. Facebook is a way to easily interact with people living in Miller, people that used to live in here, and people that had visited our town.

Using Facebook helps us reach our goals as a business development organization because we can showcase our community and lifestyle. It allows us to communicate more effectively with the young adults that will be the next generation of business owners in town.

 

One of the things that impresses me about your page is number of people commenting.  What have you done to try to create “conversations” on your Facebook page?

We have made a conscious effort to create posts that garner comments from the fans. We’ve tried to post items that people will find interesting, but we also ask questions within the post.

Our partnership with our local newspaper, the Miller Press, has been effective too. They have a “Talk on Main Street” question each week in the paper. We asked if we could address that same question on the Facebook page and they agreed.

 

Any future plans for your page? 

As we have events in Miller like the opening weekend of pheasant season, the Christmas on the Prairie celebration, and the 4th of July festivities, we will post pictures of the events.

We will also listen to our fans to see what items they would like us to post.  Our page is set up so that fans can post items and we are hoping that they will take advantage of this and add to our content.

 

We constantly hear how social media tools are sucking up work time and decreasing productivity.  How much time do you spend each week using Facebook? 

Our goal is to post an item on every work day, whether it is an announcement, a picture, or a question. So far, we probably average about 10 minutes per day.

This is not much time and we are reaching an audience of over 500 people that have already shown interest in being involved in our conversation. For a small town, that is an amazing amount of publicity for so little time involved.

 

Why did you choose Facebook as a social networking tool over others tools like blogging, Twitter, MySpace, etc…?

Facebook lends itself very well to holding a community conversation. It allows short posts, pictures, and comments. All of these actions are very easy to do.

However, the deciding factor was that a large majority of young adults and high school students use Facebook.

We are planning to incorporate a blog as part of our website communication tools. This will allow us to post articles that are too long for Facebook to handle efficiently.

 

Note:  Wow!  Working with the local newspaper is a great idea.  And if you go to their page you will see that they do a nice job of asking questions that engage their fans.  (You don’t have to join Facebook to view the Miller, SD Facebook Page.  Check it out by clicking here. )

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Marketing Matters for you

June 26th, 2009

For those who didn’t already know it, the importance of a strong marketing effort was driven home at the 7th Annual Economic Gardening Conference. If you heard the message and want to strengthen your marketing efforts, I’d encourage you to check out the following free webinars by the Small Business Administration in South Dakota.

Titled “Marketing Matters,” the training is divided into 4 one-hour training sessions that you can access from your home or office. 

 If you are interested, check out the following link and learn how you can sign up.  Learn more here.

Note:  Although it’s free, phone lines are limited to first-come-first-serve basis.

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