I work as a designer and by default I do a lot of branding work, so I’ve followed this topic pretty closely and have found it to be really interesting. These are a lot of good points here and a lot of good discussion.
After a lot of lurking, I’m going to weigh in (take it or leave it)
If you’re searching and prying to find something (anything) that will resonate, you’re brand isn’t likely to succeed in catching on (too complicated/too obscure).
On the other side of the coin, if it’s not 100% authentic then people are going to see through it. And it’s not likely to succeed (too fake).
Also, it’s worth noting that while the home grown (or long time) Raleigh-ites know the MOST about their city and their region, we aren’t the ones that get to define it. We just get to frame it.
Like it or not, there is a vague perception of us that exists. To succeed, we’d need to dive into those perceptions to find our outward-facing identity (aka: our brand).
Most of my family is from New Jersey with a group in California. Here is a quick glimpse of the perceptions of Raleigh I’ve heard throughout the years:
– southern, college basketball, technology, racism, slow-moving, warm weather, good colleges, –
So you’d probably want to build out this list a little more (and do it in a more official way), but what you DON’T need to do is argue with this list or try to make excuses of why someone should/shouldn’t have this perception. (because it does no good for this exercise).
Then take that list and look for ways to spin those perceptions to your advantage. For instance:
Southern - This is a weighted term bc some will bring baggage of what ‘southern’ means to them. Sadly, that could include slavery and stale politics for some. But one thing everyone agrees on about the south is how friendly people are down here as opposed to everywhere else. So leaning on the ‘Southern Hospitality’ aspect of things would connect with their initial view of ‘southern’ but give it a positive connotation.
Colleges - People everywhere know this is where you find the best college basketball in the nation, they also know that Duke, UNC and NC State are here. So they know a lot about great colleges being here (whether it be academic or athletics), but they often don’t think a step further, that the kids that go to those colleges graduate and live here. So you lean into the fact that we are an extremely smart’ area which would make sense to them when they remember their initial perception about the great colleges.
Technology - They’ve seen us on the lists. They’ve heard about the budding tech scene here. But that’s where it ends. They don’t’ know why or the story behind it. Parlaying the “we have great colleges” and the extremely smart area notion and paring that with the “Research Triangle Park” …suddenly paints a much more clear picture of who we are and why we’re succeeding.
Slower pace - Use this to our advantage. Frame it like: We’re not slow because we’re dumb or because we push away change, we’re slow because we like to enjoy ourselves and we don’t need the stress. We are so smart that we don’t want to get caught up in the fast-paced, stress machine that SF, LA or NY is dealing with. We can do everything they can do, but we can do it a little more peacfully.
So you see, you are starting to weave a story.
"Raleigh: A place that is super friendly, but also really smart, and that leads to us being great innovators (but we don’t take it all too seriously.)"
What a positive painted picture that is entirely made up of their initial perceptions of us.
Then you start moving that notion into marketing material. Visuals, slogans, etc.
The vibe would be like ‘Like silicon valley with southern hospitality’ (now you wouldn’t use that, but that would be the vibe it gives off). Like super tech smart and innovative, but instead of being tech-bro d-bags, we’re friendly and inviting. If you’re successful, you’ve used their own perceptions to tell the story how you want it told.
Again, take it or leave it. Not trying to tell anyone how to do anything, just weighing in with some thoughts.