Agreed this forum is actually hilariously negative towards the city that I assume most of us all live in and love. It’s not perfect for sure but sheesh.
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I’ve been to over 53 countries and many world class cities. Raleigh is a great place to be and the future of Raleigh’s bright and be rich in culture and quality of life.
We don’t have Michilen star restaurants yet but what we do have is a low cost of living so we can fly to New York or Los Angeles to try these great restaurants and return home.
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We are critical because we have high standards. Raleigh is good but it’s on the cusp of greatness, which can be both exciting and frustrating, as various forces push it closer and further away over and over.
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Spread Your Wings in the City of Oaks
Establish Your Roots in the City of Oaks
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This is exactly my point - being content won’t led to innovation.
I didn’t say anything about being content or that no one should have a critique or want to see things done better. But there’s a difference in that vs. eyerolling almost everything the city does do or has become. Whether its more of a joke or not idk but to me it seems like a trend that’s more and more noticeable.
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The tension developing between the two Raleighs concerns me more than figuring out what our brand should be.
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Not sure if the suburban group cares much about Raleigh branding. Would be willing to bet there are people in far north Raleigh that are not sure where Downtown is. I found that to be true when I first moved to Raleigh over 30 years ago and do not think it has changed. So branding should be more about central part of city and what’s making it grow or be the cause people to want to visit. I know I do not visit places to see suburbs.
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Oh 100% there’s really no reason to worry about branding if some of the more protectionist folks get their way.
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This is not my idea. A friend came up with it but the more I thought about it the more I think it could work. Since we’re saying that Raleigh has a lot of little things that are good and not just one big thing to hang your hat on.
The state motto is ‘esse quam videri’ … to be rather than to seem. Raleigh being the capital is pretty good at being rather than seeming. It’s not a pretentious city by any means but has lots to be proud of.
So the theme is RALEIGH … BE …
and fill in the blank with lots of different things:
BE … yourselt
BE … artsy
BE … smart
BE … creative
BE … festive
BE … a brewery taster
BE … a foody
Raleigh BE …
etc…
Of course a real marketer would have thoughts but it’s something that could work mayBE??
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I would go so far as to say…Raleigh, like NC in general, has a little bit of a Lot of things! 
Raleigh: You Tell Me
Raleigh: We’re not sure either
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Raleigh is a really nice place to live. Better than most places. However, it really has no major hook. And quite frankly, compared to most cities, Raleigh is a bit bland. Blandness could be highlighted with tongue in cheek slogans:
“Keep Raleigh Bland”
“RALEIGH: Smart, High Tech, and just a little bland”.
" Raleigh: College Hoops, High Tech, and only slightly bland."
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“Raleigh, if you want it we likely have it, just not to much”
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Love it. Time to stop defend our town and embrace it 
“Raleigh is bland and that’s okay”
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I think that’s a surprisingly good idea for civic branding. We don’t have to present our city as something perfect and edgy; it can be a bit more realistic or self-deprecating in a humble way. I’m reminded of Greenville, SC, and how they’ve managed to create such a brand — “Yea, THAT Greenville.”
They’ve come from nowhere to be one of the most promising cities in the South, and I’m of the opinion that their tongue-in-cheek slogan has helped them. Like Raleigh, they didn’t have much of an identity, and essentially had to create something from scratch to draw people in. Unlike Raleigh, they had the unique challenge of having to stand out against over 30 other places in the country with the same name (including one in NC).
We’re not in the exact same situation as Greenville, but I think our brand could learn something from theirs. Some of the recent suggestions in this thread are a pretty good start.
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I feel like we’ve had several good ideas that have withstood some scrutiny, now. …plus I just realized this is a feature that we can use on this forum.
Out of what we’ve discussed on this thread (and elsewhere), which ideas do you think could be worth treating a bit more seriously? Which narrative do you think can be Raleigh’s best foot forward?
Which would you actually bring up in conversation? Which ideas do you feel like you might identify with or actually start embracing?
Obviously, this is NOT a binding or scientific poll. I’m just curious about how people are feeling at this point about what’s on the table.
- Friendly, smart, down-to-earth innovators
- Physically active, health-conscious, surrounded by nature and vitality (“City of Life”)
- Surrounded by nature, environmentally diverse (the other “city in the forest” / “southern gateway”)
- Varied living options, diverse yet segregated (“a park for everyone”)
- Intellectual (“smart + ___”)
- Humble, realistic, blank slate/new start, hidden gem (“Raleigh, the bland”)
- I’m sure there’s an identity Raleigh can be proud of, but it hasn’t been brought up yet…
- No storyline or brand can successfully elevate Raleigh’s reputation to the world.
- We have no need to try aiming higher or for unifying our narrative.
0 voters
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https://www.pictureyourselfinraleigh.com/
Nice campaign for SXSW! Check it out
Why not have a sister even SXSE in Raleigh or something similar
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