Branding Columbus | News & Discussion

[Walker Evans]

vestanpance wrote:

Great video with some good stuff, and some stuff that I don’t agree with.

Like what? ;) Let’s discuss!

vestanpance wrote:

I was surprised the University and how it can be big in the marketing of Columbus nationally and globally wasn’t mentioned at all until the Q&A portion.

Keep in mind that the audience was primarily architects, planners and design professionals, so the discussion wasn’t necessarily meant to be student/college-centric.

Further, I think there’s an unspoken desire among many people to define Columbus as being more than just OSU. If Columbus has any national name recognition, it’s due to OSU and OSU Football, and to overcome that association, you sometimes respectfully distance yourself from reinforcing it. Not that OSU isn’t important…. but there are many other facets to life in this city.

The same could be said for regional peers like Indianapolis, which wants to be more than just the place known for the Indy 500… or Louisville, which wants to be more than just the place known for the Kentucky Derby.

[vestanpance]

Walker Evans wrote:

Keep in mind that the audience was primarily architects, planners and design professionals, so the discussion wasn’t necessarily meant to be student/college-centric.

Further, I think there’s an unspoken desire among many people to define Columbus as being more than just OSU. If Columbus has any national name recognition, it’s due to OSU and OSU Football, and to overcome that association, you sometimes respectfully distance yourself from reinforcing it. Not that OSU isn’t important…. but there are many other facets to life in this city.

Totally 100% agree Columbus is way more than just OSU. But I don’t think you have to distance yourself from the giant that the university is to convey that message. Ignoring the elephant in the room comes off to me like trying hard not to embrace something that could be/is a great marketing tool for the city, and vice versa.

[joev]

I think Ohio State is much less of an elephant than it was say, 20 years ago – maybe it’s more of an oversized horse in the room. Columbus has grown so much – from a big 10 college town into a real city.

[drew]

It’s a tough thing – OSU as an educational institution certainly can and should lay claim to being ‘Open and Smart’, but the culture surrounding OSU athletics is a much harder sell. The yearly, national glorification of the fanaticism surrounding OSU football does little to convey the full measure of the city’s worthiness, and probably does much to obscure it.

I suspect it’s not just a branding problem for the city, but for OSU as well.

[vestanpance]

joev wrote:

Columbus has grown so much – from a big 10 college town into a real city.

Again I 100% agree. So in the marketing it should have a aspect of we are a real city, and in it we have this big ten university. I’m far from saying the entire plan should revolve around that, I’m just that it shouldn’t be left out.

[vestanpance]

drew wrote:

the culture surrounding OSU athletics is a much harder sell. The yearly, national glorification of the fanaticism surrounding OSU football does little to convey the full measure of the city’s worthiness, and probably does much to obscure it.

I see what you you mean, and it’s a good argument. But would you say the same thing about the image of Austin? The University of Texas is easily just as big a profile as OSU and certainly has just as much fanaticism. Yet I personally view Austin (and I’ve only been once so it’s more perception than experience) as this cool progressive city with one of the leading universities in the country. Some how they have marketed themselves that way nationally..and it works.

[joev]

I would bet you that you are in the minority of people who know anything about UT or where specifically it’s located, or the quality of education it offers. Big college, big regional following and alumni base, but on a national scale – not particularly distinctive.

Now take Notre Dame in South Bend – sure, the college and football are the first and only things people know about that place. I hope (and personally believe) that Columbus is a lot more like Austin than it is like South Bend.

[drew]

vestanpance wrote:

I see what you you mean, and it’s a good argument. But would you say the same thing about the image of Austin? The University of Texas is easily just as big a profile as OSU and certainly has just as much fanaticism. Yet I personally view Austin (and I’ve only been once so it’s more perception than experience) as this cool progressive city with one of the leading universities in the country. Some how they have marketed themselves that way nationally..and it works.

Interesting point – at some point, Austin may well have been more or less where we are now. The big question for me would be how much the city of Austin tried to associate itself with the UT and/or UT athletics as it was working to raise its profile.

[vestanpance]

joev wrote:

I would bet you that you are in the minority of people who know anything about UT or where specifically it’s located, or the quality of education it offers. Big college, big regional following and alumni base, but on a national scale – not particularly distinctive.

You think on a national level more people know OSU is in Columbus Ohio than UT is in Austin Texas?

Interesting, that’s a different perspective.

[Walker Evans]

vestanpance wrote:

Ignoring the elephant in the room comes off to me like trying hard not to embrace something that could be/is a great marketing tool for the city, and vice versa.

I don’t think anyone is ignoring it. Just choosing to highlight other lesser-known things rather than highlight the thing that everyone already knows about.

Again, keep in mind that the people in the room for this talk all know OSU’s role in the community, so there was little reason to discuss what was assumed to be a pretty basic and universal understanding.

[Schoolboy]

whatever happened to the indie art capital of the world anyways?

[News]

City’s ‘vanilla’ image profile is on the rise
By KEVIN PARKS
Tuesday October 27, 2015 9:53 AM

When Columbus Chamber of Commerce officials surveyed CEOs around the country in 2000 or 2001 regarding what they knew about Ohio’s capital city, the answer was a simple one.

Nothing.

READ MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/clintonville/news/2015/10/26/national-reputation-citys-vanilla-image-profile-is-on-the-rise.html

[UrbanPlanner2112]

I’ve suggested this before:

Creating a Fashion Arts /Incubator District. This is something Columbus has brewing that no other ‘hip’ city has. It could put us on the map.

Our slogan could be: “Columbus: Brews, Brats and Bustiers!” (j/k with the slogan, but you get the idea)

[metrobabylon]

News wrote:

City’s ‘vanilla’ image profile is on the rise<br>
By KEVIN PARKS<br>
Tuesday October 27, 2015 9:53 AM

When Columbus Chamber of Commerce officials surveyed CEOs around the country in 2000 or 2001 regarding what they knew about Ohio’s capital city, the answer was a simple one.

Nothing.

READ MORE: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/clintonville/news/2015/10/26/national-reputation-citys-vanilla-image-profile-is-on-the-rise.html

That was incredibly painful to read. I take it TWN doesn’t retain the services of a copy editor?

[lazyfish]

what this didn’t work, do we get our $ back

[Author]

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