What does a 'Brand' mean to you?

[Charyn Varkonyi]

There has been a lot of discussion on the 'biggest problem' thread about branding - from what branding is to whether or not you can brand a city.

In order to keep at least a *little* consistency on the threads - I thought I'd start this one as I feel that determining the brand is a very worthwhile discussion.

For starters, I will say that in my humble existence, a brand has been something that identifies a product. It gives me, in the most succinct form possible, the ability to know exactly what I can expect and what I will get when I purchase or receive something associated with that brand. It can be a name, a symbol, a slogan, a bit of music, or most often a combination of things. A name that is associated with a particular set of colors and a certain piece of music, for example.

At first blush that would seem to indicate that trying to brand a city is like trying to herd cats! But as I think about this more, I realize that I *do* think that branding a city can be a valid tool for generating much needed enthusiasm in the community and for creating interest from investors. After all, most brands we know and love have grown and changed over the years to reflect the current state of the product/company. What is perceived as the Lakewood brand today is not necessarily what it will be two years from now. No, branding is not the solution - but I think it is a tool that we can use to execute solutions to some of our common problems.

Certainly, the Lakewood brand is one that is diverse. We cannot say that Lakewood is a city of artsy folks any more that we can say that it is a factory city or a city of lawyers... it is all of these things and then some. What else do you think of when you think of Lakewood? Me? I think of home.

So..... Is branding a city possible? Necessary? Worthwhile?

I think so.

Peace,
~Charyn

[Kenneth Warren]

The Lakewood Observer marks for the community its divergence from existing categories of civic engagement, media, and politics, doing so through open source communication and citizen journalism.

That is innovation on multiple fronts.

Branding is mirage-making, simulating a watery flow consonant with familiar thirst.

Although sounding trite, branding might simply serve as an analogical structure supporting the articulation and dissemination of stories about the city’s assets and qualities.

To that end, I submit a set of branding questions to help us think about our positions about the descriptive positioning of Lakewood – for perceptions about our civic intelligence and resourcefulness that through the Lakewood Observer will span local, regional, national and global markets.


Set One

Who is the company?

What is the category?

Where is the opening?

How far can the category extend?


Set Two

What are the brand’s characteristics, costs, expectations, opportunities, qualities and values?

How predictable and unpredictable are these?

How familiar and unfamiliar are these?

To whom are these concerns relevant?

Set Three

What perceptions compel assessments of the brand?

How is the brand’s reputation challenged?

How is the brand’s reputation sustained?

What economic, social, technological changes are affecting the brand’s reputation?

Set Four

Is there a problem with the brand?

Kenneth Warren

[Michael Compeau]

I'm new around here, having only recently purchased a home near the west end of Lakewood after having been around here for about a year. I say this to provide some perspective on the impressions I will share, since these impressions are not based in having lived anywhere nearby for my first 40 years of life. So, I'm not a Cleveland Heights sort, nor am I a Westlake or 'Bay' sort.

When I first was driven through Lakewood to look around for a rental home over a year ago, I was struck by the tightly spaced homes almost on top of each other, with nary the room to sneeze without fouling a neighbor's siding. I saw homes that were past their prime; many were looking quite tired from their long march through history. Some neighborhoods seemed to be on the upswing--it was clear some owners were investing in their homes, and were showing their pride. I recall the drive down Detroit and Madison, seeing shop after shop after shop proffering eclectic foods, goods, and services. I remember scratching my head at seeing a few ugly office buildings plopped in the middle of it all. I recall the thrill of driving past the stately elegance of property along Lake.

My takeaway? Lakewood is a city of great breadth of income, with micro-neighborhoods where 'nice' sections of a street can be only hundreds of feet from 'dodgy' appearing regions. What a paradox!

But, how does this translate into brand?

As a self-employed marketing consultant, I'm used to finding means of managing these ephemeral things we label 'brands'. It hinges on feelings and emotions, on the Impression of the Customer. It does not matter what is said about the product (city), but only what is perceived. Those perceptions are the reality when managing a brand. They reflect the expectations of the 'customer' when entering into a relationship with the brand.

When I drive down Hilliard toward my home, my reality is formed by the rattle of my vehicle's suspension as my cellphone is shaken from it's place on the console to the floor. Hey, Roads matter. My impressions are shaped by the intriging new storefront I notice on Madison, and by the fact I just drove three blocks without seeing a place to park--again postponing my first chance to walk through the merchant's door to experience their efforts firsthand. My understanding of the 'brand promise' of Lakewood is shaped by the progressiveness of city government that created a skatepark, recognizing the benefits of providing an appropriate place for a common youth passtime.


So... to Mr. Warren's queries:

Who is the company?

What is the category?

Where is the opening?

How far can the category extend?

Company? Nothing other than the City itself--

Category? Community as defined as a collection of neighborhoods and business districts

The Opening? Not sure I understand this one, but I'll have a shot, redefining it as Opportunity. The opportunity for Lakewood, the challenge, is to create a set of stories which resonate with the realities around us which we live with daily, but which also have harmonics that can be heard promising a consistently improving future.

//time to take a break//
Mike

[Kenneth Warren]

Michael:

Thank you for the post.

Yes, by opening, I mean the point of entry into a broader market opportunity for the category.

Your post does raise the question of the category of community in relation to the plurality of neighborhoods.

What/how are the stories pitched toward the opening/opportunity and stitched from the plurality of perceptions about the intangible and tangible qualities that inform the category of the community?

Your point on infrastructure, on the roads is telling.

Telling of what? An old place, with decaying infrastructure, putting forth an acceptable effort for an inner ring in the de-industrialized Midwest to keep on keepin on?

Or a less than acceptable effort in a less than acceptable place?

Less than acceptable because capital and the military/industrial complex have for decades been moving on to sunnier places?

How do these marco economic pressures play into the perceptions upon which our category (Bohemian Bargain?) is built?

Last spring I was showing the city to a friend from North Carolina, and we were driving Edgewater. He remarked immediately about the poor quality of the roads and said I bet these homeowners aren't too happy about these conditions.

I like to travel to the east coast, to Cape Ann, MA. I noticed that the roads in Gloucester, MA, another waterfront town that mixes arts, professionals and blue collar residents, were far worse.

If you can persist in the branding dialog, and perhaps even write something for the paper itself on a strategy, I think many of us would be thrilled.

Kenneth Warren

[Brad Babcock]

Branding, to me is an identity that evokes a set of associations and images. The implication is that it is actively controlled by the brand manager, but that may not all ways be the case.

I work in Medina County. Many of the people I work with have never set foot in Lakewood. Among those that do not know the city, the first associated word is "Blighted". That resulted from some unfortunate filtering of the information that hit the popular press a couple years ago.

As something of a backlash, those few of us that are from Lakewood have become something like Lakewood cheerleaders. Note to self: Pick-up some copies of Lo to leave around work.

It is also worthy of note that a good friend who lives in Waite Hill openly envies the fact that in Lakewood it is possible to walk to the end of the street and get a beer, or an ice cream, or a good meal, or a C.D., or a good concert.

[Joe McClain]

Ken Warren related remarks of a North Carolinian vistor concerning the quality of the roads.

It's interesting that, after barely a year of living in the South, I myself noticed the difference in the quality of the roads when I came to Cleveland for the holidays. It wasn't just Ohio, either. Pennsylvania roads on the way up were just as bad if not worse.

At some point, you cross the frost heave line and the roads take more maintenance.

[Joan Roberts]

It is also worthy of note that a good friend who lives in Waite Hill openly envies the fact that in Lakewood it is possible to walk to the end of the street and get a beer, or an ice cream, or a good meal, or a C.D., or a good concert.

So why isn't your friend moving here? That's not a snippy, smart-arse question. If I could have all those enviable amenities at 1/3 of what I'm paying, what keeps me in Waite Hill? Lakewoood needs to hear the honest answer.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Next issue of the Observer will show you building the brand first hand. We are going to be publishing some letters sent in from around the country. Some know us and our city, some have never been here.

This Board, The Paper, and you, are all helping to build the Lakewood Brand.

Thanks to all.


peace


.

[Brad Babcock]

That is actually a perfectly valid question.
My friend is a care-taker on an estate. He has been getting restless, but is tied-down to the present situation for awhile. He and his wife are making financial preparations to buy a house of their own when the time comes. Where? Only the crystal ball knows for sure, but his wife just took a job in Rocky River.