Mile High City? Not distinctive enough for city marketer – Denver branded as ‘energizing place’

Think Denver is a cow town? That’s OK. Hear Denver and think of snow-covered peaks? That’s fine, too.

But Denver’s official image is getting a second look.

Angela Baier, the city’s first-ever marketing director, wants a more clearly defined image of Denver and the seven-county metropolitan area.

By Associated Press

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/national_intl_business/article/0,1713,BDC_2464_2662541,00.html

"We’re not scrapping ‘Mile High City,’" she said. "We’re strengthening it. It would take millions of dollars and a decade or more to get another slogan to the awareness level of the ‘Mile High City,’ and why would we want to?"

If it seems odd that a 145-year-old city is considering a new image, Denver is not alone. The 30-year-old "I Love New York" theme might be the best known, and Pittsburgh and Houston are among other American cities that have conducted similar campaigns.

Baier has been working for months with marketing experts, business leaders and residents to come up with an umbrella theme that can be used in promotions involving the city. Baier will announce the theme Wednesday to a group of 170 business leaders and marketing experts.

Baier was named to her post last summer by new Mayor John Hickenlooper, a brew pub owner who asked her to find a new promotional tag for a city that over the years has been associated with at least eight slogans.

Best-known is "Mile High City." The moniker has stuck and there was a furor when the city’s new football stadium was named Invesco Field at Mile High instead of just Mile High Stadium.

Baier’s research showed that nationally, people associate the term with the nearby Rocky Mountains, skiing and the outdoors.

"What that tells us is that there’s a very clear association with Colorado, but when people are asked what comes to mind specifically about Denver, they draw a blank," Baier said. "Being merged with Colorado is OK, but when there’s no distinction whatsoever, they might think we’re a mountain town without all the opportunities we have in this area."

Ron Johnson, an information technology worker who has lived in the Denver area for more than 40 years, said he has enough confidence in tourists to believe they don’t think Denver is in the mountains and or that its residents trot down the street on horseback.

"I don’t you can take away ‘Mile High,’" he said. "It’s ingrained."

Anything that could bring in tourists and help the economy is worthwhile, said airline worker Nancy Wilson, who has lived in the area for several years.

"Since I’m a property owner, I have a stake in its future. It’s financial success is very important to me," said Wilson, who recently bought a loft in the newly vibrant downtown. "Whatever they can do to stimulate people’s imagination and bring people to Denver (is worthwhile)."

The effort has its dissenters.

"I don’t have any problem with being a cow town," said Ted Hackworth, who served on City Council for 24 years.

Hackworth questions why a city struggling to emerge from a lingering recession is spending money to look into changing a positive, well-known image. The city has hired a company for $35,000 to look at marketing ideas and Baier’s salary is $80,000.

"What I see is a good way to spend taxpayer money with little value," he said.

The project’s goal is some kind of message — along the lines of "I love New York" — that restaurants, hotels, government agencies, chambers of commerce and all kinds of businesses can use as a foundation for their own marketing.

Baier said that would result in a huge boost to the city’s promotional efforts. "The overall idea is that by strengthening a regional identity, it will strengthen the economy," she said.

Business and government leaders in the metro area have talked about such an effort for 20 years, but had not found the leadership to actually make it happen, said Tom Clark, CEO of the Metro Denver Network.

"There are certain things we own that nobody else can lay claim to," Clark said. "It’s one of the easiest cities in the nation to recruit employees to and we continue to be one or two of the most highly educated states in the country. Those are messages that need to be consistently portrayed."

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Denver branded as ‘energizing place’

At city’s 360 Summit, marketing pros pick concept to define area

By Janet Forgrieve, Rocky Mountain News

http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_2666224,00.html

Energy ran high as 170 marketing professionals brainstormed the hours away Wednesday afternoon.

The goal – to create a common identity for the Denver area that’s easily conveyed to companies, prospective visitors and anyone thinking of coming for a visit or to stay.

Invited attendees of Mayor John Hickenlooper’s Denver 360 Summit at the Colorado Convention Center started with a new brand-positioning statement: Denver is an energizing place to be where people get more out of every day.

The statement, chosen from three by surveys of 650 Denver residents, tourists, business leaders, corporate site selectors and convention and meeting planners, won by a mile over the other two, said Peter Murane, president of Denver-based BrandJuice Consulting.

BrandJuice, which did the survey for free, found lukewarm receptions to the other two statements – "the pioneering spirit still flourishes in Denver today" and "Denver is a city where people achieve their dreams."

The positioning statement isn’t meant to be a new slogan, just a starting point – a concept to build on.

"It’s our vision to create a ‘foundation brand,’ " Hickenlooper said. "One that overarches many different products and will support all the individual marketing efforts going on."

Denver won’t abandon the "Mile High City" slogan, said city marketing director Angela Baier. After all, she said, surveys show it’s the third most recognized, after the Big -Apple and the Windy City.

The bad news, Baier continued, is that, while most people associate the Mile High City with Denver, few realize all that the city and region offers beyond the Rocky Mountains and snow sports.

"When we say ‘Denver,’ the world hears ‘Colorado,’ " she said.

Left out of the picture too often are the city’s and region’s museums and cultural attractions, growing downtown nightlife and diverse dining scene. Its educated work force and healthy, energetic population are another plus, marketers said.

After about 45 minutes of updating and introduction, smaller groups brainstormed on ways to implement the branding position.

Likely to be visible soonest is a "Mile High City" logo, which Denver-based Design & Image, a visual communications firm, has volunteered to create, Baier said.

The logo may be on bottles of Deep Rock Water by this summer, she said, with 10 cents from every bottle going to the Mayor’s Initiative on Early Childhood Education.

"It will not only promote the logo but also help our kids," she said.

Wednesday’s meeting gave marketers an opportunity to be part of the city’s efforts far into the future, Baier said.

"It’s an opportunity to change the way Denver is marketed for generations to come."

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