Be Different, Be Different, Be Different

Recently, I came across this tweet. Portland, Oregon, is well known for its “Keep Portland Wierd” slogan. They’re different and not ashamed of it. In fact, they are proud of it. Since then, the thought that every town should “be different” has stuck in my mind, which has led me to this post.

Being different is a key to being a Destination Town. It is the communities that are different, that stand out amongst the others, that draw interest. Do you need someone dressed in a Darth Vader outfit and a kilt riding a unicycle while playing bagpipes that shoot fire? No. Definitely not. But being different is how communities draw in more visitors. They draw in more employers. They also draw in more investment overall.

Ask Yourself This

I can roll into nearly any town in the Midwest and ask the same question of the populace, resulting in the same response from town to town. “Are you different from the towns around you?” Nearly every town will say “yes”. Many with an emphatic response.

But can the difference be seen by a visitor in the 3-5 minutes that it takes to drive through town? Can that difference be seen in your media impact? Does your community’s website and social media exemplify that difference? What about word of mouth? Unlike Will Smith’s desires, you want your community’s name in everyone’s mouth because it is different from other cities.

The Path Through Town

For many communities, the opportunity to capture the attention of those coming through the town is a scant few minutes. Even less if a highway bypass has been constructed. After that short period of time would there be anything that sticks out in the minds of visitors after they’ve left? Or would your community be essentially considered the same as any other community along that route?

Many towns tend to focus on the entrance to their community. This is certainly important, you want to “announce your presence with authority“. But the entire path through town is important as well. How many dilapidated properties are along this route? How about other nuisances? Is there too much signage clutter? How about the overall condition of the streetscape along this route? There are plenty of aspects to consider.

Although cleaning up that path through town may be considered pretty vanilla when you’re thinking about “being different”, that actually makes your community different from many.

But the path through town is also an opportunity to show your community is different in other ways. Adding some public art, some color, or other improved aesthetics can make an impression during the short period of time that you have the driver’s attention.

Don’t be Afraid of the Big Boys

Small towns will always be overshadowed by the large cities. Cities that have a dedicated marketing budget, dedicated marketing staff, or other entities that are dedicated to marketing the community. In 2014 the Greater Omaha Chamber came up with a new slogan to market Omaha and the region around it. The idea for a unique but edgy new slogan from recent rebrands like Keep Portland Weird, Keep Austin Weird, Pure Michigan, and Keep Indy Indie, among others. From that effort came “We Don’t Coast” to “observe unity, elevate hard work, and acknowledge the region’s Midwestern, noncoastal status”.

Just forty minutes from Omaha, down Highway 34 in Southwest Iowa sits the City of Malvern. At just over 1,000 residents, Malvern doesn’t have the funds that Omaha has to come up with its own marketing slogan. But the billboard that they came up with was spectacular. Facing eastbound traffic sits a billboard that states “You Can Coast Here”. They took Omaha’s slogan and flipped it for their own good, marketing their own bike-friendly approach to tourism. It’s a very prevalent theme throughout this community and one that will likely result in its own post.

The residents of Malvern are clearly not afraid to carve out their own nitch in the regional tourism market. It’s just depressing to see how much work they put in recently, yet weren’t selected as as a Meeting Town as the RAGBRAI blazes through southwest Iowa this year.

Satisfying a Fickle Media Presence

Media sources can be quite fickle, especially social media. When a town advertises its wholesome, small-town feel, nobody pays attention. That’s because so many small towns do just that. Your community just gets lost in all of the other communities singing the same chorus. Your website and your social media outlets need to put out a different story. It can include that “small town feel” through subtle nuances in the verbiage or the pictures. But your main story needs to stick out, it needs to be different than other towns just down the road.

Many communities have social media accounts that are silent outside the town’s annual event. Providing daily content may not be viable. But posts can be as simple as a picture of downtown on a warm summer day. Or a picture of a neighborhood after a fresh blanket of snow. Even if a commentary isn’t provided, visitors to your social media page get a chance to see a moment in time in your town. This display of character builds up over time and helps to depict how your community is different from others.

Be Different, Be Different, Be Different

So dare to be different. Dare to be weird. Find that “something” unique about your community that draws attention. That “something” that draws people in, not just to your social media or your webpage, but into your community.