Gangbusters! - 5 ways you can outsized grow a city and boost your city brand
These are 5 insights - 4 you can do right away for Economic Development in your city! Who knew sausage dogs were so powerful... And those Hobbits.
This time I thought I would share 5 quick-fire ideas you may not have thought of to revitalise your city economy.
And potentially brand your city, through city branding.
These strategies are strategies 2ThinkNow have seen in city case studies, and also have collected data -sets and indicators for 500 cities.
The 4 first insights - can be very low-cost. And do-able now. The 5th is CapEx.
All of these strategies can be extended into merchandise - like T-shirts and coffee cups. Who wouldn’t buy a ‘Sausage Dog Race/Festival’ t-shirt? The puns write themselves.
Or, digital merchandise.
Recently there was a world record for largest number of dogs walked of a single breed - you guessed it held by sausage dogs. In Melbourne.
849 Bing news stories (excluding duplicates, so many 10s-100s times that thanks to Bing/Google stripping out results now) on a recent search.
How much does each 100 news stories cost in ad spend dollars??
The P.R. is marvellous for your city.
Especially, if the P.R. is ‘on-brand’ for your city brand. Quirky Melbourne.
There’s lot more ideas - where these came from, and ways to measure them.
Reply to this email - and get in touch if you need help on creating or measuring such a plan.
Unique Micro-Niche Community Events
Ahem. Sausage dogs. I am looking at book fairs, science fiction festivals and sausage dog races (yes, a perennial Melbourne favourite - and Munich too).
Sometimes the more offbeat or niche the better. Instead of the Craft Beer festival, what about the Pilsner, Stout (Slowest Pour) or Cider festival? How about promoting Hobgoblin beer? How about a Medieval Mead festival? A cross bow contest?
Or a Thailand, Lantern Festival. Or the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta?
Boosts the tourism sector, and also the local area economy.
The key thing is to think niche. If it’s not a little crazy, it may not work as well.
Otherwise, if your appeal is mainstream, this can include religious or cultural festivals - sometimes going back 1000 or more years. A new one of these is not possible - but many variations are. And there are new ways to add twists to a traditional festival - that locals know about, but that many globally are unaware of.
Many people love the Medieval Christmas Market in Munich! And Christkindlmarkts - Christmas markets - throughout Austria and Germany.
Note 2ThinkNow have a Cultural Events Indicator. Which helps you benchmark and rank city performance.
Beyond Bold Food Choices
Whether it is poisonous blow-fish (Japan) or sparrows eaten under handkerchiefs (to be found on the George V in Paris)… or a local blue cheese festivals… cities know that food makes the city brand.
Who does not want to eat Bolognaise in Bologna? Lobsters in Sydney? Eclairs in Paris?
But be bolder - Toulouse sausages, regional French cheeses. Colombian Empanadas? Aussie meat (beef) pies?
What about goat?
So many Arabs and sub-continent folks eat goat - which can be delicious when slow-cooked. Yet goat has not been part of any successful city brand.
For vegans, it could be the largest pumpkins, or the ‘Big pineapple’ - a prominent Sunshine Coast tourist attraction. Fruits and vegetables can be an attraction.
Food is understood across cultures, and is universal.
That makes food SUPER-POWERFUL in building that city brand.
I dare you to visit Italy without tasting the regional food.
How much wine do the French sell off the back of regional branding?
Same for Adelaide or Bordeaux?
Would you like data on the wine, spirits and brewing industry by city? We have an indicator for that. Or data on cheese-makers?
And as the AoC producers know - food and place can be a powerful export earner.
Niche Sports
What about tenpin bowling championships?
Dragon boat racing had a moment in the 2000s.
Drone racing or strong-men championships?
Unicycle hockey? Seriously. In Switzerland…
Or, this is the Royal Melbourne Show.
Woodchopping has gone from agricultural fairs (also the Royal Sydney Show, and Brisbane’s Ekka), to a global sponsored sport on television. It’s a cult sport. And always pulls a crowd.
Somehow those New Zealanders and Tasmanians always do well.
In fact, wood-chopping is a Tasmanian regional obsession, thanks to a famous ax-man.
Other sports include e-sports, various races or shooting/target contests. Animal races (sans cruelty) can be also popular.
For mainstream sports, Club Nou just outside Barcelona proper, near L’Hospitalet area, is huge.
2ThinkNow maintain a variety of sports indicators - for stadiums and sports support.
We can tell you what sports are popular that you are overlooking in your city!
Cult Movie Sites that Time Forgot
The famous platform of the Hogwarts Express. For those Harry Potter fans (and there are a lot of them).
Or Hobbiton, in New Zealand? Where the Lord of the Rings filming took place.
Similar movie scenes - real or imagined.
Marvel’s Doctor Strange in Kathmandu now boasts tours.
What about vintage or cult movies? Famous movies that have a cult following - Casablanca, Pulp Fiction, Midnight Cowboy, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, etc all offer scenes that attract die hard fans.
Of course, the movie has to tie with the city brand. Arguably, Pulp Fiction despite the themes of drug use ties with the edginess of the Los Angeles modern brand. And the city is tied to multiple epic films - something for everyone. Pretty Woman, for example.
Hitchcock’s Vertigo - in San Francisco. Note there was a Hotel Vertigo for a while - and I stayed there.
Midnight in Paris - for example. The movie highlights all the Cultural Assets that make Paris the perennial city among cities.
Fiction scenes also - Juliet’s imagined balcony in Verona.
And songs as well!
So, what next?
These 4 ideas were all practical, and do-able by councils, local business and community groups.
The next one is a long-term idea, and more in the traditional economic enabling infrastructure. Yes, it is costly, but the long-term results can be proven.
(Ask for our help in modelling local benefits of High-Speed Rail).
High-Speed Rail (HSR) in the CBD
Yes, a more serious long-term commitment. Not on the list near the top because - let’s face it - this is a long-term capital spend.
High-Speed Rail creates dynamically connected regions.
This was one of the enablers of previous German and Japanese economic miracles. Done right - it needs to be in the CBD and integrated. And usable.
But it can be a game-changer.
Done right, it’s unbeatable.
According to our preliminary modelling, HSR could set national 6% GDP growth to a country for 6 or more years. (as opposed to the usual 2-3 % or lower).
And once GDP grows that compounds every year after that.
Yes, each city is unique, but the benefits are there.
And at the city level the potential GDP boost is even higher.
And yes, the Chinese, figured this out. This is one of the secrets of their past rapid economic growth. Just like the Japanese before them.
Imagine German cities like Berlin without ICE? The fact you can in 2-3 hours reach many German cities is a major drawcard. And many folks live in one city, work in one city, study in another.
What about Japan’s Shinkansen? The famed bullet train - has sold many tourists and been featured in many cultural artefacts - both physical and digital.
Could the Western English-Speaking countries (like Australia) learn something here?
So many interests profit from polluting roads and road freight! (The real reason why we don’t get HSR).
When you care about environmental costs of transport, and you want the best way to move people quickly, and an economic multiplier that’s the go.
2ThinkNow also collect a wide variety of rail and High-Speed Rail metrics and KPIs. Ask.
Of course, done right.
Not a boondoggle for contractors (like the Sydney Airport Railway).
High Speed Rail is a force multiplier of economic growth.
And that concludes our insights for today!
Keep innovating!
CH
Pls reply to reach out.
Credits in order:
Photo by James Watson on Unsplash
Photo by Stephanie Klepacki on Unsplash
Photo by Jacques Dillies on Unsplash
Chris Phutully from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Andres Iga on Unsplash
Photo by Daniel Abadia on Unsplash