Comments on: Sparks, Nevada – Be The Brand

By: Sparks Nevada Bets On “It’s Happening Here” « smartbrandblog

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:09:23 +0000

[...] those of you who frequent this blog, you’ll recall a somewhat heated discussion about Reno’s “sister city” to the east, and its efforts to define it’s [...]

By: The Biggest Little City In The World Is “A Little West Of Center” « smartbrandblog

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:34:28 +0000

[...] sister city, Sparks Nevada, recently undertook a similar campaign repositioning… but with disasterous results. Would The RSCVA fall victim to the same rehashed, [...]

By: Northern Nevada Is Begging For A Brand « smartbrandblog

Northern Nevada Is Begging For A Brand « smartbrandblog — Sun, 03 May 2009 17:59:42 +0000

[...] that to the longstanding “feud” between Sparks and the RSVCA, and you have the disasterous new positioning suggestion for Sparks to be known as “Nevada’s Festival City…. Here’s yet another unbelievable, unfounded brand position. Unfortunately, this one cost [...]

By: Branding The Reno-Sparks Region « smartbrandblog

Branding The Reno-Sparks Region « smartbrandblog — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:26:19 +0000

[...] Tactics For…Sterling Doak on A Social Media Blunder To End …Sterling Doak on Sparks, Nevada – Be The B…Erik Flippo on Sparks, Nevada – Be [...]

By: Sterling Doak

Sterling Doak — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:35:38 +0000

Mr. Brooks contends that one must “earn the brand”, which I think is just patently wrong, but it does make more sense to me now. If DD contends that a location must earn their brand, instead of merely communicate the unique aspects of the one they already have, then the sky is the limit for DD to shuffle the same checks around the country. Which falls squarely in the jurisdiction of commercializing locations and not branding locations.

I had a good friend and local Sparks businessman equate this with Snake Oil. I am beginning to wonder if he was right all along. Communities should look long and hard at… errrrreheeeem Reno… at this exchange. This blog post is a professional case study on what NOT to do. Larry, congrats on housing it.

And Reno, if you think this can’t happen to you, no amount of cocktail meetings can subvert people’s thoughts and opinions about what Sparks is going through. Open up the forum and leave it open. Show us some transparency. Give the people some ownership. We are the brand advocates. We will decide.

By: Erik Flippo

Erik Flippo — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:13:10 +0000

Now that’s a sticky wicket. Adding insult to injury, Dennis got Destination Development’s name wrong.

By: smartblog

smartblog — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:07:51 +0000

Here’s an interesting update to this story, just released today by Dennis Meyers of the Reno News & Review:

http://www.newsreview.com/reno/content?oid=932494

This is getting more intriguing all the time!

By: grs

grs — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:02:27 +0000

Mr. Brooks may have many years of “branding” experience, and many of his general points about promoting events in Sparks may have merit, but in the end, changing the name of Sparks Marina to Celebration Lake is simply idiotic. Keep in mind that the name violates one of Mr. Brooks’s own criteria for branding in his post above: “#2. Is it unique to Sparks? If it could fit any other community in the region, then it’s too generic.” Festival Place is just as poor. It couldn’t be more generic. You might as well come up with “Event Location.” So the proposed name changes are bad, and the public is concerned that an extravagant amount of money was wasted to come up with these failed slogans.

And by the way, just where is that girl kayaking? Doesn’t look like Sparks Marina . . .

By: Don Vetter

Don Vetter — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:35:31 +0000

Wow
Good stuff…I’m not the brand expert but I want to go back to the process of developing the draft “brand plan” ( I have done these types of activities in the past — most recently as outreach/support for the Sparks Vision Planning Charette)
In the opening day of the sessions — who were the “sparks stakeholders” How were they attracted/recruited? This goes a long way toward the ambassador concept. One technique in public affairs/issue management is to seek out patriarchs and matriarchs of certain network/ community/neighborhood and get them on board. I refer to this as “over the backyard fence” public relations (which in some ways has evolved into twitter and blogs). The first step is to educate, receive feedback, then illuminate that feedback by synthesizing it into the program or idea you are trying to promote. The reason I go back to the incubator is that some of the key stakeholders – some my clients — were never actively brought in to the process. And these are key people in the success or failure of this endeavor which is crucial to the survival of Sparks. Many of the ideas in the draft plan are fantastic, but will require solid and continuing buy-in from the private sector/business leaders either in time or money ( i.e. setting up businesses that cater to the folks enjoying Helms Pit/Sparks Marina/Celebration Lake).
This plan is a start and this type of feedback that Larry is facilitating is something Sparks’ policy leaders should consider. The other consideration — and a pet peeve of mine during theses Adventure Place years — is delivering the goods. Reading the brand draft, Sparks will have to step up its resource allocations in the public safety, maintenance, transportation infrastructure, community relations, advertising and promotion arenas. To make this work will require a holistic view of government priorities and taxpayer allocations to determine what the return on those investments might bring to the local economy and the quality of life for those who call Sparks home.
Don Vetter
Vetter PR, Inc

By: Sterling Doak

Sterling Doak — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:54:04 +0000

A good article that puts a bit of this in context – http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2008/09/the-case-for-pl.html#more – with place branding tips. Many of the points reinforce Destination’s position, but there are a few that seemingly didn’t happen and probably would have helped greatly in the process – particularly Tip #2. It appears this brand development effort is sorely lacking ambassadors and inviting detractors. A loose poll of my peers, family and friends has not returned favorable results for this effort.

By: Mike McDowell

Mike McDowell — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:13:43 +0000

Larry – thank you so much for providing this discussion forum, and “sparking” the conversation (har har). I got more out of reading this string than anything I’ve seen from local TV, radio or newspaper/magazines.

In my experience, I agree that a brand is not a logo or a tagline. A brand is NOTHING MORE and NOTHING LESS than a set of promises. Your brand (often times represented by your logo or tag) must live up to the promise(s) it makes. The downfall is when brands try to make promises they can’t follow through on or that they don’t “own.”

I think that every brand should have a “brand vision” – or where they WANT the brand to be. BUT, the vision can not be so far from the ACTUAL current perception of the brand, or there will be major dissonance – which is what I think we’re experiencing with the branding for Sparks.

Part of “rolling out” a brand is getting buy-in from constituents. Some of those constituents are your clients, some are major stakeholders, some are the general public. I know for a fact that this is one of the most difficult steps in the branding process, but one of the more important. And yes, Roger, branding by consensus is dangerous territory. Any decision is. But, despite the effort to engage the community and gain community equity – it didn’t quite happen. And, based on what I’m hearing so far on our community, people aren’t buying the brand promises just yet.

Like Larry, I hope for the very best for Sparks. But right now, it doesn’t appear that the brand promise is resonating in the hearts and minds of the community.

By: Wolfy

Wolfy — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:31:48 +0000

Visitors coming to sparks looking for the hottie with the 5 year old cellphone are going to be pissed when they get to sparks and find this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/saake/2815467137/

or this

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2816303430_cb045b82b2.jpg

or this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bittermelon/2831178979/

But then again. I never see middle aged men running pissed out of the Eldorado when they don’t score two cougars for winning at the penny slots…

-M

By: myrnatheminx

myrnatheminx — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:03:45 +0000

To me the most salient point in Larry’s post has been missed;

“Overall, the effort has fallen short of conveying what a true, believable, unique brand position is for our neighboring city. I’ll point backward in time to a post I wrote late last year that not only questions our region’s brand positioning, but wondered why a more collaborative Reno/Sparks/Tahoe position was not being financially supported given these unprecedented economic times and shrinking visitor dollars. To me, there is no ultimate purpose or unity in promoting varying brand positions within a geographically interlocked region that does not offer distinct differences between our boundaries.”

Nail on head. The power of the Reno/Tahoe region and Reno/Sparks is THE REGION. Cities and Counties should be pooling their resources to promote the region rather than trying to carve out individual (and tiny) niches.

By: smartblog

smartblog — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:24:32 +0000

This just in:

“THE CONTROVERSY OVER BRANDING SPARKS”
http://downtownmakeover.com/

By: Erik Flippo

Erik Flippo — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:43:06 +0000

Thanks, Larry, for posting the new images. Context is everything, isn’t it?

This supporting collateral only bolsters my contention that everything is derived from the logo. So much of brand reinforcement is visual.

Roger, the examples you gave are of well-known companies that have had decades to build brand reputation. Sparks is not in that enviable position.

And do you honestly think that nobody has ever bought a pair of Nikes because of the swoosh, or a Mercedes because of the hood ornament, or an iPod because of the Apple logo? It’s about status and tribe, my friend.

By: Roger Brooks

Roger Brooks — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:12:53 +0000

Thank you Larry. If you’d like others as well, just let me know. One note: These are just concepts – INCLUDING the logo, which is being refined and “updated” so it has more of a modern look to it. Always a challenge when using a script font. The idea was to incorporate a “spark” – Spark you Enthusiasm. Spark you passion. Light up your love life. The variations can be almost endless.

By: smartblog

smartblog — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:12:14 +0000

FYI to anyone joining this discussion at this stage. I have updated the brand image samples so that you may understand the context of the identity. Wouldn’t want that logo just floating around by itself – how confusing would that be!

By: Roger Brooks

Roger Brooks — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:12:18 +0000

Logos and slogans are not brands. They are marketing messages used to support the brand. It’s not a brand, but a “brand mark.” They are not the lynchpin at all. Brands are perceptions – what people think of when you mention Sparks.

Consider the following: Do you buy Nike shoes over Reebok because you like their logo better? Do you choose Pepsi over Coke because their logo is more attractive? Do you decide which make of car to buy based on the logo? Do you buy Snickers or Hershey because the logo appeals to you more? Would you go to Truckee or Sacramento because their logo is so much more appealing? Do you go to Disneyland because they have such a cool logo?

People will visit Sparks because of the product – what there is to see and do. All successful brands are built on product. Marketing is used to cement your ownership position.

It is impossible to do branding by public consent. And there’s virtually no way to do a logo that will please everyone. 85% of people (in a 1990s survey) dislike the Nike logo and think it has nothing to do with the product, yet that certainly hasn’t stopped people from buying Nike product and the logo is now a powerhouse identity.

Additionally, you never judge a brand by a stand-alone identity. You need to look at in the context in which it’s being used. The identity would NEVER be used as a stand-alone element – as it is at the beginning of this blog, but in the context of a larger message. A billboard, an ad, on business cards, on brochures.

This will be my last post hear, but I think it would be fun to hear from the people who don’t like the direction: What do you think Sparks’ brand should be? Before you post it, ask yourself these questions:

#1. If this were in Fallon or even Truckee, would you make a special trip there for it then turn around and head back home?

#2. Is it unique to Sparks? If it could fit any other community in the region, then it’s too generic.

#3. Is it experiential. Not a “been there, done that” activity.

By: smartblog

smartblog — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:23:30 +0000

In fact, I attended one of those meetings, but unfortunately was not available to attend the last in the series.

I’m not suggesting you “fill your plans with data”, but simply provide the data that served as the basis for your decisions and recommendations.

We all want to “make something happen” for Sparks. Just look at the response to this thread. However, moving forward without a verifiable foundation is the very problem I’m having with this entire process. If there is data that supports your positioning, I think it’s prudent for the public to be able to access it. What better information could you provide to prove your positioning in conjunction with the competitive analysis?

Again, if the “the brand direction, even the tag line” were formulated from a competitive analysis and feasibility test, don’t you think it would be appropriate to attach those findings to your report to substantiate the validity of the directions?

We may not be as capable or non-partisan as you here in northern Nevada, but when we conduct our Brand Charettes – that is exactly what we do. Even for this public DRAFT stage, I believe the data that supports the directives are essential to understanding the basis upon which the brand platform is constructed.

Without it – it’s simply opinion and conjecture. And if that’s the case, then I think your process is seriously flawed.

By: Erik Flippo

Erik Flippo — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:53:56 +0000

Roger said, “Don’t get hung up on the logo and tag line.”

Are you serious? The logo is the lynchpin. It is a visual distillation of everything you want the brand to be, and anything else to be designed derives from and reinforces it. It is most certainly not “1% of the brand.” I question your bona fides on the basis of that assertion alone.

I am hung up on the logo because, if I may be blunt, it’s terrible. The typography is hackneyed, poorly kerned and of inappropriate vintage for a convincingly retro feel. “Nevada” is crammed in there as an afterthought. The whole thing is canted at an apparently random angle.

Perhaps it, too, is just a draft.