Yes. But it’s not the tag line attendees at yesterday’s luncheon chose to describe our city. Coming in at 53%, Houston should be known as The City of Opportunity, which you may recall from last month’s luncheon was Mayor White’s favorite. Second place at 23% was Houston’s Hot. Lots of creative types still like this slogan from the 1990s. Third place at 13% was The Energy Capital. Yawn. It’s Worth It drew 10% and the final choice–The Space City–had no takers. That one’s really so yesterday.
The survey was part of Ed Schipul’s presentation on the Mobile Web. The idea was to conduct the survey and announce the results in real time to show how quickly communication can move these days. Only problem was we were having lunch at Brennan’s which hasn’t quite joined the Internet-for-everybody-everywhere world yet. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. After all, the restaurant is supposed to be reminiscent of laid-back Southern comfort. And as long as they can keep producing desserts like yesterday’s pecan pie with vanilla Blue Bell, I’m okay with being Internetless. Brennan’s is getting there, though. The manager explained that they do have wireless Internet, but just for their business records purposes. They hope to have wireless public access in a couple of months.
So maybe Ed will seem less out of sorts when he speaks to our group again once Brennan’s joins the wireless age. Just kidding. Ed took it all in stride and promptly answered my thank-you-for-speaking email with three links to access the info he shared with us at the luncheon and afternoon workshop and a link I could use to email everyone who attended yesterday. Does the guy sleep?
Check out his info: Wrap-up Blog
August 30, 2008 at 9:40 am |
I love the real time polling and can see a million conceivable uses for it. As for the slogan issue, the fact that “I (heart symbol) NY” is the best and most recognized city slogan of all time shows how a slogan in and of itself is pretty meaningless. It really isn’t about the words; it has to evoke a feeling and tap into a passion. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” is a good example of embracing something that a portion of the population would find distasteful — but clearly taps into the cache of the city. Ultimately, it needs to be real and come from the street — not out of some insulated brainstorm session of marcom folks.
September 3, 2008 at 2:42 am |
Thanks for the wrap up blog post. I do suspect the results of the poll were seeded by the Mayor stating his preference at the July luncheon. And yes, the desserts at Brennan’s are to die for!
September 3, 2008 at 1:03 pm |
I, like the majority, voted for City of Opportunity. But I think much of its appeal is in the rhythm of “City of . . . .” And, upon reflection, I’ve decided it’s still a little generic. Energy is our category, like it or not (I do!), and I think we should lay claim to it. No other city can! But it just needs a little tweak. To me, “City of Energy” takes the best of “City of Opportunity,” “Energy Capital,” and “It’s Hot!” (with its double entendre). It spotlights our uniqueness, identifies the energy of this dynamic city and has a little fun at the same time, lest we take ourselves too seriously.