Dayton has a new brand name

I believe in the power of Branding. In business to consumer marketing there is little that is more powerful or valuable than your brand name. It is the reason we buy most all of our household items every day. Brand names reduce the perceived risk in purchasing decisions. We all remember when P&G hit it on the head: “Choosy Moms Choose Jiff”.

It also works in a Business to Business situation. GE aircraft engines are fantastic. I could not afford to buy one as one consumer, but airlines want their clients to feel comforted in the quality engines that they do buy. GE reduces the perceived risk of an airline, and by extension the airline passenger, with their strong reputation and brand name.

This does not work with the Government Sector.

I am sure many of you have read the recent Dayton Daily News Article about Dayton’s new Brand Name. Visit the link to the article. To summarize, it cost $95,000 to come up with that title and look. It will cost $50,000 this year for a local marketing firm to manage the brand name.

This is what we got for $145,000.00

The only problem is this: When in the history on man kind has anyone moved a business to a city because of a brand name or slogan? I am not sure how much more plainly I can say this: Never.

If the end goal of this new brand name is to spend tax payers’ money, then I think the project was a success. If they had any other goal in mind, they are going to be once again scratching their heads wondering why the businesses didn’t come flooding in due to our new brand name and slogan.

We all know of places that are growing: Silicon Valley, the “Tech Triangle” in North Carolina and even to use an international example, Dubai. Do you think that they changed their slogan and growth happened? Of course not, that is a ridiculous conclusion.

So, what did they do with their money if not invest it in a catchy slogan? The Tech Triangle courted all of those businesses by offering hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives. What did Dubai do? The same thing. Silicon Valley? You guessed it. Those businesses were courted by tax rebates and incentives galore. The results speak for themselves in these three different situations.

It is out of ignorance that a city like Dayton would be willing to spend $145,000 on a slogan rather than investing in tax incentives (in whatever form they may take) to keep current and court new businesses to the region. States and cities do not need slogans or brands. They need effective policies that manage their current mix of businesses and court new ones on a continuous basis. Each city is in competition with each other city to court these businesses. No business will move to a place unless there is some financial incentive.

To do anything else would be Patently Stupid.