One learning from last night’s Apprentice does location branding was that Rome wasn’t built – or rebranded – in a day.
Watching the 2 teams desperately trying to complete a task in two days that could easily take 6 months to do properly, was an important reminder that if you are looking to create a distinctive, credible and inspiring re-positioning of a place, you probably need to give it a bit of time.
And whilst highly entertaining as a piece of TV, it does rather undervalue the transformational impact that a well thought thorough location brand strategy can have. And we should know having developed the original strategy for the rebranding of New Zealand that led to the 100% Pure campaign – generally acknowledged to be the first really effective rebranding of a country.
For all its superficiality it was none the less, a fascinating task – and some of the team's instincts were right. Getting to an honest assessment of the place you’re rebranding is critical – even if the residents don’t like it. I well remember telling the great and the good of the Isle of Wight a few home truths, only to be told that the world was wrong because the Isle of Wight was simply the best place in the world.
Whilst maybe slightly biased, really getting under the skin of what makes or made a place special is always a good place to start. And doing this amongst the residents, with camera in hand might have benefited both teams last night. Certainly it would have produced more insight than asking a man/woman in ‘transit’ in a gay bar whether Margate should be repositioned as a Gay Friendly town.
We didn’t really get a sense of what Margate might be capable of until the pitches to the residents when some thoughts about an emerging arts and cultural scene were raised.
The teams might also have put some quality thinking into what today’s more sophisticated British tourists are looking for from their weekend break or summer holiday. I suspect mini golf and pottery painting aren’t up there for most families – and, as Sir Alan pointed out, a vast barren beach with no children to play with probably isn’t a great advert either. Whilst being able to hold hands and eat ice cream wouldn’t get me out of bed, let alone out of London.
What ultimately did it for Deborah’s team though, was not the lack of strategy, but the lack of leaflet, and some horrible looking posters. The one thing that any location brand campaign has to do is make the place attractive to people – and they just didn’t.
So on the basis of never having visited Margate and watching last night’s programme, would we have done any better. Two thoughts occurred to me last night. Margate doesn’t look good in wide angle – but some of the detail – albeit slightly faded, could work. And secondly, the idea that there are real gems to discover – small things to find that would interest a market a bit jaded by a world of superficiality and Disney characters.
The idea that Margate could still surprise you – with a focus on small detail, and a leaflet a bit like a nostalgic I-spy book – could have played up the strengths and created something distinctive rather than a slightly shabby me-too to Brighton. And as for the all important tagline. Well how about “Find the ahh in Margate.” OK, I know – Corporate Edge – you’re fired.