I actually really like it. Cleveland is quietly gaining some positive mojo.

 

Awful, lacking diversity, lacks shots of university circle, lacking soul. Cleveland's worst enemy has always been its residence. Unfortunately, this was not a shot in the arm. By-the-way, the whole bonjovi, Bruce Springsteen rock vibe is tired. I like the others posters idea, Welcome Home or Come on home theme.

^ I didn't get any kind of Springsteen vibe, and most certainly there was no aura of Bon Jovi in the mix.

 

I work in marketing and have developed many campaigns here in NYC and I'd have to say this strategically hits the mark for Cleveland.  It addresses the negative stereotypes head on and that's what the city needs to overcome because the city has excellent assets that will surprise visitors.  I very much live the direction.

It just seems to me that this idea that Cleveland needs to overcome a negative stereotype is dated.  Just last night, I was walking into my local in the French Quarter and there were a bunch of people talking to the bartender.  They were all talking about getting to Cleveland soon because the food scene "is just blowing up".

None of these people are native Clevelanders, but Michael Symon and people taking notice of Sokolowski's James Beard Award are huge contributors to this idea.

 

And now our campaign is "Don't believe what you hear about Cleveland"?!?

 

"The word "Cleveland" elicits a negative reaction in focus groups unlike anything researchers have ever seen.

 

Gilbert says that among slogans in competing markets, "Cleveland Rocks" was the most recognized behind "Pure Michigan." But the "Cleveland Rocks" slogan does not motivate people to come here. The slogan turns off people under the age of 45."

 

http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2014/03/positively_cleveland_looks_to.html

 

 

^ that knowledge should be turned on its head and run with. i'd go with "the full cleveland" - that has ironic, hipster-ish appeal. that is, if the goal is to attract people younger than the boomer era.

I've been a vocal critic of quite a few of the local marketing efforts but I think they got it right with this and it's something I plan to share with friends.

 

"Awful, lacking diversity, lacks shots of university circle, lacking soul. Cleveland's worst enemy has always been its residence. Unfortunately, this was not a shot in the arm. By-the-way, the whole bonjovi, Bruce Springsteen rock vibe is tired. I like the others posters idea, Welcome Home or Come on home theme."

 

Lacking diversity... I must not have seen the same video, and the same can be said for shots of University Circle. Did I click on the wrong link? I've listened to plenty of Bon Jovi and Springsteen in my day and the song I heard (which I enjoyed) has little in common. As far as the subjective intangible of 'soul' ... I think soul knows no color.

I would have liked to see more shots of the lake. Perhaps the closing shot of Cleveland could have captured a view of the lake. The video makes Cleveland look land locked like Columbus. Other than that, I like the video.

wow, I finally got a chance to watch it.

 

I. F**king. LOVED IT. Loved.

I gotta say, they hit it out of the park. I was really skeptical. Glad I was wrong. Love LOVE that they used a local band, and I think they nailed the things that make this city great.

 

It's toed the line of promoting the city and saying F@#$ you to the haters.

Loved it...

so, we can all add Mark Naymik to our hit list

I've been a vocal critic of quite a few of the local marketing efforts but I think they got it right with this and it's something I plan to share with friends.

 

"Awful, lacking diversity, lacks shots of university circle, lacking soul. Cleveland's worst enemy has always been its residence. Unfortunately, this was not a shot in the arm. By-the-way, the whole bonjovi, Bruce Springsteen rock vibe is tired. I like the others posters idea, Welcome Home or Come on home theme."

 

Lacking diversity... I must not have seen the same video, and the same can be said for shots of University Circle. Did I click on the wrong link? I've listened to plenty of Bon Jovi and Springsteen in my day and the song I heard (which I enjoyed) has little in common. As far as the subjective intangible of 'soul' ... I think soul knows no color.

 

Plusses: High quality shots of the urban environment, little focus on sports, not family-oriented, no explicit 'shopping' references. Several bicycle shots, a few shots of the parks. Good attempt at playing up Rust Belt Chic.

 

Minuses:

Too focused on the gentrified areas of the city

Typical diversity strategy - the video shows integrated groups of people that are majority white, or a single person of color. Clearly made for the young white hipster, the Urban Saviour, with just enough diversity and White tattooed weirdness to be non-threatening to the under 45 crowd.

The food shown also was pretty mainstream foodie stuff - little ethnic food beyond the single Asian smiling lady.

I'd also like it if the shots were more than half a second long.

No shots of public transport? One of Cleveland's best assets is its rail system. Hipsters love rail.

Too many restaurant shots - a few selective shots of some surrounding hills and mountains would be very attractive to the Urban Saviors.

Finally saw the video and really liked it. I will echo a couple of the comments. Some more shots of the lake and rail would have been nice to show something that makes Cleveland unique.

^

Good catch, it would have been nice to include RTA shots.  Weird that wasn't immediately recognized as an asset.

 

ITS very similar in to the Case Law school video--which has some good narrative when not talking about law school/law firms..... (like, if you want to fall in love---this is the city!). At least ten images in this 'new' video is taken from that one---Wade Oval, the West Side Market, the guy smiling, and a bunch of others. BUT---the Case law school video has a great shot of the rapid at Tower City---looks like a regular big city subway (not street-running light rail crap!)  AND has some great shots of the lake or the city with the lake on the background.  A few posters here mentioned the train and the lake. I agree with those comments.

 

Here's the case video---scroll down to the third row (not the video at the top of the page):  law.case.edu

 

Could the Positively Cleveland video better edited a bit? I realize its tied to the song's length, but some train or lake images could substitute something else.....

There's no video they could have made that everyone will agree with, everyone has personal opinions about what would have made it better, stronger, more diverse, different pictures, shorten the song, etc. But overall I think it's a great effort and we as local citizens would be well-served to get behind it and promote it positively as the sort of "ambassadors" that we are for the city. I'm not saying that to dissuade debate or discussion about it, but it seems almost too "Cleveland" for there to be this great video and people still finding fault with it, especially considering the "we have burgers and parking" angle we thought it was going to be, and it's obviously much better than that. I would love to see people coming together to support their efforts. I'm sure people who work at P.C. have a very tough job and know they're not going to please everyone. I sure wouldn't want to work there.

^Don't get me wrong. I like it. I just found it odd that its SO similar to the CWRU video that came out over a year ago--and even uses  a lot of the same images! I just wished it showed the water and the rapid.

I get that. I think we all have things we wish they'd have shown that didn't. I think I never saw the Case video so it was "all new to me," in the words of Norman Thayer.

 

Edited to add: as a for instance, we have a huge and vibrant theater scene. I don't think I saw one shot of any type of live theater performance, though if they had included something, it likely would have been Playhouse Square, which doesn't even employ local actors for 99% of their productions. It would have been great to have a shot from CPT's Pandemonium benefit, for example, or even a still press photo from a Dobama production or what have you.

I never saw the Case video everyone is comparing it to, but that's a shame if they are so similar.  I have to believe a good amount of money was spent to develop that video...

I like it. A lot.

 

We can quibble over some of the details but under the 80/20 rule 80% of the ad is spot on. They even made fun of the Browns. Maybe they will add some of the things that we are talking about when they edit they shorter/alternative  segments.  Like trains or lake shots, or sunsets at edgewater.

 

 

 

 

Well I like the video. It is weird that so many shots were pulled from the Case video.(check it out, it's the one for the law school  http://law.case.edu/) I think Glazen does their stuff. But I do like the narrative throughout and the attitude it presents. I wonder if they have a few more in the 'can' for different demo's. That would make sense.

Just rewatched the Case video. I too am surprised about all of the same video scenes. Not a major issue though. I do like that RTA shot in the Case video though.

The video seems dated, and the "Cleveland sucks but it also rocks" self effacement is tired. The Black Keys knock-off band was an appropriate choice for the video.

I finally watched the video, and I really like it.  I would like it better if they kept the "were not trendy" message and dropped the "don't believe what you hear" message, but hey, I ain't paying for it.

 

 

The Black Keys knock-off band

 

Kind of harsh bro...these guys already have a pretty solid resume' even nationally. They also have a good history in Cle in some form or another over the years, maybe the BlackKeys copied them?

^ According to their website they formed in 2013 and are working on their first full length album. The Black Keys have, what, 4 albums?

I honestly thought it was the black keys until the credit at the end.

'you may have read the stories. heard the jokes.'

 

oh no, no, no. i thought they were about to flash a plain dealer article. i absolutely cannot stand starting something/anything about the city like that!!! but other than the tired self-deprecation intro, i liked the rest of it. agree there is no way they were going to get every possible good shot in such a short promo, but yeah pretty egregious errors to leave out lake freakin erie, people of color and rta. some of it was repetitive, like the restaurant stuff, so maybe they will edit it a bit?

After watching it again, I definitely think some transit footage and shots of/from Lake Erie would be a nice addition. I also found myself wondering about those of you who are saying there's a lack of 'people of color':

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do the crowd shots count? I'm guessing people of color patronize or participate in Playhouse Square, Cavs games, the Orchestra, WOW Wednesdays (fyi, those last two are in University Circle for those who think they missed the area), etc. Sure, I suppose they could use more Asian and Latino representation, but I think the saying "looking for t!ts on an ant" is applicable.

 

I honestly thought it was the black keys until the credit at the end.

 

Same here

What MayDay said. Exactly.

Very interesting read... If it's true about the KC firm I'll be very disappointed. It would be such a slap in the face to local talent.

 

http://www.jaspr.co/blog/2014/3/20/dear-cleveland.html

apparently, the lake was left out on purpose?

 

http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2014/03/clevelands_lakefront_parks_mis.html#incart_river_default

This ad campaign reminds me of this:

 

^^I don't understand their reasoning. They couldn't get any attractive shots of people playing volleyball in Whiskey Island or barbequing at Edgewater Park? Those are huge attractions today, regardless of some bizarre concern with overpromising? The whole ad is about overpromising - that's the very nature of such videos.

 

My guess is the Kansas City company didn't do its homework, and Gilbert didn't want to rock the boat.

 

 

I don't get it either. I mean, Mentor Headlands could have been included. How is that "overpromising?" Or people picnicking at Huntington or dancing to a band at Whiskey Island.

^Are there any other parts of the video from the suburbs?

Wasn't Cedar Point in the video somewhere? Which isn't remotely a 'burb, obviously.

^Are there any other parts of the video from the suburbs?

 

Coventry in CH was in there.

apparently, the lake was left out on purpose?

 

http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2014/03/clevelands_lakefront_parks_mis.html#incart_river_default

 

The firm contacted me to provide them lake footage, particularly of surfing. So for the record: The KC firm wanted to use lake footage.

.

Very interesting read... If it's true about the KC firm I'll be very disappointed. It would be such a slap in the face to local talent.

 

http://www.jaspr.co/blog/2014/3/20/dear-cleveland.html

 

In fairness, MMGY, the KC firm, only does this one thing.  Work with CVB across the country, they went with the experts on doing this sort of thing, which is hard to fault them for...

 

Keep in mind that while they are working with this branding firm, a ton of other local agencies/firms are handling other aspects of this brand campaign activation, from the PR, social media, advertising, etc elements.

 

 

Yeah no big deal. It makes sense to go with the experts rather than assembling a random group of locals to work as a team and put this thing together. They just appear to be mad that they and their friends didnt get the job and $$$

well, "random group of locals" really doesn't respect the amount of talent we have here. I can see bringing in a group like that as an advisory board or to work in conjunction with some locals, but this is like buying an American Flag made in China somehow. It doesn't sit well with me.

I'm going to play MTS here and just say that we don't know the vetting process Positively Cleveland used in deciding on which firm to use. It's entirely possible that local firms were considered and it was determined that the KC firm was the best fit. I don't know that was the case, but I'm not dismissing the possibility out of hand, either.

 

I'm hoping that they would make an effort to use as much local talent as possible, but I also want the best product, and if an out of town firm provides that, so be it.

That's fair. We do want the best product for it. But it's kind of detrimental to the "cause" of the whole video to say "Cleveland is great! We're awesome!" Except we had to bring in this company from a whole different state to do our video, because nobody's work here was good enough!

I'm somewhat stunned at some of the complaints on here about this campaign. If you look at it with some perspective and whether it will send the right message to the intended audience, which is not most of you, it really works. I showed it to a bunch of people here in California and the overwhelming response was very positive (most had little first hand experience with Cleveland). I mean who cares if they used some shots from the Case video, if it saved money so they could make the larger project better then great!, or if they didn't get a pic of RTA or the beach?? I mean in the big picture this is a good thing, Cleveland has so much to offer it's extremely difficult to put it all in one video, that's a good problem to have. It's like looking at a beautiful nude and focusing on the tiny zit on her thigh versus the big picture. Nothing is perfect and won't make everyone happy but look at it from a larger point of view.

I'm sure Positively Cleveland did their due diligence when selecting the right company for this campaign and to me they did a great job using local talent when they could. I have no idea but did local companies do the previous campaigns? Cleveland Rocks, Plumb? If so I would say there isn't a very good local track record. Plus getting some outside the area fresh objective ideas and energy is probably a good thing in this case. From the very beginning people were jumping all over this when all they saw was one possible page of the campaign and all of a sudden it's the end times. From a purely outside perspective Clevelanders have a horrible half glass mentality which is one of the biggest obstacles for the region and not sure how that is going to be fixed except for an influx of new residents who don't have all the baggage.

Well, in our defense, if I saw a zit on a beatiful nude, I would find that extremely distracting. I mean, we have the technology to get rid of that now. Why wouldn't they have airbrushed it off? And for gods' sake, can we do something about that staple. We can send a robot car to Mars, but can't get rid of a staple on a belly button??

 

...............I'm missing the point, aren't I?

I was going to make that point too.  Of course they will showcase the mainstream options in Cleveland; it is intended as a travel promo, right?  People traveling to a city will most likely look at in the handful of major neighborhoods in town and that's what the video is promoting. 

I'm fine with carpetbagging if the result is positive. The problem is the video seems generic, something that with a few tweaks could be used in any number of struggling mid-sized cities, and focuses on the wrong things. Restaurants and hipsters/attractive young professionals are the predominant images you see instead of neighborhoods and families. Grit and water and parks and steel and hospitals and theaters and schools and churches and people over 40 and actual residents and RTA -- more of those things we need. Show us names of neighborhoods alongside images of homes and construction as opposed to over-sized text that says nothing of importance.

 

The more times I watch the video, the more I dislike it.

 

I agree, some kind of RTA rail footage should be used.  There are truly majestic vistas of Red Line trains on the long viaduct over the Cuyahoga River and the Flats, yet you never see this in any of promotional videos.