In our blog series on "Will Your City Be DOA in the 21st Century" explored branding as a strategy for sustainability and, even better, thrivability for local goverments. We keep getting questions about this, so we're going to unpack that idea.

Why is branding, and specifically place branding, so important? And just exactly what is it? And lastly, how do you start the process?

Why?

Branding is important because your town is in competition with hundreds, if not thousands of other local governments for highly talented and resourceful residents, businesses and organizations. You want the economic engine of the 21st century – “that creative class of people” as Richard Florida has called them – to come live, stay and grow their families and businesses in your town. Branding is the emotional magnet that will draw them to you, and keep them there.

What?

A brand is a living, breathing relationship that is forever changing between your stakeholders and the focus of that relationship: your civic brand, which is a clearly defined and identified entity with an associated promise of value, purpose and values.

Walking y/our talk

We’re practicing what we preach… what we wrote about in our 4-part DOA series is now being testing in real-time in real world circumstances. No posturing and pontificating professors here.

As luck would have it, one of us (Whitney) had a devastating direct experience of a community arriving DOA in the 21st century. Actually, his community isn’t DOA – but is on serious life support and will be in ER for a long time to come. Whitney and his wife has a country home in Anderson Springs, CA. He will be forever grateful that his is one of the few that escaped destruction.

Valley Fire

On September 12th a raging forest inferno, called the Valley Fire, (the fastest moving and third worst fire in CA history) swept through Anderson Springs in Lake County like a blowtorch. 90% of homes were destroyed leaving less than 20 structures standing, 1,000 residents displaced and 2 dead. An absolutely horrible way to be thrust into thinking about rebuilding, revitalizing and becoming a sustainable community.

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