Competitive Identity and Washington, DC

In response to the previous blog entry, DC1974 sums up quite succinctly the problem with branding all of the center city business districts with a single identity, writing:

It seems like having a massive "center city" takes away from the potential to "brand" different areas to different industries. And attract industries that are currently growing in much larger numbers in Bethesda, Silver Spring, Alexandria and Fairfax -- especially IT and advertising, but also nonprofit.

Take New York where there is media area concentrated around Penn Station. And the financial area around Wall Street. Or SF with South of Market being the arts and design, lower potrero hill being architecture and interiors, and the area north of the financial district being TV and advertising. "Downtown" in SF is actually the area around Union Square -- the Financial District is separate.

By branding this all "downtown" or "center city" moves DC further along to having only federal and law firm jobs. And also then losing the people that would work for other white collar industries to the suburbs.
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For another project I'm working on, I am trying to get Simon Anholt to come to Washington to speak. He is the author of Brand America and Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions. (I'm trying to read these books now, along with everything else.) Unfortunately, he is tied up for most of the year, doing work in other parts of the globe.


Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions is particular relevant to this issue. SO is quite an old book, Kotler's Marketing Places. Anholt takes a far more strategic view.

I have a line about government, that it's too important to leave to people with training in public administration, that's why planning is so important, and should have a higher position and role within government practice.

"Branding" and Identity for the City of Washington is far too important to leave only to business people and marketers. Identity is about authenticity. Too often, branding is about selling.


I'm thinking that if I do get a PhD I'm gonna have to carve out a special niche in terms of marketing public services, government services, identity, civic engagement, etc.

See for example:
-- More on Metro and rethinking transit marketing
-- Making Transit Sexy.