Washington CEO magazine posted the following on their site...
How do you think Washington State should promote itself?
The state has had a few false starts in promoting itself to both in-state and out-of-state tourists. The current advertising campaign may help, but it's only a start. What can we do? How would you sell Washington? More ads? Multimedia road shows? A new slogan? (Just kidding.)
So This Was My Response....
"How should Washington market itself? Let's start with concept, then execution.
I moved out here over a year ago now, and thus my wife and I have a pile of relatives from Chi-town that float into SeaTac to visit about every five days or so. What I hear from all of them... "I never knew how beautiful this state was." There's an awareness issue here, most outsiders see Seattle as damp and dreary. Visitors quickly notice the thriving music scene, rolling San Francisco-esque hills, dash of wild west, winter sports, the cuisine scene... wine country... you name it. We have all of the benefits of California with a little less sunshine but a lot less attitude.
Part of the problem is that most mass media that has brought national awareness to Seattle is not really Seattle-centric. Does Grey's Anatomy and Sleepless in Seattle really the heart of Washington? Sort of. Movies like Singles or programs like Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure have faded into memory, which were much more honest in their version of quirky northwest lifestyle.
Many campaigns have be structured around the whole "all you can do is right here" package. California is recently doing just that in their television advertising. The state of Virgina also did a diversity push, which was geared towards budding filmmakers, their claim... our individual counties looks like a lot of other states. You'll have California, Nevada, Maine and Florida all in one region. So yeah, it's been done before. But in the tradition of Mircosoft we can take something that has been done and do it differently.
The message is simple, Washington is an exciting place has a lot of stuff happening, and you should be a part of it. Like San Francisco in the 60s, New York in the 70s, Los Angeles in the 80s.... this is the big thing now. We need to be larger than life. We're progressive, fun, exciting, with a lot of brainpower. See major plays tested before they hit Broadway, see bands before the make it big, snowboard down Mt. Rainer, know the latest and greatest before it hits the rest of the country. Many companies test their products here because we're so d*** picky. Use it to an advantage. Forget rest and relaxation... this place is like an espresso shot to the soul. In fact... that's a good starting point.
Execution, this is Microsoft country. Let's look at the internet. It's already a buzz generator, let's channel it to make Seattle the place where it's all coming from. After all, you can download music and plays... but you cannot experience them live online. Use the internet as a teaser for an up and coming happening destination. Gear the message to "look what you're missing by not being here." In a climate where Obama can rise to power by soliciting "change" and "hope," it says people want something new. The trick is to find inventive ways to present the information in a way where it says "seeing in online just isn't enough." Look at how "Improv Everywhere" promotes New York every time they pull a wacky stunt.
In short, we're exciting. Since so many connect Seattle with grunge it's a good fit, and it's true. We have the capacity to pull this off, we just need someone to tie it together."
