Before last week, we had not heard of the Responsible Hospitality Institute (RHI), which organized the Pittsburgh conference and is staging similar events for “nightlife solutions” in 20 states this year.  Here are some highlights of the Institute’s strategies. (plus, read Post-Gazette article on the Conference)

What is a Hospitality Zone?

These are often located in a mixed-use business district. Within many districts a Hospitality Zone is…

“…an area of specialized mixed uses distinguished by a high concentration of dining and entertainment businesses, such as restaurants, pubs, taverns, cafes and nightclubs… (It) often has an active street life and may serve as a center for community fairs, festivals and events.”

But, according to RHI…

“unplanned hospitality zones are costly, lead to conflicts, excessive burdens on police and demands on elected officials to manage safety and quality of life impacts.”

South Side:  Working on solutions

One element that often distinguishes these zones is the serving of alcohol, which, when combined with entertainment, can cause a variety of problems in communities. For example, here are the results of a study of the South Side summer weekend night arrests from 2007-09:

• • median # of arrests/weekend:  4
  • 40% for drunken driving
  • 28% for simple assault
  • 15% for drug violations

In addition, 61 % of all South Side arrests throughout the entire day took place between midnight and 3:00 am.  And when the police conducted Operation Sweep for 12 weeks from April through June 2007, the median number of arrests per weekend jumped to 48 —up from 4 per weekend of normal policing!  That’s because an extra 33 police officers patrolled for those 12 weekends.  BTW, the South Side has 124 liquor licenses with the capacity to serve 20,000 people at any one time—i.e. 4 bar stools for each of its residents over the age of 18!

So, the key question with Hospitality Zones is how  can they contribute to the vitality of a city or a community without the downside?  The answer is in planning, management, partnerships and a new kind of enforcement strategy. The South Side now has a detailed analysis and plan developed on Hospitality Zone principles. Read the August 1, 2010 followup article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:  South Side bar owners try to keep the peace.

The other 9-5 economy

Most people work in the daytime 9-5 economy. Some of them play in the nighttime 9-5 economy, too. Despite the potential problems, a vibrant and safe nightlife can add much to a city. Consider the employment and taxes generated by this economy.  Plus the diverse venues in a hospitality zone provide varied ways for people to socialize, from residents to tourists. Read here about the potential positive impacts that well planned and managed hospitality zones can produce.

RHI spotlights six core elements to develop a “safe and vibrant nighttime economy” including:  • Entertainment • Multi-use sidewalks • Venue safety • Public safety • Transportation • Quality of life (for the community).

Targeting several ‘Social Generations’

First, in the planning process it helps to think of potential markets for Hospitality Zones.  Many districts narrowly focus on young singles and the bar and club scene.  Instead, think of 4 potential generational markets defined by RHI offering “diverse options for diverse ages and cultures:”

• Singles—individuals in their late teens and early 20s with limited funds.
• Mingles—older couples or social groups of any age with a common interest
• Families—having children often reduces the frequency of going out, but not entirely
• Jingles—business travelers, vacationers, or empty nesters with more money to spend

Planned and managed properly, a Hospitality Zone is a place “where people of diverse ages, incomes and lifestyles unite as a community to share food, beverages, music and dance in public venues.” Good planning and management makes the zones much easier to market.

A shift in thinking—to “concierge” government and policing

Sociable City advocates also make the assumption that most businesses want to do the right thing and that most consumers are well behaved. A healthy Hospitality Zone is more helpful in many ways to businesses, as well as customers and residents.  It involves shifts in thinking:

• from enforcement (catching) to compliance (educating)
• from policing to problem solving
• from security (“guns & badges”) to safety (safe environment & monitoring)

More than one speaker at the June 8^th Conference in Pittsburgh recommended not using off-duty police officers for nighttime enforcement, but rather a trained team.  In Gainesville the team includes specially trained police and graduate students.  In addition, some Hospitality Zone plans provide a variety of support systems for businesses, starting with business planning and including education on codes, compliance and approval processes.

“Soft closings” can help

More than once at the June 8^th conference the experts mentioned the strategy of “soft closings” for bars and clubs, meaning the serving of drinks ends say an hour before the establishment closes.  This can spread out the exodus from a Hospitality Zone and give people time to sober up.  Remember that fully 48% of ALL arrests throughout the day on the South Side happen between 1:00am and 3:00am and that 46% of those are directly related to alcohol.

Stakeholder groups

To make it work, the planning and management process needs to involve a variety of stakeholder groups. RHI’s Sociable City Network unites leaders from six primary stakeholder groups – hospitality, safety, development, community, entertainment and research – with online forums and access to the latest news and event calendars.

MORE INFORMATION at The Sociable City Network.  See the board of directors for the Responsible Hospitality Institute. Find out more about another excellent organization: Project for Public Spaces.  On a related topic check out our blog post on “Revitalize communities and Main Streets with branding and marketing.”

Call or email to discuss your Main Street or Hospitality Zone strategies today.

.

IRWIN | DEUTSCHTOWN | MEXICAN WAR STREETS | DESIGN ZONE  | FACEBOOK

IRWIN, PA—Launching a fresh branding strategy…

In early 2010 this small historic town east of Pittsburgh launched a Main Street branding effort with Randy Strothman and two talented associates—both with marketing and branding experience, as well as fine design track records. This community branding project is a component of a larger streetscape, gateways and infrastructure improvement strategy for the future of the town.

What’s a “bug” got to do with it?

Early in the Irwin identity development process, Randy suggested that perhaps what Irwin and other historic communities need to do is something comparable to what Volkswagen did for the beetle:  reinvigorate “the old tried and true” for today.

About the same time the Pennsylvania Downtown Center announced its 2010 conference theme:  “The Future of the Past.”  Meanwhile, here is the Irwin branding process and the results…

CRITICAL COMMUNITY PROCESS

4 concepts by 2 designers

Community buy-in is so important with any kind of community branding, marketing or development effort. People can be very passionate, opinionated and defensive for their community. So the process of decision making can be as important as the end result.  Here in Irwin, a savvy Steering Committtee, a focus group and a community opinion survey helped to assure that the logo design would meet approval and be embraced going forward.  In this case 95% of the people surveyed opted for the final choice of two community logo options.

CREATIVE CHOICES & BRAND MESSAGE

6 color schemes-final logo

This project also intentionally tapped the diverse styles of two designers in two different settings. No cross-fertilization allowed. That gave the Irwin committee 4 distinctly different logo style options to choose from initially, plus two dozen tagline options.  Once they chose a design the creative team offered 6 different color schemes to choose from. The creative choices are all about how best to reflect the personality of and vision for their community—and appeal to their target audiences.

After two and a half months of research, discussion, designing and strategizing, the branding and marketing deliverables for the Irwin community include:

• New logo and call-to-action tagline
• Brand Standards outline
• Creative Brief and Positioning Statement
• New market research: demographic & lifestyles
• Community branding opinion survey
• Marketing Snapshot analysis for planning

This FlexTeam project launched in January and wrapped up in mid April.  To see more examples of community logos, click on the icon to the left [PDF].  Plus… get a free ESRI community lifestyle report on your community by entering your zip code in the “What’s in a neighborhood?” on the right side of the ESRI home page.

.

DEUTSCHTOWN—Multi-faceted branding tactics

In Randy Strothman’s own community of Deutschtown, redevelopment and re-branding are working hand in hand to create positive momentum in a stressed urban environment—disrupted decades ago by an 8-lane freeway project and flight to the suburbs.  While the real “heavy lifting” is about investment and renovation—the community loves dumpsters and the music of circular saws and hammers—branding and marketing have encouraged that in recent years.

One of the biggest boosts for the brand image of the community was the staging of its first historic house tour in 2005.  Deutschtown had witnessed the success of nearby neighborhoods with their tours and decided to go for it.  Eight wonderfully restored homes were featured, 675 pleasantly surprised people toured and the publicity helped not only with the image challenge, but also with rebranding and renaming of the community—from East Allegheny to Deutschtown. Bonus: this fund raising effort netted $10,000 for the community council for ongoing renovation.  2010 will be the third tour for Deutschtown.

Plus, new signage and a large German-themed mural convey the new message and brand to thousands of commuters everyday at the gateways to the community. And the opening of several popular new businesses helped to spin the district in the right direction and generated additional positive publicity.

BRANDED COMMUNITY WEBSITE

A new community website launched in 2009 helped to clearly define the unique offerings of this community on the rise.  Part of a volunteer team, Randy created the user friendly architecture for the site and set a warm tone for the site with his writing style and passion for including vibrant images on the site.  In addition, the website clearly establishes a group of “ambassadors” for the community willing to talk with various kinds of interested parties about the community.  That’s part of the welcoming tone of the site, offering real people to talk to. (read more about the creation of the site by volunteers)

MEXICAN WAR STREETS—a brand 40 years in the making

Part of the inspiration for Deutschtown’s launch of a house tour was their success at fund raising and branding for neighboring Mexican War Streets, which has staged fund raising tours for more than 40 years.  It no longer surprises Randy at all that when he says he’s from the Northside of Pittsburgh that they inevitably say “Oh, Mexican War Streets?”

This neighborhood has shaped a strong brand through this and other efforts, particularly the ongoing renovation of homes—one friend has restored more than 30 there!—and most recently a large new townhouse development that is part of a revitalization of a critical traffic artery through the community.

DESIGN ZONE—the arts as an economic development driver

A final example is the creation 10 years ago of a marketing concept for redeveloping the business corridor for Lawrenceville and the Strip District:  the 16:62 Design Zone. It was a visionary branding and marketing effort the community hoped would shape a vibrant, arts-driven future here.  Over time this strategy has attracted scores of new, independent, creative businesses—initially slowly, but then building momentum as more and more of the targeted types of businesses invested.

The websites for Lawrenceville and the Strip District also do a stellar job of branding, positioning and marketing.

FACEBOOK, too— social media for communities

In addition to websites, many communities are using Facebook and posting regularly. Take a look at three in action…

• Strip District Facebook
• Lawrenceville Facebook
• Bloomfield Facebook
• Northside Facebook

BONUS reading: August 9th USA Today article on branding states:  “Seeking tourists, states try to recast their image.“

To discuss or create a success story for your community contact Randy Strothman & Associates.

.

Whether you are a fan of Avatar or not, it demonstrates one of the many technological leaps of the last decade.  Lets look at some others and reflect on how these have evolved the world of marketing communication in Pittsburgh.

DEFINITION of avatar:

A graphic identity you either select from a group of choices or create on your own to represent yourself to the other party in a chat, instant messaging or multiplayer gaming session—from PCMag.com

WEBSITES:  old news, but always evolving

Strrretching the definition, a website is a kind of marketing avatar for a business, acting as its salesman and showroom. While a website is not the company—except for ones that exist only on the web like Amazon.com—the site is out there 24/7,  representing it, acting on its behalf world wide.

One site we completed this year for a remodeling contractor allows visitors to flip through a portfolio of projects—from kitchens to outdoor living spaces.  And an interactive quiz asks homeowners 10 basic questions about where they are in the planning process—and rates the answers in terms of  “readiness”—much like an initial meeting would do.

Since websites compete with each other for attention—and with other traditional and interactive media—the gaming metaphor applies too:  it’s about winning the marketing battle for customer eyeballs and dollars. Not too much of a strrrretch of the analogy.

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS:  do it yourself

Allowing you to easily manage your “avatar” without the help and expense of a webmaster, CMSs are becoming more popular with businesses. Part of the decade’s technology revolution is about making technology more user friendly.

Three of the six websites we worked on this year offer the versatility of managing and updating a website easily—on Joomla or WordPress platforms—giving the owner much more control of the site from day to day or hour to hour.  Combining CMS with Google Analytics, which reports on the activity on your site in great detail, businesses can now fine tune their marketing messages and offers as often as necessary based on actual consumer behavior.

Easing off on the avatar analogy, many other technological innovations have come on quickly and are widely used by millions, even hundreds of millions, of users.

NOTE: In the Old Days you had to tantalize the mass media gatekeepers to tell your latest story; it’s still a good idea.  Nothing like a good story in the mass media.  But now you can tell the world without their help, using your website, blogs, social media and YouTube, to mention a few.  Self publish.

BLOGS & SOCIAL MEDIA:  talk with your customers

A blog or social media platform creates the opportunity for dialog between the business and the customer, enabling a kind of conversation, if set up to allow comments. So, if you like or hate this blog post, you can respond right here and now.  And I can respond back very specifically, not generically.

A recent report by Advertising Age announces there is “no more Joe Consumer… the average American has been replaced by a complex, multidimensional society that defies simplistic labeling.”  Social media, along with rich variety of other Internet options, now enable niche marketing like never before, down to the individual, not just her demographic group.

Fans, Friends and Followers on Facebook and Twitter, for example, mean that you are communicating directly to people  interested in you and/or your business.  These new options—available since 2005 and 2006—take a little time to get working for your business, but not necessarily money.  And they can pay off big time in terms of reaching the people who really do want to hear about you.  There are hundreds of examples of social media marketing having a huge impact on the success of a business.  I’ve got dozens of these stories bookmarked.

TIP:  Use Key Words or Tags in your posts that people will search with.

BTW, the Google search engine discovered this blog within 1 hour of posting.

YOUTUBE:  instant fame and quick success

On a kind of opposite end of today’s high tech spectrum is an example I discovered at a holiday party.  A kind of shy, average neighbor is into “hooping,” a mini revival of the hoola hoop phenomenon for exercise and sporting purposes.  On a laptop at the party I saw for the first time his very primitive video… and was astonished to hear that it had been viewed 4,097 times and got a 4.5 rating out of 5 by reviewers. And check out the comments too: “You rock!.”  This is an amazing example of how the world of marketing has moved from the mass, one-size-fits-all approach to very finely defined niche markets with very special interests.

A much better example is the amazing success of Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent through YouTube.  Her first appearance alone has had more than 80 million viewings.  This has lead to the release and success of her new album. Clearly YouTube, launched in 2005, can reach huge audiences and even give you some indication of the size of that audience.

SMART PHONES:  the web any time any where

The word Crackberry is now officially in the dictionary.  And pretty much everyone knows what iPhone, iPod and iTouch are. This portability revolution—which also includes compact net books and ebook readers—means your message can reach people instantaneously on the road. With tens of thousands of “apps” available, including Twitter and Facebook feeds, your promotions can reach many customers right now on the road, not two hours from now.

It’s a brave new technology world.

Take the leap  if you haven’t already.

A little scary at first, it offers powerful, new and user friendly tools.

.

MORE TECH REVOLUTION INFO

For more info about the decade’s technological advances here are two articles in the pre-New Years Sunday edition of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

Decade’s technical developments have virtual impact on culture

TechMan: In the tech world, this decade was one to remember

.

.

THE CONFLICT

The story began in 2003 when a big Northeast electric grid blackout wreaked havoc from the Midwest to New England.  Fast forward six years to May 2009 when Duquesne Light (DL), now an Australian owned utility, announced that it needs to quickly build a large “Crossover Station” in Allegheny Commons park.  Part of a cooling system for underground multi-megavolt power lines, the station is intended to mitigate the likelihood of another blackout.

Acknowledging that there is a need for a solution to this technological challenge—and that the Feds require a strengthening of the grid— the surrounding communities say “There must be a better solution.”  Many say it in terms that are less civil in response to DL’s proposal for an above ground 28’ x 9’ x 9’ structure in the heart of the park, only yards from the weekly Farmers Market, the annual Pumpkin Fest and restored homes across Cedar Avenue.

It’s also in the section of the park that is about to be restored with a $2,000,000+ investment. (photo shows location ——>)

THE PUSH BACK BEGINS

After a summer of negotiations— during which the Station proposed by DL grew in volume by 2000% —in September the Allegheny Commons Initiative and several community leaders decided it was critical to hear the voice the community. Collaborating with their two City Council representatives, they scheduled a Town Hall meeting for September 28^th.  DL had already launched its public relations campaign for the project earlier in the month and one of the community leaders had already launched her own counter campaign by speaking at several neighborhood meetings.

In preparation for the meeting, the experienced, yet volunteer leadership group built an outreach platform under the banner of “A SHOCKING addition to our park?  Town Meeting Sept. 28”:

• press releases went out to dozens of media
• email invitations went to hundreds of residents and other stakeholders
• a PowerPoint presentation was created
• a panel of experts was assembled to speak
• a full size mockup of the Station was built ———>

TOWN MEETING

The result was impressive. Approximately 200 people representing 11 Northside neighborhoods showed up. There was consensus that the current DL strategy was inappropriate for a wide variety of reasons. Three City Council representatives spoke out in support of a better solution for the Station. They and other city officials pledged to pursue political and legal avenues for a better solution. DL did not attend.

EXTENSIVE MEDIA COVERAGE

That night KDKA, WPXI and WDUQ broadcast stories about the meeting and the issues. Starting the next day and continuing for a week, more stories appeared in the press, including in the Post-Gazette, Tribune Review, Northside Chronicle and even on financial websites like iStockAnalyst.com.  Perhaps the most supportive and compelling were two from the Post-Gazette:

• an editorial endorsement of the community position under the title of “Power Grab”
• an article by Ruth Ann Dailey:  “Can citizen power prevail in Allegheny Commons?”

CALLS TO ACTION:  an email followup

Following the meeting, numerous local and regional organizations were solicited for letters of support for the community position.  In a followup email to hundreds of Northside stakeholders four calls to action were offered (exact text follows):

WHAT YOU CAN DO #1: email or call your elected officials

Even a dozen emails or calls can make a huge difference in building our officials’ case for support. While most of them already support this cause, telling them what concerns you gives them more leverage:  Aesthetics/blight?  Preservation? Safety? The precedent? Economic impact? Other? Perhaps use “Stop Duquesne Light” as subject of your email. Simply click on the live links below and send your message or call NOW:

• Councilwoman Darlene Harris
• Councilwoman Tonya Payne, 412-255-0738
• Mayor Ravenstahl, 412-255-2687
• Representative Jake Wheatley, 412-471-7760
• Representative Don Walko, 412-321-5523
• Senator Jim Ferlo, 412-621-3006

WHAT YOU CAN DO #2:  circulate a petition

Attached is a petition you can have signed by neighbors and other stakeholders.  Please return this to Alida Baker at the Allegheny Commons Initiative by October 19th.  She will forward them to various elected officials and other influencers.

WHAT YOU CAN DO #3:  send a donation

Since this issue arose in May, more than $7,000 has already been committed by local organizations in seeking a different solution, money that was not budgeted for by these organizations.  Please make checks out to Northside Leadership Conference and send to:  Alida Baker, ACI, 4 Allegheny Center, Suite 601, 15212

THE STORY IS NOT FINISHED

As of October 20^th negotiations are still underway for a “better solution.”  And stakeholders in the community and their allies in organizations and government continue to push back. There are rumors of new and better options being put on the table.  Stay tuned.

1/29/10 Update: Read the Post-Gazette article “Doing the Electric Slide” and Randy Strothman’s comment there.

1/30/10 Update:  Read the Post-Gazette article “Yep, They Want the Garage“.  It appears DL has made a choice which is not necessarily a win-win.

Randy,

a member of the volunteer community team

POSTSCRIPT on September 28th:

Many of the things that people feared would happen during the Summit did not because of the extensive precautions the City and others took.  In addition, Pittsburgh received much positive publicity around the world—a huge marketing success.  Perhaps our image has changed for thousands of people.  We’re breathing a sigh of relief as things return to normal.

ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS…

As a native Pittsburgher, I truly hope the G20 Summit here is a tribute to our city and safe for all.  There will be some great events to show off many of our city’s great assets. And I’ve even volunteered for the event.  Yet, there are more and more signals every day that many of us need to consider contingency plans for the week of September 21st.  And many already have.

While this post was created on July 29th, it is periodically updated and has links for current information.

Early Warnings

On July 29th I discovered something disconcerting:  G20 demonstrators had applied for a week-long camping permit for Allegheny Commons park on the Northside—very near my office and my home. My initial concern was for the park itself.  Imagining that there could be hundreds, if not thousands, living there for a week, visions of post-Woodstock danced through my head.

I decided to do a little “market research” to find out more.  As I heard more conversations from people in the know, my concern over the impact of the G20 on Pittsburgh grew. Not just about potential violence like in London in April.  I was hearing from reliable sources that big portions of our city could be in lock down, including bridges and major roads. And increasing our police/security from the usual 900 officers to more than 4,500 sends a message too.

A cousin in Seattle, who works for a TV station and experienced the 1999 WTO conference there, said:

WTO was a nightmare for Seattle. The city was completely unprepared for the size and the tactics of the protesters. It wasn’t because of the planned protests, like the unions who planned a massive showing at the event. It was due to the anarchists who came in and hijacked the event. I talked to a number who didn’t care what WTO was about; they just wanted to smash up a Starbucks.

I think Pittsburgh would do well in examining our experience and learning. If an event like that came to Seattle again. I’d be on vacation.  You add anti-terrorist high security to protestor disruption efforts and what have you got?

On August 3rd, KDKA-TV did a story about anarchists already gathering here.

These are things to think about in your preparation for this international event, whether a  business or resident.

Paranoid or prepared? You be the judge.

According to a late July Post-Gazette article about a G20 news conference here, “Pittsburgh G20 organizers urged downtown businesses and residents to plan for anticipated summit disruptions and be ready to revise those plans as conditions warrant.” (press release PDF)  Since then more sources have spelled out some of these disruptions.

I’m realizing that this will affect far more than the downtown.  Businesses and nonprofits in the Strip and on the Northside have started to make contingency plans, in some cases to operate their offices remotely. One G20 security consultant, on an airplane with a friend in mid-July, suggested that most bridges and some major arteries may be inaccessible.

Follow UPDATES on the web as the G20 gets closer.

Here are some sources of information to follow as the Summit approaches. Final details probably won’t be known until the week before the Summit.  On these sites, presumably information will be updated regularly.

New on 9/4/09: G20Buzz.com with live feeds from Twitter, Google News, Flickr and YouTube.

Official Sites

• The City’s traffic and safety updates, set up in early September
• The Pittsburgh Coalition for Security, this site has the contingeny planning documents and is sponsored by a large membership of corporations, nonprofits and agencies.
• The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership
• Global Pittsburgh, will be blogging from inside the summit
• The Pittsburgh Summit 2009 (it’s not clear who is sponsoring this, but it does have a direct link to WhiteHouse.gov)
• World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, a variety of information about the G20 countries and past conferences
• Wikipedia G20 Pittsburgh Summit

Protester Sites

[read the Post-Gazette article on 8/23/09:  Objectors promoting various agendas]

• Bail Out People Movement
• Pittsburgh Organizing Group
• Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project
• above also on Facebook
• Neithercorp Press
• Thomas Merton Center Anti-War Committee
• Action Center for Social Justice
• It’s Getting Hot In Here
• Fight Imperialism, Stand Together-Raleigh, Radical Youth in the US South
• Three Rivers Climate Convergence: United for Environmental Justice

Plus, you can also do a search on Twitter or set up a Google Alert for “Pittsburgh G20.”

Report on 8/5 Meeting

An executive director in the Strip district attended an invitation-only security briefing with the DA’s office, Secret Service and Pittsburgh Police.  Here’s part of her report:

The Pittsburgh Police are are working closely with other law enforcement agencies, Homeland Security, PEMA, FEMA, etc.  They are hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.

As far as traffic, expect the worst.  There will be an exclusion zone that will extend approximately 5 to 6 blocks around the Convention Center. In the exclusion zone, access will be extremely limited and only people with credentials will be allowed to enter.

Want to do something different this summer and save money too? Pittsburgh Water Limo created two new packages that offer fun ways to enjoy attractions along Pittsburgh’s riverbanks: The Weekend Loop and Pirate Ticket Packages. [more at Pittsburgh Happenings on Blogspot]

Combining Traditional Media Relations with Social Media

This posting is the final stage of a public and media relations campaign orchestrated by Randy Strothman & Associates.  The first, Mass Media phase, included 40 faxes and 28 emails to specific writers, editors or assignment desks.  The second phase concentrated on submitting stories to Community-Based Media, including newsletters and websites for neighborhoods and affinity groups. The final phase included distributing the story through Social Media including blogs, websites, Facebook and Twitter.

One early result was that visitors to his website increased 600% during a two day period following a story on 7/15 in PopCity, Pittsburgh’s great weekly ezine.  Similar results were seen in April and June with stories in the Post-Gazette and PopCity.

As additional stories appear, including in community monthlies, there will be more positive impact and visibility for this young company.

My personal assessment is that it turned out very well considering the volunteer-driven, multiple personality process.  I’d still like to see a few “missing teeth” filled in. And I’d like to see a more consistent writing style throughout—the inconsistency is a result of a variety of contributors from the committee. Maybe a stronger social media strategy going forward.  Etc.  Nevertheless, the site does a pretty good job of branding the community and demonstrating the benefits of living, working or playing here.

Architecture, Values, and Tone

Starting with a clear picture of the site structure helped a lot, a structure I developed as one of the volunteers.  We stayed pretty close to this throughout the process. We also developed some philosophical guidelines to guide the process and site’s community values. (view PDF of the architecture)

Philosophically we all more or less agreed that the language should be warm and friendly to invite people in.  That’s how I tried to write my sections.  But not every one was able to capture that tone.  For others considering the multiple writer approach, I’d recommend one experienced writer to polish the various sections for tone and consistency.

Eye Candy

I felt strongly that the site should be rich with visuals.  We have several talented amateur photographers in the neighborhood who provided hundreds of excellent images to our web developer, Cindy Cassell. I provided more than 200 images myself and strongly advocated for images featuring people.  Some sites of this type show empty streets or sidewalks, almost post apocalyptic.  Not very inviting.

Walkability discovered along the way

One thing that we discovered mid-process was the powerful marketing concept of the “walkability” of our community—meaning within the community and to great nearby attractions. How best to represent that?  To me a visual was the best answer, so I created a map demonstrating this key selling point.  Now, I’m not a designer and we didn’t have the funding to convert it to Flash or even html, so it’s there on a PDF.  But it conveys the message fairly well any way.  (click this link, then the “Walkability” link in the right hand column)

Ambassadors

A final and, I think, excellent strategic decision was to include a listing of and contact info for what we’d call “ambassadors” on the Contact Us page. The whole idea, again, was to make the site as friendly as possible, this time in a very real social networking sense, not just social media.  i.e. “We want to talk to you.”  As a result, today I got a call from a reporter at the Tribune Review who wanted to do a story about a new restaurant opening in the neighborhood, Serendipity. But it could just as well from someone interested in moving into Deutsctown.

In any case, we now have a very good site that paints a fine portrait of our community. And Cindy Cassell’s design nicely supports the “warm” community picture we were trying to paint.  Perpaps the insights and strategies here will be valuable to other communities undertaking the job of portraying and marketing their community on the web.

The cover story this month is an interesting approach. A senior editor chose to experiment with his family and neighbors to try to reduce their household energy consumption—to 80% less than the national average. The story of their efforts interweaves with much info about national energy consumption patterns.  Who knew that the energy lost in just TRANSMISSION to your home is twice what we actually USE in our homes?!

Another Green example appeared at the impulse buying area at the check out for Home Depot.  A special issue of Fine Homebuilding features “Energy Smart Homes.” This goes into much more detail about the mechanics of how a home works as what I call a machine. You’ll find articles about how different furnaces work, energy efficient appliances, solar energy and more.  Who knew that your refrigerator consumes twice as much energy as your stove and dishwasher combined?

These are just two examples of the growing support in the mass media for this movement.  New websites, blogs, TV shows and more spring up all the time.  Plus, with the new thinking of the new President and his staff, it would seem as though everybody is getting on board this train.

Politics

Yet, the public is not really embracing this movement as much as you might expect.  Take a look at the data from a 2008 Pittsburgh consumer survey in the first blog on this site.

It seems as though this growing movement is partly hung up on the rocks of bipartisan politics. In some people’s minds it is associated with the Left, Liberalism and maybe even the “S” word—Socialism.

One reminder of this came after seeing the film Wall-E this summer with my Republican parents. Naively I thought the film was cute, clever and mildly thought provoking.  And the kids in the theater seemed to love the characters.

On the other hand my wonderful father saw this differently—as part of the propaganda that Al Gore was spreading across the planet. I was dumbfounded! What I thought was clever and entertaining was not that at all in dad’s eye’s.

Of course this was in the middle of Presidential race and the beginning of the dumbed-down rhetoric of the McCain campaign in the final months—a strategy that clearly did not work.  So maybe that had something to do with this. And my parents watch a lot of Fox News.

Economics

Then there’s the dire state of the US and world economies. Most people are fearful about their economic future and insecure about so many things that seemed bedrock only a little over a year ago, like banks. Perhaps that weakens their interest in things not about survival over the next year.

For example, interest in fuel efficient vehicles seemed to drop off dramatically in December when gas prices were falling. Consumers gobbled up great numbers of SUVs and large pickups. Of course some of the deals were outrageous in order to move inventory.  Like buy one pickup truck and get another one free!

On the other hand, one of my clients, a remodeling contractor, is finding that the big, upscale jobs are harder to find.  But some customers are choosing to spend smaller amounts to do home energy audits and make significant weatherization improvements.  I did that in the last months of 2008 and saw my natural gas budget bill fall by $55 a month! I can attribute much of those savings going forward to the advice of this certified Green contractor, Regis McQuaide.

I’m hopeful that the new US energy policy will bring incentives to grow the fledgling renewable energy industries and encourage businesses and homeowners to reduce energy use. Secretary Chu’s knowledge, experience and commitment is an encouraging sign.

Of course significant job creation will be critical to gain Green momentum with the public. The most powerful thing going for any marketing effort is a demonstrable positive impact on people’s lives.

Deutschtown Fire Relief Fund

Several neighborhood groups have organized fund raising efforts for the victims, including East Allegheny Community Council. This organization’s fund raising effort is 5-fold:

• a website for PayPal contributions
• email blasts from individuals into the community
• donation boxes at 6 local businesses
• stories in the local papers and newsletters
• announcements at community meetings

Local business donation sites include:  Bistro To Go, Amani International Coffee House, Sweettime Cafe, Legends of the Northshore, Priory Fine Pastries and Max’s Allegheny Tavern.

Please Contribute

Visit the website and help these families with your donation. If donating at one of the local Deutschtown businesses, please make checks payable to “EACC” and note the “Fire Relief Fund.”  All proceeds go directly to the victims.  For more information 412-321-1204.

Western Avenue Fire Relief Fund

Also visit the Northside Leadership Conference website for information about and donation opportunities for the New Years Eve fire in Allegheny West.  It ravaged the floral business of Kerry Kennedy, a beloved local business owner who many neighbors immediately and generously pitched in to help.   Please continue to patronize his fine and friendly business at a new location just up the street from the original one.  (Read more about Kerry, his business and his experience at The Pittsburgh Women’s Blogging Society.)

Just before Christmas, a cousin in Ohio sent me a 1945 photo of my parents that they discovered in an old dusty album. I was charmed by it and turned it into a framed Christmas present for my family. This too is about footprints:  my parents’ youth, a bygone era, and the memory that my grandmother had 5 sons serving in World War II at one time.  This image portrays a big footprint, a legacy that would shape my world for decades into the future.

On New Years Day we often reflect on the past, even if we’re making resolutions about the future. Many of those resolutions are things we’d like to change, eliminate or improve going forward. Some should also be about what we’d like to preserve—nurturing vital legacies or meaningful relationships. Life is not just about bigger, better, faster.

In my Pittsburgh neighborhood of Deutschtown, preserving our footprints of history is vital to who and what we are—a national historic district. This reflects not only our respect for the past and its sturdy, well crafted artifacts, but also reflects part of our Brand. Like other rebounding neighborhoods, it’s part of our development and marketing strategy.

A favorite example is the restoration of a late 1800s blacksmith shop, then owned by “John Schmittdiel horseshoer,” down the street from my house. The photo shows the shop in its heyday, with neighbors gathered for this snaphot of history. In 2003, Bob Baunbach and Jen Saffron, a young couple with a dream in the neighborhood, bought the shop and began restoration with careful attention to detail.

Time had taken its toll on the building, requiring replacement of all windows and doors and the rebuilding of two leaning brick walls.  By 2006, the work was done. For the ribbon cutting I suggested recreating the scene of the old photo, as a tribute to those who were here more than a century before us. We did this with great fun and fanfare, including press coverage by reporter and neighbor Diana Nelson Jones.

Today, in the footprint of the old blacksmith shop, is a modern studio and office for Bob’s architectural business and for a design firm. The legacy of craftsmanship is preserved, the memory of the blacksmith lives on. And the carbon footprint left by the new office and studio is smaller than if the building had been replaced with a new one. Preservation = Green.

Thanks, Bob and Jen, for saving this footprint of our ancestors for future generations, including for your two sons. It reminds us of where we’ve been… and where we’re going.