RCGA: what are they doing?

jcity · PostNov 19, 2009#12009-11-19T05:26+00:00

Where the city should be more progressive: RCGA

The information that is sent out by the RCGA looks like it was done in 1991. It's time for a MAJOR rebrand. Fleishman Hillard could do a far better job, imo. seriously, i encourage all of you to pick up the packet of info they send out. hello Wichita...

In the "where to play" section on the website, they have a picture of the Rams... really? how about a cool shot of Cherokee street, Benton Park, Loop. something that would make someone want to move here.. the rams shot...wow... In the "where to live" section, a trite shot of the arch and downtown. didn't they just redo this site? time to hire younger, fresher, more exciting people.

juiceinkirkwood · PostNov 19, 2009#22009-11-19T05:35+00:00

JCity wrote:Where the city should be more progressive: RCGA

The information that is sent out by the RCGA looks like it was done in 1991. It's time for a MAJOR rebrand. Fleishman Hillard could do a far better job, imo. seriously, i encourage all of you to pick up the packet of info they send out. hello Wichita...

In the "where to play" section on the website, they have a picture of the Rams... really? how about a cool shot of Cherokee street, Benton Park, Loop. something that would make someone want to move here.. the rams shot...wow... In the "where to live" section, a trite shot of the arch and downtown. didn't they just redo this site? time to hire younger, fresher, more exciting people.

I noticed a new billboard at 44/Hampton

St Lou

is Holiday Magic

So stupid.

bonwich · PostNov 19, 2009#32009-11-19T17:40+00:00

I don't fly a whole lot, but I went to NYC two weeks ago. On the way back, I spotted the St. Lou is.... backlit board on the way out of the main concourse highlighting our restaurants.

The shot was of Maggiano's Little Italy and the Boulevard development.

I'm sorry, but it's simply hopeless.

southsidepride · PostNov 19, 2009#42009-11-19T17:46+00:00

^Yeah that makes sense. I mean St. Louis doesn't have any homegrown Italian restaurants in historic Italian neighborhoods at all. I can understand them picking a chain location right off the highway

Smithers--fire these beotches!

southcitygent · PostNov 19, 2009#52009-11-19T19:32+00:00

How much of the subject matter that the RCGA and the CVC use in publicity are directly related to their dues paying members? I know many independent establishments are members of both organizations however money can sometimes trump uniqueness when it comes to publicity as is a need to promote county destinations as well.

juiceinkirkwood · PostNov 19, 2009#62009-11-19T20:26+00:00

bonwich wrote:The shot was of Maggiano's Little Italy and the Boulevard development.

I'm sorry, but it's simply hopeless.

I think you're right. The Boulevard and Maggiano's. Wow.

This makes me think of the 300+ I have on my Facebook friends list. Every time I see a mobile post "eating at Olive Garden" from someone from southern Illinois where I grew up, I am always quick to quip "you know there is real Italian food 12 miles west, right?"

Olive Garden to southern Illinoisans is like Heaven to a Christian. I mean that. They love overpriced garbage that was pulled out of a freezer and microwaved for them.

bonwich · PostNov 19, 2009#72009-11-19T22:49+00:00

southcitygent wrote:How much of the subject matter that the RCGA and the CVC use in publicity are directly related to their dues paying members? I know many independent establishments are members of both organizations however money can sometimes trump uniqueness when it comes to publicity as is a need to promote county destinations as well.

On a professional basis, I can attest that there are plenty of promotable indie restaurants in the County.

And if it's a pay-to-play situation to get your institution in the promotional materials for what makes St. Louis unique, liveable, interesting, exciting, etc....as stated before, it's simply hopeless.

threeonefour · PostNov 20, 2009#82009-11-20T05:59+00:00

JuiceInDogtown wrote:Olive Garden to southern Illinoisans is like Heaven to a Christian. I mean that. They love overpriced garbage that was pulled out of a freezer and microwaved for them.

Apparently so do people in South County. Whenever I am on Lindbergh Boulevard, that lot is always full. Never mind The Hill for those that don't and/or won't venture into the city proper- there are still plenty of superior choices in the county as well.

bonwich wrote:And if it's a pay-to-play situation to get your institution in the promotional materials for what makes St. Louis unique, liveable, interesting, exciting, etc....as stated before, it's simply hopeless.

You mean like Show Me St. Louis?

Alex Ihnen · PostNov 20, 2009#92009-11-20T17:45+00:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I like the St. Lou is... campaign. It's simple, it can have many iterations... and I understand the dislike of picturing the Boulevard, but imo it's a nice picture. It's not as if a visitor is going to see the photo, take a pic on their cell phone, run to the first cab they see and say, "take me THERE!"

bonwich · PostNov 20, 2009#102009-11-20T22:57+00:00

Grover wrote:I've said it before and I'll say it again, I like the St. Lou is... campaign. It's simple, it can have many iterations... and I understand the dislike of picturing the Boulevard, but imo it's a nice picture. It's not as if a visitor is going to see the photo, take a pic on their cell phone, run to the first cab they see and say, "take me THERE!"

Well, of course not. But I've seen an almost mirror-image development in an Atlanta suburb, and I daresay the cookbook retail architectural style-du-decade is repeated in maybe a dozen other cities. (Not to mention that a Chicago visitor would probably see it and say, "Don't we have Maggiano's in Chicago."

St. Lou is...what makes us unique. A shot of the Loop jam-packed in the evening would certainly trump the shot they used. (As would, perhaps, a shot of someone eating and drinking at Newstead Tower, to bring it a little closer to home.) CityGarden and Terrace View weren't opened when they did the campaign, but they'd also seem like a radically better substitute. Or the deck at Harry's (out-of-towners don't have to know that Union Station only sells t-shirts and tchotchkes now

) or even Main Street St. Charles. The patio at Bar Italia with Bissinger's and the Chase in the background. Niche with the residential architecture of Sidney Street behind it. I could go on.

But a Crate and Barrel (I don't know if it's in the shot or not, but it's adjacent) and an Italian chain restaurant that's also in about 20 other cities? Come on, Grover, you live in one of the places that make St. Louis unique. How can you not object to one of our main promotional agencies focusing on something that clearly doesn't?

Alex Ihnen · PostNov 20, 2009#112009-11-20T23:03+00:00

^ I didn't say that I liked the use of Maggiano's and the Boulevard, I just don't think it's tragic or particularly impactful. Yes, Newstead Tower, the Loop, Euclid, etc. would be much, much, much better.

bonwich · PostNov 20, 2009#122009-11-20T23:17+00:00

^Un-impactful, I agree. Most people are just sliding by on their way out of their flights and get just a fleeting image.

But tragic, yes -- because the people in charge of promoting our area, with all the uniqueness they had to choose from, chose that. I think it reflects a mindset and a style of leadership that has held us back since, well, about 1904.

stlgasm · PostNov 21, 2009#132009-11-21T01:50+00:00

Both the CVC and RCGA cater to corporate interests and the convention industry. Outside the obvious "destination" cities, there is a safe formula that the industry sticks with in order to attract the widest possible (albeit generic) audience. Indeed, the campaigns of the CVC and the RCGA are the Applebee's of identity marketing. Having traveled to many, many major convention centers in the country for my work, I can attest to the bad taste of a majority of people. For every savvy visitor who seeks an authentic experience of a city, there are two stereotypical exurbanites who are looking for the nearest TGI Friday's or Hard Rock Cafe. Admittedly, even some of my co-workers fit the mold. It's sad.

juiceinkirkwood · PostNov 21, 2009#142009-11-21T04:27+00:00

I would love to see some advertising globally of our Olive Gardens in the area.

bonwich · PostNov 21, 2009#152009-11-21T05:34+00:00

Although the number of Maggiano's is perhaps 10 percent of the total Olive Gardens in America, the theory is the same. We're already doing it.

debaliviere · PostNov 21, 2009#162009-11-21T17:51+00:00

They could have just gone up to Delmar to shoot a much more vibrant - and real - street scene.

jcity · PostNov 23, 2009#172009-11-23T04:49+00:00

wow. a shot of Maggianos at the Boulevard... what sub-par person at RCGA approved THAT as being an image that would sell St. Louis to people in NY... someone should email this thread to Dick Fleming. how depressing. my personal fave is advertising Six Flags here! SO unique!! how about advertising our nationally acclaimed Rivers Greenway project... someone thought, let's put the biggest hoosier in charge of advertising st. louis we can find!

I actually don't mind the St. Lou IS campaign either, but if they just did cool stuff with it, i'd be far more impressed, especially with cool photos.

St. Lou IS:

green

walkable

architecturally rich

diverse

gay

bike friendly

outdoorsy

hip

fresh

loaded with parks

weird

urban

jeff707 · PostNov 23, 2009#182009-11-23T15:24+00:00

I vote for "St. Louis is Gay"

Just watch the tourists flock in.

stlwriterman · PostNov 23, 2009#192009-11-23T16:32+00:00

What Jeff said.

That campaign is really more the business of the CVC than the RCGA. I was coming home via Lambert last night and saw it, and, frankly, thought it looked decent, and I can't remember the last time I ate at a chain restaurant in the county.

Thing is, they're marketing to business travelers, and the kind of leisure travelers who come to St. Louis for vacation. Not to us. And a big problem STL has re: tourism is that, while there are lots of neat, hip, diverse and, yes, "gay" things to do here, they're really hard to find if you don't know your way around. Our best neighborhoods are sort of islands you don't want to walk between, and given our reputation, it's not a place out-of-towners want to get lost in.

If you're staying downtown, maybe you'll find your way to the CWE or the Loop. But you can't really get to the Hill or Laf. Square or South Grand by mass transit, and if someone tried to give you driving directions I could understand the opinion that it's just easier to stay downtown and go to TGI Friday's.

There's great stuff here, but you have to look for it, and want to look for it, and lots of tourists just want what's easier. They are, presumably, on vacation to relax, after all.

As for the title of this thread, that's a whole different conversation. But from what I've seen of the Chambers in the cities we compete with, we are totally outgunned.

juiceinkirkwood · PostNov 23, 2009#202009-11-23T21:10+00:00

Yeah, I want my city's slogan to be "it's gay." I can just imagine the jokes. I mean, it's almost taking a childish shot at us.

"I live in St Louis."

"ST LOUIS IS F*CKIN GAY! FA*GOT!"

jcity · PostNov 24, 2009#212009-11-24T04:18+00:00

I'm sure there might be some jokes. I know Amersterdam did a campaign like that though. Gays certainly helped make the CWE what it is today, and tons of neighborhoods in the city. I'd say bring on more. perhaps we could save that campaign for gay magazines/websites. St. Louis is and always has been a gay progressive city though.

Alex Ihnen · PostNov 24, 2009#222009-11-24T17:59+00:00

JCity wrote:St. Louis is and always has been a gay progressive city though.

Is that true? It's interesting that a couple gay friends who have moved to St. Louis from Iowa and Philadelphia have both commented that "St. Louis gays" are not welcoming and are "stuck in the 90's". By the way, Cleveland, OH is hosting the upcoming Gay Games! I can't imagine that coming to STL.

midcoaststl · PostDec 03, 2009#232009-12-03T14:50+00:00

I noticed a new billboard at 44/Hampton

St Lou

is Holiday Magic

So stupid.

I forgot to post about this.

This is not a slogan for STL, it is an event at Americas Center. Holiday magic is this weekend.

stlgasm · PostDec 04, 2009#242009-12-04T15:17+00:00

Grover wrote:
JCity wrote:St. Louis is and always has been a gay progressive city though.

Is that true? It's interesting that a couple gay friends who have moved to St. Louis from Iowa and Philadelphia have both commented that "St. Louis gays" are not welcoming and are "stuck in the 90's". By the way, Cleveland, OH is hosting the upcoming Gay Games! I can't imagine that coming to STL.

I think it's absolutely true. St. Louis was the first major city in the Midwest to adopt a domestic partnership registry for same-sex couples (yes, even before Chicago). We have been ranked as one of the best cities for gays by a leading gay/lesbian publication (forgot which one, but I remember the hooplah about it). Our PrideFest is one of the 10 biggest in the country. I was giving some friends from Pittsburgh a tour around the city over the summer, and one of the first comments they made was that St. Louis is clearly an open city for gays. They remarked about how many gay couples they saw holding hands in public-- not just in the CWE, but also in Soulard, South Grand, etc. and they said that you just wouldn't see that in Pittsburgh to the same extent.

As for being "stuck in the '90s" -- mmourning, an active poster of this forum, is from STL but lives in New Orleans and has commented about how much diverse the gay scene is in St. Louis compared to New Orleans. I think the gay community in St. Louis is probably a reflection of the larger culture of St. Louis-- there are not many newcomers, so people tend to stick with the same people.

These are attributes that St. Louis needs to promote! Forget families-- the city will NEVER compete favorably with the suburbs- NEVER! We need to open our arms to gays and lesbians. There's no reason St. Louis couldn't become known as the gay mecca of the Midwest-- we just aren't very good at marketing ourselves or feeling confident in making such a claim. Let's step up, peeps!

debaliviere · PostDec 04, 2009#252009-12-04T15:29+00:00

MidcoastSTL wrote:I forgot to post about this.

This is not a slogan for STL, it is an event at Americas Center. Holiday magic is this weekend.

Info:

Monday, November 30, 2009, 1:18pm CST

CVC hopes ‘Holiday Magic’ fills seasonal convention void

St. Louis Business Journal - by Kelsey Volkmann

Game on: St. Louis tops in chess

St. Louis tourism officials want to turn on the lights at the downtown convention center, which would normally stay dark for most of December.

For the first time, the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission is organizing its own show, “Holiday Magic,” this weekend at the America’s Center, 800 Washington Ave.

The CVC, which had a budget of $150,000 for the event, hopes to attract 10,000 attendees from Friday through Sunday, said CVC President Kitty Ratcliffe.

“We have a building we operate that sometimes has dark weeks, particularly in December, which is a slower time for conventions,” she said. “Our goal overall is to create some buzz about St. Louis during the holidays.”

The event will showcase 100 exhibitors, including vendors, wood-carving demonstrations, hands-on crafts, cooking competition, ice carvers, a holiday light show, an indoor carnival, pet parade, Christmas carolers, an a capella group, a drumline, acrobats, bell ringers, and a beer and wine garden.

The CVC doesn’t plan to turn a profit this year on the event, said Ratcliffe, who plans to deem it a success as long as she can cover all the expenses, including marketing and other production costs, which are higher in the start-up year. Exhibitors are paying between $150 to $600 each to set up at “Holiday Magic.”

The CVC started market research about a year ago to find out which types of shows would work best. A holiday show was tops, and a pet show also tested well, Ratcliffe said.

Ratcliffe wants to generate enough interest to make “Holiday Magic” an annual tradition, and if all goes well this weekend, the CVC may add a second show next year.

Tickets for “Holiday Magic” are $10 for adults and $6 for children. The show runs from noon to 9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

http://www.stlouisholidaymagic.com/