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Remarks from Randolph L. Miller & Debby Kennedy -- Chairman, The Moore Company & Executive Director, Brand Oregon (Respectively) December 6, 2004 -- Leadership Summit 2004 Today marks the one
year anniversary of the launch of Brand Oregon, a state marketing campaign so
innovative that it has been featured on National Public Radio, the New York
Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, and many times on both Oregon and
Washington Public Broadcasting. The goal of Brand Oregon is to apply the
principles of private sector branding to a state-wide initiative---embracing
its people, places and products, in order to drive increased tourism, more
effective business recruitment and to help existing Oregon companies sell more
products. So how do you create
a great branding campaign? Well, those that stand out above the clutter (and
as I say this, think of these amazing Oregon companies...think Nike, think
Tazo Tea, think Columbia Sportswear) the great branding campaigns all have
three things in common: they are provocative, they are compelling, but most
importantly they reflect a core truth about the beliefs and values of the
company they represent. Our state is
unique...and yes, I think a little quirky. But we have core truths about who
we are too. We are proud and we are fiercely independent.
We have a culture here that reflects the respect we commit to our
natural resources and lifestyle.
That very commitment is why Portland ranks in the top three cities in
the country in attracting the highly educated 25-35 year old cohort---that
imminent economic driver which is in total alignment with our community
values. The Brand Oregon campaign must reflect all this. Here to show you how we are tackling this is Debby Kennedy, the Director of Brand Oregon. Thank you, Randy. Leading the way on
Brand Oregon is the Tourism Commission, with a spectacular new campaign that
broke in magazines last spring -- magazines like Gourmet, Saveur, Outside,
Sunset and Golf Digest. This campaign is big and bold, and helps Brand Oregon
have a national presence. I want to thank the lodging industry and the Tourism
commission for championing the cause of passing the 1% lodging tax that has
allowed Oregon to be competitive really for the first time in promotion of
state's third largest industry, tourism. Please take some time
to study this campaign and its messages found on the Travel Oregon website,
and you will see that it is so much more than a traditional tourism campaign.
Its messages are broader than just touting the beauty of our state…it really
invites people into our culture in a way that will be more memorable and
compelling in the long run. Brand Oregon is really about forming partnerships and new alliances. And nowhere is this more evident than in two highly visible agriculture campaigns. First our Oregon Wild Seafood campaign is a joint promotion of the Salmon, Trawl, Albacore, Dungeness Crab Commissions and, along with funds from Pacific Seafood and hefty in-kind contributions from Clear Channel Communications and Wieden + Kennedy. Launched last April, the goal of this campaign is to raise awareness of the quality and abundance of Oregon wild seafood, and some of the results are stunning, with Zupan's reporting an overall increase in sales of Oregon Seafood of 73%! Next, our Oregon
Bounty campaign which concluded last Sunday is a cross promotion among the
Tourism Commission, the Wine Advisory Board, the Pear Bureau, the Dairy
Farmers and the Hazelnut commission! Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Well, this
campaign which ran on radio stations, in newspapers and in magazines all the
way from Seattle to Sacramento, invited travelers to visit any one of 50
participating wineries to sample Oregon pears, hazelnuts, and hand crafted
cheeses with different wine varietals. We kicked off the promotion with five
press events throughout the state, and we arrived in style in the Oregon
Bounty Mobile donated by Monaco Coach of Eugene. We also had Oregon bounty
promotions and events in 20 grocery stores and 25 restaurants statewide. It's too early to
report definitive results on this effort yet, but wineries across the state
are reporting they had significant increases during November:
Willamette Valley Vineyards in Salem reports an “awesome” month,
with an estimated 5% increase in visitor traffic; Valley View Vineyards in
Jacksonville reports a 50% increase in sales in November; and Sylvan Ridge in
Eugene said they were “slammed” with visitors after the first weekend of
the promotion. Finally, let me touch
on business recruitment. As I said earlier, Brand Oregon is all about
partnerships, and I want to thank OEDA the Oregon Economic Development
Association and in particular Board President Tim McCabe for teaming up with
Brand Oregon and raising the matching funds to allow us to launch a business
recruitment campaign in February of 05 (just 8 weeks from now) that will
appear in national site selector magazines and also in regional publications
in California, like California CEO, Fortune Small Business and the Business
Journals in Sacramento, San Jose, and San Francisco. I invite you to visit the
Brand Oregon Web site to view the entire media plan and partner with us in our
advertising campaigns, just as Clackamas County is planning to do. Randy... Thanks, Debby, and
thank you Rep. Betsy Johnson for your leadership on the Brand Oregon Advisory
Board – and all the members of this dynamic citizen board.
I also want to acknowledge Marty Brantley and the Oregon Economic &
Community Development Department for their significant contributions of staff
and financial resources for Brand Oregon over the past year. We are off to a
fantastic start, but our effort must continue. Branding is a long-term
commitment. Phil Knight didn't launch Nike, brand it for a year, and consider
the job done. Smart brands stay bold and stay visible. You wouldn’t be
here today unless you wanted to help. First, review the card in your packet
intended for you to identify someone or some company that might consider
expansion or relocation here, and they will receive a personal letter from the
Governor. Second, we ask you
today to directly contact your legislator to support Brand Oregon, as the
investment will benefit the state’s bottom line for years to come. Moreover,
we encourage you to link your company's marketing efforts with the Brand
Oregon concept, which will benefit both your company and the state's economy.
Call us and we’ll tell you how!! We thank you for your support. Back to Highlights from Leadership Summit 2004
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