A MISSED PR OPPORTUNITY: WELCOME TO DETROIT, DON’T FORGET WE’RE POOR
It seems like every article on Detroit lately has to mention how lousy the city is. Terms like “America’s Baghdad” and the “nation’s poorest” punctuate most business stories concerning Super Bowl XL’s host. It’s a shame, since Detroit leadership missed a golden opportunity to reshape the image of the Motor City.
You’re probably thinking, “OK Ronn, tell us what you would have done,” so I will. As soon as mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the City Council learned that they were hosting the Super Bowl, they should have launched a comprehensive PR campaign that touted the strengths and cultural attractions of the city.
Off the top of my head these would be:
Remind the public of Motown Greats like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations and more.
Discuss how Detroit is the cradle of the American Automobile industry.
Discuss the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership – an innovative public and private sector effort to revitalize the city’s commerce and industry.
What if they put trained spokespersons in front of business, entertainment and travel reporters? Hosted special events and conferences that drew decision makers from other states? Engineered in-depth feature articles on how the city is struggling to improve itself through inventive means? Recruited a well- liked Motown singer to give back to the city through a series of televised or pay-per-view concerts?
Imagine a PR campaign similar to the above; one which culminated with this weekend’s Super Bowl. Missed opportunities are painful to behold.
Ronn Torossian
June 5th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I just found this blog and have been reading through some very interesting posts. Obviously this is response is a tad late, but I think you make very good points about what Detroit should have done leading up to the Super Bowl.
Another idea would have been to play up the rich sports history of the city, considering that this is a sporting event. The Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, and Pistons all have great history. The city could have done a week long, or even a season long celebration of their sports tradition leading up to the Super Bowl.
So many great Detroit athletes (homegrown and/or people that have played there) that could have made appearances and spoke on the city’s behalf.