Recent Press
Formin' and Stormin'
DDI updates city branding effort
By Steve Bandy, Marshall News Messenger
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
t's been almost a year since Destination Development Inc. unveiled its proposal to brand Marshall as an entertainment hub, and representatives of that Seattle-based company were back in town this week to check up on the progress of the branding effort.
"You've come a long way, but you've got a lot of work to do," Dr. Monica Dixon told a group of nearly 20 people gathered at the Civic Center Wednesday afternoon.
The group included city officials, members of the branding development committee and citizens.
Ms. Dixon, a psychologist and facilitator with DDI, said the local effort is right about where it should be in the four-step process of developing the brand "Marshall, Texas — Center Stage."
"First, there's the formin' step," she explained. "That's the honeymoon. That's where your committees are named and you're getting set up. That can last anywhere from a month to six months."
Next, she said, is the "stormin'" step.
"That's where you're barreling ahead, making changes," she said, adding that this step, also, usually takes about six months.
Steve Carlile, chairman of the local committee charged with implementing the new city brand, said he feels that's where the local effort is currently. The DDI facilitator agreed.
"We're getting a feel for what others in the community are doing, and we're seeing commitment from people and from the city to participate in this effort," Carlile said.
Ms. Dixon said the remaining two steps, which the committee will face in months to come, are "normin', when the committee is acting as well-operating machine," and "performin', the actual work of establishing and maintaining the brand."
Some members of the group noted that there has been a hint of resistance to the brand development in the community.
However, that's to be expected, explained Ms. Dixon.
"Any time change comes around, some people will come to the fray," she said. "People want to see improvements — instead of change — they're just not all sure how to get there."
Stressing the importance of collaboration in the development of the "Center Stage" brand, Ms. Dixon said the more community involvement in the development and implementation processes, the more successful it will be.
"No community ever found success through coalitions," she said. "You find success through collaboration."
And the key to collaboration, she continued, is communication. "People love to be part of what's happening."
Henry Bradbury said the branding committee is in the process of implementing a three-step process to better inform the public as to the direction the committee is taking. He said a monthly e-mail program is being developed, along with an offer to address local civic groups and a semi-annual forum.
Ms. Dixon lauded those efforts, saying that for the brand to be successful, it has to rise from the bottom up, not be an edict handed down from the top.
John Kelsh, also from DDI, presented a brief overview of how the branding plan got put together and how it will be implemented. He presented a "Top Ten" list on things he said should be done from this point on. Those steps are:
1. Develop a downtown design plan using and urban architect planner. This plan, he said, should include color drawings of outdoor venues, traffic flow, parking areas, grass areas, etc. "It will help the people to catch a vision of what is being planned," he said.
2. Hire a retail recruiter "to create just the right mix of retail outlets." That step has been accomplished as the committee announced that David Witcher of Dallas had recently been hired.
3. Conduct an engineering study for the renovation of "the two prominent potential anchors" for the downtown venues, the Paramount Theater and the Memorial City Hall.
4. Accelerate the establishment of the Convention and Visitors Bureau as an independent organization.
5. Investigate the process of bonding issued to provide funds for the development.
6. Organization of tasks that have a priority with the CVB.
7. Don't forget about the here and now while working with the future. "You have to continue to market what you have now," he said. "Create a Web page and an activity guide."
8. Develop "wayfinding" for the city. "You can do everything you want but if people can't find you it won't do any good," he explained.
9. Develop a peer group review for retail signage in the downtown area.
10. Understand all the organizations that will touch the brand and develop a method to engage them in the branding.
In closing, Ms. Dixon used the Quaker concept of "consensus" as an example of how to successfully build a brand from the ground up. She explained that, in the Quaker community, when an important decision is to be made, the elders will literally lock themselves up in a room and not emerge until all sides of the issue have been presented and a decision addressing all those issues has been decided.
"Any time there needs to be a decision, the end product needs to be a product of a conglomeration of all of the community's ideas," she said.
