Posted By: Issue 20 Retrospective
Posted: 6/26/2008
Buzz words are great. Used properly, they transform complicated ideologies into succinct, easy to understand concepts. For example, everybody's favorite buzzword "branding" has moved from a perception of highly creative logos into a way to describe a collection of activity, all working together to create a desired (or sometimes undesirable) experience. But how many of us know what it really takes to build a brand? Net, we can all appreciate the value and follow the idea of branding, but without a thoughtful plan for key components, at the end of the day you'll end up with some really nice marketing materials and customers that are unsatisfied because no one returns a call or the product experience has missed expectations.
As many of you may know, I am a devout regionalist. As a P&G alum, a past executive vice president of a mid-size firm, former leader of tourism, and now president and CEO of an influential non-profit, I have been involved in regional activity for the past 5 years and hopefully I’ve made some important contributions. I love this town.
In the past year or so, we have all been asked to acclimate to the idea of regionalism. It builds on a Cincinnatian's strong sense of pride and an appreciation for our unique heritage. The catalyst for this paradigm stems from the regional development we are witnessing in our urban core, at the river's edge, and in new attractions and destinations. Embedded in all of this is the desire to have everyone contribute and experience the rebirth of our city. It’s kind of like patriotism.... the Cincinnati USA way. However, like the branding example above, when the concrete is laid, structures erected, and lights turned on, will we finally be a cohesive community? Are we creating an example of a polished outer-skin without attention to the connective tissue that will make all of this work? In this blog, you will provide the input to this.
Take neighborhoods for example. Remember when neighborhoods were filled with people that knew your name, watched out for your children, and you might get a ride to work because someone noticed that your car wasn’t working? Today, in new housing developments, you might get lucky to steal a glimpse of your neighbor before the garage door closes after they’ve pulled in from work.
What do new housing developments and regionalism have in common? They both are designed to bring people together with a common interest; but can any of them foster a sense of community? The answer is yes..... but you must have a plan for the connective tissue.
The nature of my blog is to highlight that true regionalism is more than having a physical infrastructure in place. I want it to be more than a buzz word. Wikipedia says “community is a social group, sharing an environment, normally with shared interests. A number of conditions may be present that affect the degree of cohesiveness of the participants.” In Cincinnati, when you consider differences in race, religion, sexual orientation, age, the high school you attended, and side of town that you reside in (sorry, I couldn’t resist it)... does our existing approach toward regionalism stimulate enough common interest?
Posted By: Issue 20 Retrospective
Posted: 6/25/2008
With the exception of Findlay Market, or the monthly Final Friday Gallery Walk, Over-the-Rhine doesn't have the distinction of being a shopping destination.
But that's changing. In less than one year, five stores have opened in the two blocks of Vine Street between Central Parkway and Thirteenth Street: Park + Vine, City Roots, MiCA 12/v, Metronation, and Lucky Step. At least three more, including Embrace Sweets and Outside, are scheduled to open this spring. Including the new Lavomatic restaurant, this little stretch will feature nine stores and places to eat before summer gets here.
And this is just the first two blocks of Vine Street's southern stretch, which also includes the Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati. Further down, there's Venice on Vine and Suder's Art Store in the 1300 block. Go two blocks to the east and find the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Below Zero
Lounge, Coffee Emporium, Know Theater of Cincinnati and Lucy Blue. One block over, Race Street has Devroe's and Enzo's.
These are pretty impressive numbers considering where this area was just two years ago and that a large number of people had largely written off downtown as a place to shop or visit. Now, it's common to find organic bedding, houseplants and apparel for little ones…to name
a few.
Sure, shopping choices have shrunk downtown in recent decades, but people are finding something new in our city's center. And they're not just downtown workers. In fact, our biggest days of the week are Friday, Saturday and even Sunday. Collectively, we've created a new
destination for Cincinnati.
The proof is in the numbers. A majority of Park + Vine's customers, for instance, come from downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Mt. Adams—all in zip code 45202. Large numbers come from Clifton, Clifton Heights/University Heights/Fairview Heights, Hyde Park and Northside.
While all these neighborhoods possess some of the most coveted business districts in Cincinnati, it's clear the city sees value in shopping in Over-the-Rhine.
It is working. Maybe people really do want things they can't find at a chain store. Maybe people are craving a different experience with a downtown vibe where local ownership and independence rule. Or maybe our combined passion for Cincinnati is rubbing off.
It may be all these things and more. Of course, we have our challenges, but we have the upper hand. The local Web site buycincy.com is helping the shop-local movement gain momentum. More people are living downtown. There's broad-based support for the Cincinnati Streetcar. To me, this says that a majority of Cincinnatians want this city to work.
Posted By: Issue 20 Retrospective
Posted: 6/24/2008
Why a Soapbox?
Over the last 16 months, I’ve been discussing, meeting, planning and plotting with a varied group of people to create this new media source called Soapbox. Why would we spend so much time on something like this? Simply put, because our region needs it.
We need to move beyond a damaging “Rust Belt” narrative that obsesses over topics like disinvestment, crime, and bad schools. We need a sustained, authentic, and compelling way to communicate our region’s remarkable transformation so that we can retain and attract talent. We need to create positive momentum.
The need for Soapbox became crystal clear last fall during the Regional Chamber’s benchmarking trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. Ann Caulkins, the publisher of the Charlotte Observer, explained that all the newspapers she’s worked for have relied on a “Master Narrative;” that is, a lens through which the newspaper reports the region’s news. That lens for the Charlotte Observer was “Land of Opportunity”. When she asked our group what Cincinnati’s Master Narrative was, there was a troubling silence. We spent the rest of trip unsuccessfully trying to answer that question, at least in a positive way. The features and stories written for Soapbox will reinforce our region’s talent, innovation, diversity, and environment (physical, cultural, and natural). In time, I am hopeful that our regional Master Narrative will emerge.
Something else became clear in Charlotte: the necessity of creating buzz about a region. For whatever reason, Charlotte is red hot. Everyone’s talking about Charlotte. Charlotte’s buzz has enabled them to sustain rapid growth, largely from a massive influx of young talent. Charlotte’s buzz has allowed them to overcome a location not in the mountains or near the ocean. Somehow it doesn’t matter that their cultural assets pale in comparison to what Cincinnati can offer. Their downtown’s architecture was largely sterile, lacking any historic landmarks or local distinction. Nevertheless, everyone conveyed a can-do attitude with their eyes firmly focused on the future.
Soapbox intends to shift our collective focus towards our incredibly promising future. The writing you’ll find here will push us to dream bigger, and refuse to accept the status quo as “good enough.” By creating original content every week that is designed to spread over local and national social networks, and to be used widely in regional stakeholder communications, we feel we can help rebuild Cincinnati’s buzz. We can regain our swagger. Sixteen months was a lot of time to get this started, but we all felt it was worth it for an opportunity to share the Cincinnati story.
Posted By: Issue 20 Retrospective
Posted: 6/23/2008
My house on Cutter Street in the West End is 1.3 miles from my place of work on Walnut Street, around the corner from Fountain Square. 1.3 miles is precisely .4 miles longer than I would have chosen for my commute. It takes 23 to 24.5 minutes to walk to work or, more important, home for lunch where I like to indulge in a tuna sandwich and take a five minute nap on the sofa. When I walk home on the lunch hour, I have to bolt that tuna and forget about the nap. I could, I suppose, step up the pace, or take a route that does not go past Gus Miller’s hat shop, where I am often distracted by the possibilities Gus offers those of us who have been ordered by the dermatologist to stay covered. So, if I walk, I have to shell out for lunch in town. (One reader of a local blog whined about the lack of cheap lunches downtown. Other commenters piled on quickly. They’re all over the place. Nice the way the blogosphere self corrects.) I have my choice of three bus routes, but by the time you’ve shelled out three bucks for a round trip, you might as well have bought the six inch tuna at Subway. So I have a brace of commuting solutions, the motor scooter and the bike. The motor scooter takes eight minutes, but messes with my carbon footprint which I’m trying to keep down to a 9D. The bike takes ten minutes, but I get screamed at by local drivers who seem to believe bicycles are demonic. It’s always something.
I’m curious. Are you reading this on your BlackBerry while stuck in the traffic coming in from West Chester on the Mill Creek “Expressway” or are you waiting for the tow trucks to pull the jackknifed semi-trailer from the Cut In The Hill?