KSEE 24 Tackles Image With “We Are Fresno” Campaign
Last week KSEE 24 began running spots that highlight Fresno. Truly the commercial seems to be designed to highlight the entire Central Valley region. The spots feature some prominent leaders in the community and use the Fresno Brand Platform as a template for the message.
“We Are Fresno” is the message that you are left with at the end of the spot. Fresno State has a similar campaign slogan recently also. This is clearly an internal marketing campaign. I have blogged and argued strongly for the need for internal marketing prior to external marketing. You can read some of that in a previous post here.
But what are your thoughts of the 30 second feel-good commercial? I actually find it visually intriguing and minus some difference in sound quality a pretty effective spot. I am no expert though. Fresno has so many talented and creative people who can judge this commercial and its design far better than I.
I do however, give credit to KSEE 24 for at least taking a stab at running some of these public service announcements to help Fresnan’s see what is great about who we are. They didn’t have to take this on. Maybe some of the credit for the stations decision to make this investment in highlighting Fresno could go to Kim Burley and her wonderful & inspiring idea of 31 Days of Fresno which just “officially” concluded.
Interestingly, the one pillar that seems to have been completely left out of the spot was “big city amenities.” That is probably because that is the pillar that is still the most difficult for most Fresnan’s to buy into. And we should all be thankful the words “world class” are not mentioned at all!
So I know most are tired of talking about all of this but I do think it is important. To give the discussion some context, I would argue that that the way we view ourselves is directly related to the success of downtown revitalization. Bottom line is that if the little engine that could never started saying “I think I can… I think I can..” he never would have made it up that hill. We have faced the hill of downtown revitalization many times with no success. Maybe a little bit more positive thinking about Fresno is just what we need.
Let the discussion commence…
I've met with the President/GM of KSEE24 a couple times over the last couple of months, and he seems fairly passionate about the self-image of Fresno and the valley. He comes from other markets that he has seen the positive effects of positive self-image and he believes it can be impactful here as well.
I'm all for this kind of thing. I took think that one of the biggest hindrances in the progression of our region is that too many people think Fresno/the Valley isn't a great place to live, therefore it isn't. If we can tackle the negative self-image that many people have with the area nothing can stop how successful we can become.
Luke, I actually heard about the campaign from him also. He was kind enough to post it on my facebook wall. I especially see it as being an important piece to getting over the perception issue with Downtown Fresno. There are plenty of people who feel strongly that Downtown should just die. Maybe if we felt better about what we “could” be, then we could motivate t hat group to see the benefit.
I agree with Luke. Negative comments from residents to friends and relatives within and outside the community negate many of the positive efforts and will continue to hinder future attempts to successfully market Fresno and the valley. Kim's 31 Days of Fresno has opened up a lot of good discussions and /comments from a variety of people about many interesting aspects of Fresno. Looking forward to watching the momentum created by this blog on FB.
Ruth, Thanks for your comment and I agree about Kim's 31 Days of Fresno!
Barry- Thank you for highlighting what we are doing at KSEE24 with our “We are Fresno” campaign While this is just the beginning, we believe this is an important initiative for the Central Valley and one that will remind us all that we are blessed with an exceptional place to live. Yes the Valley has its challenges as every community does. But there are also many gems available to us that other regions across our great country will never know.
The genesis of the idea came when I moved to Fresno from New York State in July 2009. Immediately and constantly I was asked why I would want to move to the Central Valley. I believe the first time I was asked was on the plane before we even landed. I never have understood the negativity but I was quick to understand that this community has an esteem issue or perhaps it is human nature to focus on our blemishes. Either way I believe this is a fantastic region to live in and now know I am not alone.
When I shared my experiences and perspective with our staff at KSEE24 they were quick to defend the Valley and their pride was evident. Everyone has their own story of what they love about this area.
Late last year I assembled a team from News, Promotion, Sales and Operations and we looked at all the resources available to us to help deliver a pro-Fresno message and ideas were plentiful and the excitement to be a part of this project has been contagious.
The fact is that we have just begun and we have many exciting elements of this campaign yet to be announced.
Lastly, I would encourage any and all feedback and ideas to make this campaign are certainly welcomed. We have set up a dedicated email address (WeAreFresno@ksee.com) which gets routed to all the departments working to make the We Are Fresno campaign a success.
Thanks again and stay tuned.
Matthew,
Thanks for your comment and your important perspective on our city as someone who just moved here recently. There is no question that we are often our own worst enemy. It is nice to see KSEE 24 making a step forward to work on the issue. Hope to meet you sometime soon.
What a fantastic idea and well-crafted message Matthew. When the local networks start getting behind something to this extent, it always makes me more optimistic that it can be successful. There is a tremendous amount of positive energy beginning to activate in Fresno, and I'm excited to be able to see what will come of it all. Thank you to KSEE 24 for spearheading such a movement.
I have been going to school and living in Spokane Washington for the last 4 years. Spokane is half the size of Fresno, and has even less to do than Fresno, but everyone here LOVES it. Its amazing the difference that having a good city-image can make. I didn't really appreciate what Fresno had to offer until I moved to Spokane, and saw how much I had taken for granted. Spokane has some cool things, but not a whole lot that seems to warrant the amount of devotion and pride that are committed to it. The pride that people have in their city helps them tolerate its flaws and also commit to addressing issues.
Another topic: Fresno is the fifth largest city in California. In almost any other state, we'd consider ourselves a big city. In CA though… we feel tiny! We do have big city amenities, and still retain some smaller-town qualities. As a result, people from other states (if they've heard of Fresno), are really surprised to learn that we have over half a million people. We are a very respectable size for a legitimate city, nothing shameful about that.
There's nothing uniquely embarrassing or shameful about Fresno. Somehow, we just don't feel like there's much to be proud of.
Things I love about Fresno: Quality produce (I can't eat fruit or vegetables in Washington… I'm spoiled for life), so many good restaurants (especially Thai, Lao, Mexican, Chinese. seriously NOTHING COMPARES up here), diversity wherever you go, multilingual society (i crave billboards and media in multiple languages), we have a zoo! (most cities in the Northwest don't…), storyland/playland are also wonderful (and unique), expansive parks (although I would love more parks with gardens and paths, in addition to the baseball diamonds and soccer fields, which are also important for community-building). And lastly, of course, Fresno is so close to the mountains, so many lakes, rivers, the ocean, and more. And we can day-trip to cities that are major vacation destinations for people all over the world. (now the question is how to get those people to visit Fresno too…)
I don't have any revolutionary thoughts or solutions, but thought that I'd add a perspective from 1,000 miles north.
Love the conversation!
I have been going to school and living in Spokane Washington for the last 4 years. Spokane is half the size of Fresno, and has even less to do than Fresno, but everyone here LOVES it. Its amazing the difference that having a good city-image can make. I didn’t really appreciate what Fresno had to offer until I moved to Spokane, and saw how much I had taken for granted. Spokane has some cool things, but not a whole lot that seems to warrant the amount of devotion and pride that are committed to it. The pride that people have in their city helps them tolerate its flaws and also commit to addressing issues.
Another topic: Fresno is the fifth largest city in California. In almost any other state, we’d consider ourselves a big city. In CA though… we feel tiny! We do have big city amenities, and still retain some smaller-town qualities. As a result, people from other states (if they’ve heard of Fresno), are really surprised to learn that we have over half a million people. We are a very respectable size for a legitimate city, nothing shameful about that.
There’s nothing uniquely embarrassing or shameful about Fresno. Somehow, we just don’t feel like there’s much to be proud of.
Things I love about Fresno: Quality produce (I can’t eat fruit or vegetables in Washington… I’m spoiled for life), so many good restaurants (especially Thai, Lao, Mexican, Chinese. seriously NOTHING COMPARES up here), diversity wherever you go, multilingual society (i crave billboards and media in multiple languages), we have a zoo! (most cities in the Northwest don’t…), storyland/playland are also wonderful (and unique), expansive parks (although I would love more parks with gardens and paths, in addition to the baseball diamonds and soccer fields, which are also important for community-building). And lastly, of course, Fresno is so close to the mountains, so many lakes, rivers, the ocean, and more. And we can day-trip to cities that are major vacation destinations for people all over the world. (now the question is how to get those people to visit Fresno too…)
I don’t have any revolutionary thoughts or solutions, but thought that I’d add a perspective from 1,000 miles north.
Love the conversation!