The September 5, 2008 edition of Helena's Independent Record has reported that Roger Brooks, the Seattle-based tourism and community "branding" consultant, who has been paid some $75,000 to cook up a "brand" for Helena, has revised his original proposal (see past entries on this blog for the full story).
Mr. Brooks, the CEO of Destination Development, Inc., suggested in February of 2008 that Helena should brand and promote itself as "The West's Learning Center for the Arts". Comments in the Helena press about Mr. Brooks' proposal were less than enthusiastic, not only because it simply isn't true, but also because Mr. Brooks had not especially endeared himself to Helenans during his previous visits to the city. His suggestion that Helena scrap the historic moniker "Last Chance Gulch" because it reminded him of "ditch", had fallen especially flat with locals.
In April of 2008, a minor scandal at Helena High School, involving a staff member's hysterical reaction to a student's artwork which featured nude Barbie dolls, somewhat humorously pointed out that Helena is far from being a "learning center for the arts". As unfortunate as the Barbie kerfuffle was, it was hoped by some in Helena that it would be the end of Mr. Brook's ludicrous branding plan. Some hoped that Helena would never hear from him again, but, like a bad penny, Mr. Brooks turned up yet again.
As reported in the Independent Record, Mr. Brooks has now revised his original "The West's Learning Center for the Arts" brand into the even more preposterous "The West's Learning Center". Period. The resulting comments posted to the Independent Record's website were all negative, most of them ridiculing Mr. Brook's latest suggestion.
(Following up, the IR asked readers, via their online "Question of the Week" poll, if Helena should adopt Mr. Brook's latest brand suggeston; response to the unscientific survey came back 787 opposed and only 76 in favor of the idea.)
So, is this finally the end of the Helena branding debacle? Weary Helenans hope that those paying off Mr. Brooks have gotten the message.
If you'd like to see and hear Roger Brooks in action, there is an online video of him recently pitching his "branding" concepts to some unsuspecting folks in Angel's Camp, California. You may watch it here. If you can tolerate Mr. Brook's somewhat shrill presentation for the entire hour, you may notice that he uses some of the same catch-phrases that he used in the latest Independent Record article. It's also worth noting that he jokes with the Angel's Camp audience about his recent attempts to "brand" Stockton, California; remarkably, he puts down the city of Stockton with a sarcastic aside. If the people of Stockton should see that, I wonder how they'd feel about having given Brooks $125,000 to build up their city in the eyes of others, not tear it down? One can only imagine what Mr. Brooks says about Helena to other groups in other cities.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I experienced Roger Brooks firsthand when he presented his plan for Stockton, CA. Though I agreed with his idea of Stockton as an events city his delivery was condescending and rude.
Not having been to Helena, Montana I do not know if I agree with Roger's assestment of a brand for it. From what was presented on the Helena Montana website I visited I would suggest that "Helena, a perfect place to relive the Old West," may be a brand worth considering.
Roger Brooks, and his company Destination Development International, is a virtual "con"-fidence artist who has been preying on small unsophisticated cities for decades with his grand, unrealistic ideas and huge consulting fees.
Make no mistake, he's a master at how he does it. Here's Roger Brooks's tried-and-true formula for easily taking thousands of dollars from financially struggling small to medium-sized cities who are desperate for someone, anyone, to help bring tourists and investment to their area:
1). Travel to the client city, 2). Spend a few days in town, walk around and write down names of key attractions, shopping areas and recreational locations to be used in his final presentation, 3). Schedule and host one or more community assessment meetings over several months, 4). And then invite city leaders, local media and towns folk to a "boilerplate" final presentation at which he purposefully goes overboard glowing about all the great things for which they should be proud in their city (who could dislike a flatterer?).
After 30 years of dropping names and the numbers of his past clients (this is repeated numerous times during his presentations), his speech predictably includes the need for that city to have better signage and a logo while stressing the importance of being specific about the reason shoppers and visitors should spend their money there.
His "plans" are typically both ridiculously simplistic (taxpayers can always be expected to loudly voice their displeasure once they found out from local media how much money was spent on his "ideas") and so far-fetched and unrealistic to be laughable.
Finally, after telling them what they already know, Roger Brooks of Destination Development International will then take his huge check (anywhere from $7,000 to $165,000 depending on the city size and budget) and will fly back to Seattle, never to be heard from again....just like the "report" he leaves behind, full of blank pages to look more substantial.
Here's a video showing one of his stereotypical phony dog-and-pony shows (look at his body language; the language of a con artist playing up to his audience before he asks them to open their wallets):
http://www.kalprod.com/webtest/
He just ripped off the City of Oxnard for $125,000 with his garbage! Here's a link to articles on that fiasco:
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/jul/22/oxnard-shores-put-forth-for-citys-brand/
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/jul/23/some-residents-reject-idea-of-renaming-oxnard/
Please, small city staffs, stop thinking there's a magic solution to getting commerce and visitors to your downtowns and regions. Throwing money at pie-in-the-sky "consultants" will just put you further behind, not ahead!
Post a Comment