Slogans have catapulted many places to stardom. New York's "I Love NY®" and Virginia's "Virginia is for Lovers" have promoted--and boosted--tourism in those states since the 1970s.
Hartford, Conn., is using its slogan, "Hartford--New England's Rising Star," to promote itself to businesses and consumers as an outstanding region in which to live, work and play. The slogan is a prominent part of a long-term marketing campaign run by the Hartford Image Project (HIP), a collaborative promotional initiative for Hartford and 31 towns in the region.
HIP was founded in November 2001 by MetroHartford Alliance and nine other organizations. (See "The Founding Fathers," opposite page.) The alliance is spearheading HIP's marketing campaign. Through the campaign, "we want to remind the city and suburban residents of the tremendous resources and assets of the area," says Michael Kintner, vice president and director of marketing and communications for MetroHartford Alliance and the campaign's marketing director. "We want to generate traffic to the city's neighborhoods, businesses, venues and arts centers, and also attract businesses to the greater Hartford area to open up offices."
The city is undergoing a major economic overhaul and cultural renaissance. Gov. John G. Rowland recently launched his "Six Pillars of Progress" strategic plan, granting approximately $700 million to Hartford. The city will use the money to build a convention center, a stadium, a community college and a terminal at nearby Bradley International Airport, as well as to revitalize neighborhoods. Kintner says HIP's marketing campaign will help to improve public perception about the city.
Posters Kick-Start Marketing Campaign
The marketing campaign hit print, radio and TV outlets in 2002. For the first six months, Kintner says posters drove the print campaign. (Later, the project introduced logos, brochures, banners and billboards.) Three 22 x 28-inch posters were launched in January 2002 to show "what the city is all about," Kintner says. One poster was titled
"Where's a great place for a fun night out?" and displayed images of 30 entertainment spots in the city along with the "Hartford--New England's Rising Star" slogan. The two other posters were titled "Where's a great place to eat?" and "Where's a great place to live?" They showed images of 30 restaurants and 30 neighborhoods, respectively, along with the slogan.
Printmaker, painter and book artist Bill Kelly, who had worked with HIP organizations previously, designed the posters. Manufacturer and commercial printer Lebon Press Inc., Hartford, supplied approximately 10,000 posters. The 4-color, aqueous-coated posters were printed on 100# white Topkote® Gloss text from Unisource Inc., a marketer and distributor of commercial printing based in Norcross, Ga. Lebon Press digitally printed the posters on its Cymbolic Science PlateJet 8 computer-to-plate system from Océ Display Graphics Systems, San Jose, Calif. It used Fuji PictroProof from Fuji Photo Film USA Inc. for colored proofing and a Hewlett Packard LaserJet 5000 Series® machine for ink jet proofing.
"Posters are very visual, and they make things become very real," Kintner says. "It's one thing to say that we have 334 restaurants, [and it's another to] show it. It's all about the images. Posters bring them alive."
Employees from the founding organizations placed the posters in convenience stores, restaurants, lobbies, dining areas and other locations in the city. Also, HIP organizations that held conventions mailed the posters to attendees as part of their marketing kits.
Campaign Brings Results
To gauge the campaign's success, HIP asked Witan Intelligence Strategies Inc., Avon, Conn., to conduct a research study. Witan randomly called 200 Hartford residents in November 2002 and asked questions such as, "Have you seen the logo of Hartford?" and "What's the Hartford campaign?" The study found that 41 percent of the residents were aware of the campaign--a figure considered high when evaluating a brand's success, according to marketing consulting firms such as Witan.
The alliance is now introducing two posters that boast the city's heritage and educational institutions. The city is home to former houses of writers Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe, as well as the University of Hartford and Trinity College.
Preeti Vasishtha is assistant editor of Print Solutions.
Email her your comments at pvasishtha@PSDA.org.
MetroHartford Alliance, an organization that promotes economic growth for business development in Hartford, Conn., used three types of posters to improve business and consumer attitudes about the city. Approximately 10,000 4-color, 22 x 28-inch posters were placed in convenience stores, restaurants, lobbies, dining areas and other locations.
