Thursday, March 31, 2005
Staunton, VA has the right idea. Publicity, not advertising, represents the most efective way to build a brand when you have a restricted budget.
In Staunton's case, they have successfully placed articles in publications like Southern Living Magazine, The Washington Post, and The London Times. Read more.
Many great brands are built with PR, not advertising. Google does almost no advertising, but is frequently featured in business magazines and the general press. These articles carry valuable credibility. Other companies like Google include Apple, Starbucks and Ikea. These companies are relatively light purchasers of advertising but heavy proponents of PR. Other examples of brands built on PR: The Body Shop, Linux, Palm, Quicken, JetBlue.
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Using PR to build a brand
