Ant Hill Marketing

The Hood to Coast Relay is reputed to be one of the premier running events of its kind in the country. Twelve thousand runners come from nearly every corner of the U.S. and many countries around the world.  They pile in two thousand large vehicles and set out on a quest to cover 197 miles as fast as their bodies will let them.  And, to a person, they will call it one of the most fun things they have done in their lives.

I’ve run the race more than a dozen years myself and can easily say it is one of the highlights of my year. And I have always thought very highly of the management and organization of the event.  It is truly a feat to pull this off.  But the staff does not do it alone. Each team is required to provide three volunteers to man the 36 exchange points along the course at all hours of the day and night. It takes a lot of dedication for a person to get up at 2:00 a.m., drive to the middle of the Coast Range, and direct hundreds of vans and thousands of people who are sleep deprived and reaching their limits.  And for their efforts, each volunteer gets a t-shirt that just lets people know “I helped pull off one of the greatest running events around”.

The 2009 Hood To Coast volunteer t-shirt

That’s why I was more than a little disappointed in organization’s response to an obvious mistake on the volunteer t-shirts printed for this year’s event.  As reported in The Oregonian, the bright orange t-shirt proudly declares the person wearing it is a “Race Offical” rather than “Official”. It’s an honest, if not unbelievable, mistake. And our whole running team got a chuckle out of passing around the news.  But, at our final race preparation meeting last night, all we could talk about was the dismissive response of Robert Foote, Hood to Coast Relay president, who shrugged off the mistake and said it “is pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.”  What does that say about the Hood-to-Coast brand?  And how must the sponsors whose logos appear under the mispelled word feel?

I can understand and sympathize with the complexity of running an event like this.  It is a huge undertaking and, yes, a t-shirt misprint must seem like a small gaffe.  But, the dismissive public comment and failure to correct the mistake indicate leadership that fails to recognize the difficulty teams have in providing volunteers and the sacrifice those people make to help pull this event off. It also sends a message to event sponsors that the organization might not be as professional as it appears.

The only possible rationale for the decision I can think of is that it was too late to reprint the shirts once the mistake was discovered or the staff felt that the extra cost would take away from the donations that will be made to the American Cancer Society, the beneficiary of the event.  If either of those is the case, just say that rather than trying to dismiss the mistake as insignificant.

It is a lesson for all organizations (and people) that make mistakes, because we all do.  Own up to it.  Correct it. And stay true to your brand. Certainly the main event sponsor, Nike, understands this. And I hope the Hood To Coast staff has spent the last few days figuring out how they can quickly reprint the t-shirts for the 3,000+ volunteers who will be setting their alarm clocks, grabbing a coffee, and heading out to a place they’ve never heard of — all in the name of fun.

Photo courtesy of www.portlandground.com

I love Portland. We’re not the city that never sleeps. We’re not the windy city. And, we’re not filled with tinsel, bleached hair and botox. But, we are overshadowed by other cities, especially when it comes to creative – and that’s a shame (or a sham depending on how you look at it). Creativity thrives here in our fair City of Roses (regardless of what Fast Company thinks). And with more than 1,500 companies, large and small, in the creative services industry, we contribute a fair share of professional services business revenue and jobs. Yet for some reason, we’re afraid to toot the horn let alone blow a low whistle (a little music once in a while is okay people). Maybe we think we’re great but need proof. Or we’re overly modest. Either way, consider this:

1. Creative services industry employs roughly 15,000 people in Portland
2. We have 344 designers per 100K residents – more than LA and Austin (according to Bureau of Labor Stats ‘08 in Greater Portland Prosperity 2009)
3. The creative vitality here (based on the National Creative Vitality Index - yes there is such a thing) is more than twice the national baseline
4. Portland is among one of the most innovative cities, ranked 6 by Forbes for most patents, and 6th for both entrepreneurship and small business (Creative Capacity Project)
5. Creative industries generate nearly $2 billion and a payroll of nearly $1 billion annually (that’s no chump change) (Creative Capacity Project)
6. More than half of Oregon’s creative firms are concentrated in Portland (Creative Capacity Project)

Portland is a great place to be – to live and work. But we know that already. Even though we’re pushing through a rough spot and our state has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, we don’t have the brain drain other cities are facing. In fact, we’ve got some brain gain going on. More people are moving here from out-of-state than to our western compatriots (that’d be Seattle, Albuquerque, Austin, San Diego, Denver, San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacremento). The region is a magnet for all kinds of talented professionals – a chunk of them in the the creative industry and they’d rather be here than someplace else. Some get the entrepreneurial bug. It’s quite catchy here. Some freelance for local agencies or work directly with clients and supplement with other jobs. Baristas or bartenders are common, but more often they are artists, writers and musicians. Perhaps this is why Forbes dubbed Portland one of the best metro areas in which to ride out the recession. The great coffee, local microbrews, top notch wineries, and growing spirit distillers are definitely a bonus. And innovation abounds (the coffee, beer, wine, and spirits help) with the booming food scene, developing clean/green tech industry, the variety of arts and yes, our creative services industry. There’s no doubt the quality of life here is a big pull for newbies and the anchor for those of us here.  But to keep all this quiet, to simply sit idle hoping the great creative work gets noticed, isn’t the best strategy to help grow an industry sector. We all want good clients whether they reside here locally or in other regions – and other regions are touting their creative (some quite loudly).

So, what makes Portland such a great creative place? I posed this question (on Twitter) to fellow Portlanders and here’s a short list of what they said:

Portland is a great creative city because there are no rules. @DanFellini

Because Portlanders are real people. The lack of restriction and openness promotes a more creative and less stifled spirit. @massagepdx

It’s not that I don’t play well with others; I just want to choose where, when and with whom I play. [It's the] PDX attitude. @LogoMotives

Despite local chagrin, the influx of creatives from all over the country converging here brings broad perspective. @Metroknow

I have mixed feelings about it as a creative city. It’s like a college graduate: full of potential. Now it needs to find its way. @swestbrook

PDXers are curious and not too self-obsessed. Our lives are generally balanced and we leave room for non-work projects. We’re generally tolerant and open to new ideas=innovation. We’re risk takers and revel in a good fail-as-learning experience. @thisKat

Portland creativity=cuz we have twice the creative fuel with half the financial pressure. @vizeboogie

Because in PDX, there is life other than work, and that drives us to be more creative and inspired. @KevMurphy

We are passionate about living. We are free spirits. We celebrate…our ability to listen to ideas that we might not hold dear to ourselves. We live our lives out loud. @dtboyd

It’s this last point, living out loud, that strikes home.  Portland should take pride in our creative abilities and capabilities and not be afraid to shout them to the world.

Social Media Club PDX is holding their second meeting tomorrow, Tuesday March 24th at WebTrends. Kelly Feller, Social Media Strategiest for Intel’s Social Media Center for Excellence will be speaking about Careers in Social Media. Below is a summary of  the event.

Getting It: Careers in Social Media

Are there really jobs in social media and if so, how do I get one? With all the self-proclaimed social media pundits, experts and gurus out there, it’s easy to wonder if the only jobs in social media are for consultants or agencies trying to help big corporations “get it.” Well Kelly is living proof that some big companies do “get it” and are willing to put their money where their online mouths are by hiring specialists with expertise in “being social online.”

Join Kelly Feller for the second official Social Media Club Portland meeting where she’ll summarize various corporate social media jobs (hers included) and what they actually entail. She will also explore ways to stand out in this increasingly crowded space and give some hints to agencies and consultants who are helping companies make sense of the growing social media marketing movement.

Date: Tuesday, March 24rd, 2009
Location:
WebTrends
851 SW 6th Ave. Suite 1600
Portland, OR 97204
Time: Networking 6-6:30,  Presentation: 6:30-8pm
Cost: Free. Seating is limited.
Supported by Widmer Brothers.
RSVP

Wondering how Portland will push through the down economy and grow stronger in the future? Mayor Sam Adams spoke with creative industry folk at the PAF event on March 10. He outlined his Sustainable Economic Development Strategy that details a five year plan to promote economic growth and job creation for our fair city. There are lofty goals including building the most sustainable economy in the U.S. and creating 10,000 new jobs. To do so, we (the businesses of Portland) must be leaders in sustainable job growth, sustainable way of life and inclusive prosperity that doesn’t leave anyone out from reaping benefit to growth. 

Recognizing the strength of creative services industry and the subset that includes marketing, advertising, design, and interactive shops, he told those in attendance that he would travel to help local businesses grow and help gain focus on local firms pitching clients outside the city and region. He and his team are also working diligently to aid in bringing new business headquarters to Portland (read – new clients).

Currently the Mayor and his team are working on a “creative capacity” project strategy to be delivered in April. Based on what he explained, this strategy does not include creative firms and is mostly the arts (due to lack of funding and the need to stabilize the arts). However, the plan is to partner with Portland’s creative services industry to aid in – what many have longed to hear – developing a brand strategy for the City of Portland.  He followed by emphasizing that the goal is to be strategic, not simply develop a logo or a look. 

Our Mayor seems to get the benefit of brand development.  But, it leaves me wondering, why not include the creative service industry folks in the planning now? To deliver on the brand, it’s got to be infused into and aligned with all functional areas of our city and needs to be a part of the strategy now, not simply a piece of the delivery.  Just as a private sector organization must align its business and brand strategies in order to deliver on the brand promise throughout the organization, so too should government entities align city strategies and brand. If not, our fair city may miss the boat and wind up with just a logo and a look and another campaign.

The Portland chapter of the Social Media Club is re-launching tonight. The Social Media Club is a world-wide organization that focuses on four main areas:

1. Expand Media Literacy
2. Share Lessons Learned Among Practitioners
3. Encourage Adoption of Industry Standards
4. Promote Ethical Practices through Discussion and Actions

This group is all about bringing people together to share ideas and learning from each other.  If you want to find out more information about this event and learn how to get involved, visit the Social Media Club PDX blog.