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Downtown Grand Rapids Branding Campaign


GR_Urbanist

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They are trying to go with a little tongue in cheek humor, but unfortunately I think it's going to come off as an inside joke only a select few are going to get. And what good is a joke, that nobody gets?
Quite a few people probably won't get the joke and take it literally, thinking that Grand Rapids is opposed to people coming downtown. :P
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Well, you know what they say...... "it's a good secret to have". :thumbsup:

Keep it a Secret????????

:shok: For what reason?????

You can't be both big time and a secret. This is further evidence of just how much city leaders are struggling with where they want the city to go.

That being said, how many cities would love to be in the situation that GR is in, getting national headlines about its growth.

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Any ad campaign or branding that you have to "explain" to people is a failure. And every time I think the words "Keep it a secret", I can feel the eyebrow bridge over my nose come down like it's furrowing. A very negative response to the message (maybe subconsciously?).

I can just see the meetings:

"OK, describe Grand Rapids in one sentence"

"The best kept secret in the ........."

"Oh, that's good!". "Good job Wilson!" Pat on back, repeat, repeat

I don't mind the colors, which are very eye-catching. Why didn't they use "The Secret's Out!" or "We can't keep it a secret any longer!"

Ooooyyyyy!!

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Finally, I can't tell you how many times I've met people from out of town and inevitably the conversation turns to, well Craig, where are YOU from?

And I always say, Grand Rapids.

BUT NOW!

I can throw in, Grand Rapids, keep it secret.

keepit.jpg

Sorry, I only accept paypal.

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I've done work on metropolitan branding campaigns like this in other cities and it is a thankless task. All the good ideas have already been used and the audiences are so jaded it's hard to get a message across. I applaud H-M for pushing the envelope in that respect. Is Grand Rapids savy enough to dig the reverse psychology? Is reverse psychology appropriate for this type of message? I'm not convinced yet, but it's something different and that's a good thing. The colors are bold and will stand out... but primarily red, green, blue isn't much of a stretch. What do you expect for chump change like 80k? Yeah, the city can't afford to spend that kind of money but they can't afford not to spend it as well. Do nothing and die. Don't get me started on H-M and their past work... I've already dug a big enough hole for one day. Is that a ranty enough rant for everyone =:-)

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Any ad campaign or branding that you have to "explain" to people is a failure. And every time I think the words "Keep it a secret", I can feel the eyebrow bridge over my nose come down like it's furrowing. A very negative response to the message (maybe subconsciously?).

...

...

I don't mind the colors, which are very eye-catching. Why didn't they use "The Secret's Out!" or "We can't keep it a secret any longer!"

Or if they were really trying to be cute and playful make it. "Can you keep a secret?"

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Now I know where I've seen those circles before. It's the angry eyes of the martians on Bug's Bunny:

martian1.gif

Whatever. It's probably not going to make or break any momentum downtown.

:rofl:

Bugs Bunny: Eh, what's up doc?

Marvin the Martian: Oh, I'm going to blow up downtown Grand Rapids.

Bugs Bunny: Yeah? Well, you sure picked a nice day for it. Hey, nice looking weapon you got there. Well, I'll be seeing you around, Shorty! Adios!

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:rofl:

Bugs Bunny: Eh, what's up doc?

Marvin the Martian: Oh, I'm going to blow up downtown Grand Rapids.

Bugs Bunny: Yeah? Well, you sure picked a nice day for it. Hey, nice looking weapon you got there. Well, I'll be seeing you around, Shorty! Adios!

Duck Dodgers:

Whaddayaknow? It dithintegrated....

dis.jpg

Sorry, SO off topic :blush:

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First of all, I want to know how many of the 50 people who got a chance to chime in on this project were under 40. From the tone and the just-unveiled-yet-already-dated look, my guess is not many.

Sure, the "Keep it a secret" tagline contains a healthy dose of sarcasm, but that doesn't make it fresh or edgy. And even if the tagline was fresh and edgy, using staid delivery methods like letterhead and lightpost banners to deliver the message innately kills any cool that might have been present in the endeavor.

In summary: :sick:

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What are we to do when most of us agree that this is either, "aww, nice try, but seriously where's the real thing!" or "awww, your a professional and you can't even sell a local? :shok:"

Is this us being too self-critical or is this really what we are thinking? How can we sell others when we obviously can't even sell ourselves?

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Well this is a sorry day for grand rapids....... We dont fund festivals, we cant have pools open, we charge for parks, but we get s****y advertising firms to do s****y banners and hopefully a s****y ad campaign, thanks for nothing h-m!!! dont quit your day job losers!!!! thats my rant for today...sry. :angry:

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Well this is a sorry day for grand rapids....... We dont fund festivals, we cant have pools open, we charge for parks, but we get s****y advertising firms to do s****y banners and hopefully a s****y ad campaign, thanks for nothing h-m!!! dont quit your day job losers!!!! thats my rant for today...sry. :angry:

About Grand Rapids lack of funds for festivals, pools, parks, etc. Keep it a secret.

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