City slogans: If you brand it, will they come?

If you brand it, will they come?

The clients may not be on the Fortune 500 list, but PR firms find more local governments want to build a “brand,” distinguishing themselves from other communities to attract businesses and residents.

Minnesota cities from Eden Prairie to Austin and Faribault to Anoka, along with several more in between, have bought into the “community branding” craze.

Brooklyn Park recently committed $150,000 to retain Carmichael Lynch Spong — a creative agency better known for hyping Harley-Davidson motorcyles than suburbs — to revamp what officials consider an undeserved bad rap from outsiders.

“Crime rate is at a 20-year low in Brooklyn Park. A recent survey of residents shows a large majority of you love living here. And businesses are moving their corporate campuses to our city in greater numbers. Despite all of this positive news, perceptions don’t align with reality, especially among those living and working outside Brooklyn Park,” states a promotional blurb on the city website.

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