Rebranding Detroit

From Driscollwiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

Rebranding Detroit

Despite efforts to rebrand, there are still many negative news stories

Big take-away from compiling this document: Detroit is historically known for many things. The re-branding effort is all about managing nostalgia and memory. Which historical details are highlighted, which are not? How are different populations targeted with different historical accounts of the city?

e.g. in music...

Motown- Yes; The Stooges- No; But Death- Yes for a certain audience. Insane Clown Posse- No. Eminem- Yes.. but with some apparent backlash from readers of Detroit Free Press. Where does Detroit Techno fit into the re-branded city? Too industrial? Note how Theo Parrish is sampling environmental sounds in the mini-documentary below -- field recordings seem more "organic"/"alive" than drum machines or synthesizers, even if the recordings are of industrial machinery?


Michigan's "Cities of Promise"

State-level

"... a new Detroit is rising. Entrepreneurs, young people, and immigrants are joining hands with Detroiters in a new kind of promise. A new, inviting riverfront, reinvigorated neighborhoods, and historic renovation are the first steps toward a high-tech future in the new economy."

"Cities of Promise is an initiative led by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) that applies resources and the expertise of statewide partners to restore the urban neighborhoods and districts of eight Michigan cities to former attractiveness and vibrancy.

Through Cities of Promise, municipalities and organizations are working to:

  • Improve safety/security
  • Reduce unemployment
  • Improve educational attainment
  • Improve health outcomes
  • Increase/improve cultural opportunities

These efforts promise to attract entrepreneurs and people of talent to apply their inspiration and innovation to boost the economic vitality of these important cities. "

Motor City Makeover

City-level

"Motor City Makeover" is the name of a city-wide clean up event that is held annually in different parts of Detroit:

But this is also a key term used by city officials when talking about the city

  • Journalists are also using it, often in headlines
  • Also the title of an "initiative" by the mayor's office
  • e.g. "The purpose of Motor City Makeover is to keep Detroit clean and beautiful."
  • http://detroitk12.org/news/article/1903/

Time, Inc.'s "reinvention bureau"

  • Mayor Bing talking to Time, Inc. about a series of stories about Detroit's comeback
  • "Time's "reinvention bureau" will operate from a 95-year-old home, recently purchased by the company, in Detroit's historic West Village neighborhood. "
  • "Time Inc. writers and editors will live in the house for a year, blogging and writing about rebuilding Detroit (presumably not in their pajamas). The articles will appear in Time-owned publications in business, sports, real estate and in shelter magazines like Real Simple and Coastal Living. The pitch to advertisers? A group buy across Time titles running the reinvention coverage. Not surprisingly, the first story will be about Mayor Bing and will appear in one of the Fortune Group's magazines, says the ad executive."
  • http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/18/time-warner-detroit-business-media-detroit.html

Chrysler

Chrysler in their ads (first aired during the super bowl--that one was quite long, at least a minute) about the city being the quintessential American city, etc etc. And anything related to re-branding cities (though I have quite a bit of that already).

Chrysler YouTube channel:

Check out the sarcastic response to the ad in the comments of the Michigan Daily:

  • http://www.michigandaily.com/node/59044/talk
  • "So, Detroiters are doughty survivors in an urban/industrial dystopia. Cool + grit = hip; got it. But if the going rate for generating ephemeral self-flattery like this is $83,333 a second, the Motor City may be in the wrong line of work." -- Wolfe
    • "Your cynicism is equally matched by your cluelessness." -- Dick Weed
      • "You’re defending the Daily's editors, who're defending Chrysler, which bet $10M (despite still owing Uncle Sam for its 2nd bailout) that Americans can be pulled/distracted from their slough of despond (long enough, at least, to buy a car) by a Stuart Smalley-esque paean to their own egos (a la “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”), and I’m the cynic? Neat trick." -- Wolfe

"Imported from Detroit" playlist

"Perseverance"

  • About a Alissa Czisny, a figure skater
    • Comparing the challenges of her career (failing to make the Olympic team) with the challenges faced by Detroit
    • "To get up after you've fallen..."
    • "Detroit IS coming back. It may not be visible yet..."

"Voices"

  • Older videos include: gospel singers
    • Reflecting on watching the Superbowl video
      • "We jumped up ... that's our city!"
    • "One thing I know about Detroit... we always bounce back, we always bounce back..."
    • Remembering when "everything" was made in Detroit: "One day, we're going to return and we're going to affect the globe again"
    • "I want the world to see Detroit as a place of healing, a place of reconstruction, a place of hope, a place of life"

"Dedication"

  • Interview with a Detroit cop
  • "I'm from Detroit."
  • "It's the major city in the state of MI."
  • "I truly feel that the people from this area are fighters. They are some of the toughest people in the world."
  • "We get knocked down, we get back up, we keep going"

Chrysler 200 - Eminem - Imported From Detroit - Super Bowl 45 Ad

Tech

Detroit Digital Justice Coalition (DDJC)

  • Receiving $2m in federal stimulus funds (along with Michigan State University)
  • Part of Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) (created by TARP)
  • http://detroitdjc.org/

Southeast Michigan Startups

  • http://semichiganstartup.com/
  • Great resource for mapping out a variety of new businesses in the area
  • Some blog-like accounts of new initiatives, changes, policy, etc.
  • Networking events
  • They sponsor the "start up news" on Model D (see "Bloggers")

Robocop Statue

This deserves its own subsection

Mayor solicited suggestions for a statue and internet participants overwhelmingly voted for "Robocop"

Imagination Station raised $67,436 via Kickstarter

When asked if 50,000 could be better spent, Jerry Paffendorf from Imagination Station responded:

  • "The truth is, it can be very hard to get people excited about parting with their hard earned money, no matter how worthy a cause. When something like a RoboCop statue comes along and gets people psyched about collectively crowd funding something in Detroit, that energy needs to be encouraged, and ultimately it can be channeled into other efforts and a general awareness that things like this are possible (and in fact happen) here."

Imagination Station

"The Imagination Station is a nonprofit based in Detroit. In the summer of 2010 we purchased 2 long-abandoned houses and 3 vacant lots on Roosevelt Park facing Michigan Central Station. Now we are in the process of creating a community media center and a rotating public art space, and we need help."


Bloggers

I Am Young Detroit (sometimes called IAYD)

  • http://iamyoungdetroit.com/
  • Blog/news site with some original video
  • "Launched in BETA on January 1, 2010, I Am Young Detroit is not just a blog, it’s a movement that highlights Detroit’s young Doers: Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders under 40. We profile Young Detroiters who are making their mark on the City of Detroit through their accomplishments and service to the community. We also publish positive news clips from our favorite sources and brief insights into other cool things happening in Detroit. It is our hope that this resource will be used to retain and attract young people to the city. We plan on launching something cool in 2011. Hope you join us!"
  • Sub areas:
    • Digital (tech)
    • Design (creative industries)
    • Decor (features on homes, offices)
    • Dining
    • Do Good
    • Dodge (business)
    • Develop (architecture)
    • Dirt (PR, marketing, advertising)

Model D

  • "Model D is a web magazine that creates a new narrative for Detroit -- telling the stories of development, creative people and businesses, vibrant neighborhoods and cool places to live, eat, shop, work and play."
  • http://www.modeldmedia.com/
  • News about Detroit
  • Special sponsored areas including "Start up news"
  • "Focus areas" include:
    • Architecture
    • Arts
    • City Kids
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Film
    • Green
    • Higher Ed
    • Move to Detroit
    • Redevelopment
    • Shop Local
    • Transit
    • Urban Leadership
    • Woodward Avenue


Dissociated press

  • "Let’s face it. Detroit is not the motor city. That honor now belongs to Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. But that’s really just fine. While being responsible for originally manufacturing the product that creates the vast majority of the world’s energy and pollution problems makes for an interesting legacy, perhaps we can leave that legacy behind. Like the Germans left behind that whole Nazi thing. And by the way, socialism is relevant to this topic, because as cool as the whole gritty “Made in Detroit” thing was on the way down, we need to shed that image. A logo that looks like it belongs to the Soviet Worker’s Party is fun, until there’s actually no place left for the workers to work."
  • http://dissociatedpress.com/2011/01/bold-ideas-for-re-branding-michigan/


Benjamin Chodoroff


Ruth @ Trulia's Blog ("Real estate Pro")

  • ""Extreme Makeover" home in foreclosure. Before I even clicked the link, my Midwestern fear kicked in... I bet it's in Detroit."
  • "On top of being hurt by the subprime mortgage crisis, the Vardon family's blind and austic son's medical treatments and not covered by insurance and the father was laid off from Chrysler. As if that weren't enough, their property taxes increased by nearly $1,000 because of the makeover."
  • http://www.trulia.com/blog/ruth/2008/12/extreme_makeover_detroit


Farming

Garden Resource Program

Earthworks Urban Farm

  • "Earthworks Urban Farm seeks to build a just, beautiful food system through education, inspiration, and community development. We seek to restore our connection to the environment and community. It is a working study in social justice and in knowing the origin of the food we eat."
  • http://www.cskdetroit.org/EWG/

SEED Wayne

  • Urban farm on the campus of Wayne State
  • "SEED Wayne works in partnership with community-based organizations promoting access to healthy foods, urban agriculture, farm-to-institution, and food planning and policy development. [...] SEED Wayne embraces core university functions in teaching, research, engagement and operations. [...] Student leadership is central to SEED Wayne’s success."
  • http://www.clas.wayne.edu/seedwayne/

Hantz Farms Detroit

  • Goal is to create "world's largest urban farm"
  • "Before it became an industrial powerhouse, Detroit was part of a great farming region that fed thousands. But now our city is barren of nature, its neighborhoods “food deserts,” empty of markets selling healthy, fresh food to nourish our families. We can, and must, do better, for our children’s sake."
  • Emphasis on 5 benefits
    • Green jobs
    • Quality produce
    • Cleaner environment
    • Local business connections
    • Supporting broader civic initiatives
  • http://www.hantzfarmsdetroit.com/

Detroit Black Community Food Security Network

  • They currently maintain multiple farming sites around the city
  • "The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN) is a coalition of organizations and individuals working together to build food security in Detroit’s Black community by: 1) influencing public policy; 2) promoting urban agriculture; 3) encouraging co-operative buying; 4) promoting healthy eating habits; 5) facilitating mutual support and collective action among members; and 6) encouraging young people to pursue careers in agriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, bee-keeping and other food related fields. [...] Since our inception, we have focused our energies in three main areas: urban agriculture, policy development and co-operative buying. A brief history of our efforts in each of these areas follows."
  • http://www.detroitblackfoodsecurity.org/about.html

These all seem connected to the Gleaner's community food bank:

Not sure how this fits into the map yet but the "Bioneers" put on an annual conference


Creative industries

Curve Detroit

Detroit Lives!

  • "Established in 2009 by Philip Lauri, DETROIT LIVES!, L3C is a social brand organized around the re-invention of Detroit and the idea of using media development to project a positive message about the city. The brand manifests itself through a clothing line, public art throughout the city, filmmaking, a blog and consulting work helping area organizations project the right image of Detroit."
  • "It’s all about pushing that story of re-invention, hope and the resulting excitement with a brand that encompasses those ideals. [...] Slowly, these various forms of media have a larger multiplier effect that’s geared towards shifting the perception of a city. It’s an interesting manifestation of social branding, but hey, give people something to be hopeful about and slowly their minds change."
  • Murals, events, mixtapes, tshirts, blog, ...
  • http://detroitlives.org/about/

Music

Death

Detroit Techno

  • Techno is from Detroit, a fact that is occasionally celebrated by the city
    • e.g. techno plays in the tunnel between concourses at the Detroit airport, clearly a reference
  • It's not clear to me yet how much this is part of the re-branding
  • e.g. is techno difficult to (re)claim because it seems european to many americans?
  • Easier to focus on Motown and punky rock (Stooges, MC5)?

Theo Parrish

  • Major techno DJ/producer
  • One of the few techno people that seems to be part of the re-branding
  • In 2008, Adidas did a short doc with him that is very similar to the 2011 Chrysler ads:
  • "People in Detroit some of the warmest people you'll ever meet, some of the strongest people you'll ever meet"
  • "Working town ethic ... a put up or shut up town"
  • Video of Parrish "collecting sounds"
    • A history of Detroit "music, cars, trains, sonics"
  • It shows him building up a beat from the environmental sounds he collected
    • "The Detroit wall" in the record store, subtly pointing to the history of techno in Detroit
  • Parrish is an important figure defining the current-day aesthetics of "Detroit techno"
  • Another useful jump off: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Electronic_Music_Festival
  • Not sure how deep you want to dig on this but there's an "oral history" of Detroit Electronic Music Fest: http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1186

Archer Recording Pressing

  • Very well known for cutting classic Detroit techno and hip-hop records
  • http://www.archerrecordpressing.com/
  • Recently, a short doc was made about the behind the scenes
  • Family business
  • Highly industry process

Insane Clown Posse

It's so cold in the D, 2008

Events

D Movement

  • April 12, 2011
  • "Innovators collaborating for a better Detroit"
  • "Detroit is revitalizing, and there are both small and large organizations helping to make Detroit a metropolitan success story. As part of our effort to showcase the interesting and exciting things taking place in Detroit in which anyone can participate - Detroit resident or not, we're bringing our message to the suburbs in an event scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 12th at 6:00 p.m. at the VisTaTech Center at Schoolcraft College in Livonia. During this event you will hear speakers representing various Detroit-based groups, enjoy entertainment by The Sugar People, and during the networking portion of the event, enjoy an art show by the Schoolcraft College CGT Department and refreshments provided by students in Schoolcraft's Culinary Arts program."
  • http://www.dmovement.com/

ChryslerAutos "f-bomb" on twitter

Looks like the company initially tried to suggest that their account had been "compromised". Only later did they reveal that it was the employee of a social media consultancy that had accidentally sent the message.

Screenshots here: http://jalopnik.com/#!5780113

Company in charge of the Chrysler twitter

NMS Statement Concerning Chrysler "New Media Strategies regrets this unfortunate incident. It certainly doesn’t accurately reflect the overall high-quality work we have produced for Chrysler. We respect their decision and will work with them to ensure an effective transition of this business going forward." --- Pete Snyder, CEO, New Media Strategies, http://nms.com/blog/post/nms-statement-conerning-chrysler/

From the Chrysler blog

Follow Up: More on the #MotorCity F-Bomb Tweet "...as the day and night wore on, comments on various social media sites increasingly expressed either dismay that someone would lose their job over an online oops and that Chrysler was acting, as one poster put it, “in a stiff, corporate way.” Some posters even asked why we didn’t make light of an accidental “f-bomb.”

So why were we so sensitive? That commercial featuring the Chrysler 200, Eminem and the City of Detroit wasn’t just an act of salesmanship. This company is committed to promoting Detroit and its hard-working people. The reaction to that commercial, the catchphrase “imported from Detroit,” and the overall positive messages it sent has been volcanic." --- Ed Garston, Head of Electronic Communications, http://blog.chryslerllc.com/blog.do?p=entry&id=1338

Comment on the Chrysler blog by jennifertlim Mar 10, 2011, 3:45 PM: "Speedy response equates to least amount of damage, however, I feel like the authenticity of Detroit and Eminem (wonderful commercial by the way, only compliments for it) is comprised by announcing to the public that Chrysler's Twitter account isn't written by Chrysler. At my workplace, the marketing department takes over the twitter account, and the CEO writes his own blog (he has a Twitter account too but has yet to fully grasp the concept to use it)"

Several other commenters question the choice of Eminem to represent the regrowth and rebranding of Detroit.

More coverage

Smith, M. W. (2011). "Chrysler Twitter account drops F-bomb". Detroit Free Press, March 9. Retrieved from: http://www.freep.com/article/20110309/NEWS09/110309048/Chrysler-Twitter-account-drops-F-bomb?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Nudd, T. (2011). "Chrysler throws down an F-bomb on Twitter". AdWeek, March 9. Retrieved from: http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2011/03/chrysler-throws-down-an-f-bomb-on-twitter.html

From the Adweek comments:

"Hahaha - that's awesome. It concerns me though that the employee was fired so abruptly. I mean, really? Just - BOOM, you're fired? What if this guy was a valuable asset to the organization but for this one tweet? Does firing them make Chrysler appear more sincere somehow about the audience? I mean, if I'm a follower (not), do I go 'Whew...that was a close one. I thought Chrysler was the devil for a second. Well now I'm satisfied." after I hear about the firing?

Lots of brands can get away with saying fuck in a tweet. Used in the right context, and sparingly, fuck is a very powerful emotional mobilizer and has the opportunity to show a human side to a brand. Do we really think Mr. Cleaver is manning all brand's twitter accounts?" Posted by: Jim Mitchem | Mar 9, 2011 8:15:45 PM


Kiley, D. (2011). "Chrysler Splits With New Media Strategies Over F-Bomb Tweet". Ad Age Digital, March 10. Retrieved from: http://adage.com/article/digital/chrysler-splits-media-strategies-f-bomb-tweet/149335/

Retrieved from "http://www.kevindriscoll.org/wiki/Rebranding_Detroit"
Personal tools