Chicago 2016 Organizers To Market City To The World
Organizers of Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics will begin “marketing Chicago’s
identity to a world relatively unfamiliar” with the city, according to Rodriguez
& Bergen of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Former U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley,
the brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, will “put on a full-court press to
enlist [CEOs] and other senior managers from top Midwestern companies to tell
Chicago’s story.” William Daley: “There are 100 Fortune 500 companies in the Midwest
and we’ll drag them in, not only as sponsors ... but in ambassador roles.” World
Business Chicago (WBC) has spent the last “six or seven years developing a new
brand positioning” and will help craft the campaign message. WBC Exec Dir Paul
O’Connor said that the goal is to “meld the descriptive, ‘with the emotional,’
around the idea that Chicago inspires.” Rodriguez & Bergen note research by the
Chicago Council on Global Affairs suggests that, “at least in China, there’s a
distinct lack of knowledge among executives about Chicago.” Chicago 2016 Chair
Patrick Ryan “isn’t necessarily convinced Chicago has an identity crisis,” but
he noted that the “global familiarity with [the city] indeed needs to be broadened”
(CHICAGO
TRIBUNE, 4/27).
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