Help! My City Has a Marketing Problem

Welcome to the Monday Marketing Brief - a regular chronicle of what's caught my attention in the marketing world. Suffice to say, all opinions are my own.

Have you ever found yourself in a room surrounded by people who just seem to know themselves in an effortless way?

That was me this weekend as we celebrated not only my own birthday, but that of a close friend. As something of a newbie to the group, I still occasionally find myself watching the others in quiet awe from the sidelines.

They are, without a doubt, frighteningly fascinating people. Each of them has managed to craft their own instantly recognisable and inimitable personal brand. There was a musician with a swashbuckling sense of style and a stage name I only recently found out wasn't his real name (it was like being inducted into a secret); the Berlinkinder (I don't think this is an actual word, but I'm going to try and make it one - people whose sense of self has been nurtured and shaped by time in the ever-fashionable Berlin) sipping brightly-coloured liqueur in all black, wielding weighty critiques on literature and art with a beguiling deftness; the artist in his waistcoat and floral shirt who towered above in both stature and intelligence; and then there was me.

I couldn't help but feel like the corporate sell-out in our very own production of RENT - and as someone who so heavily believes in personal brands and identity, it's both reassuring and mildly threatening to see people pulling it off with aplomb through their clothing and opinions and intriguing natures. I certainly didn't feel cool enough to be in the room.

And yet...as the night went on, I was reminded of that valuable, timeless lesson all brands eventually grasp: it's the values, not just the visuals that count. We laughed together, shared impassioned opinions, and all seemed quietly comfortable in each other's company.

From that point on, I stopped casting myself as the corporate square crashing a meeting of Bohemian minds and focused instead on being myself - the truest personal brand you can ever have.

Did you know you can have too many lime sodas? No, honestly.

It was somewhere between my fourth and fifth during the aforementioned birthday celebrations that I noticed the acid rising in retaliation from too much lime cordial. Still, the burning sensation wasn't enough to take me out of a fascinating conversation that I felt I had to write about. So I resisted taking another sip until the danger had passed, and mentally started to take notes as the Musician declared - in almost hushed tones - what none of us had dared to say aloud: “Cardiff has a marketing problem.”

Between the darting glances and the whispered voices, you’d be forgiven for suspecting us of rehearsing to play the part of rag-tag co-conspirator extras from Les Misérables or something. While it’s not as controversial as plotting a revolution, making such a bold statement in one of Cardiff’s suburban pubs could still be seen as a type of dissent.

That’s because the people who live here, love this city. We really do. But for those of us who are after a little creative hit or to put down artistic roots (as both the Musician and the Artist wanted to do), it sometimes feels like you have to compromise on creative outlets and community in exchange for living in an affordable city with lots of greenery and shopping.

At the heart of this problem, we debated around the table, is the feeling that people don't necessarily know what's going on - either due to a reliance on word of mouth, no clear-cut creative quarter, or the self-imposed isolationism of some cliques. I had my own encounter with this when, during my time at a co-working space, I was told point-blank and without any sense of sarcasm or mercy, that marketers weren't liked by the creatives there. Ouch.

The other side of the problem lies with the city itself. Despite extensive redevelopment in the early 2000s and a starring role as the backdrop of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Casualty, Cardiff still doesn’t feel like it’s quite carved out an identity for itself beyond 'the Capital of Wales'.

When this point was raised by one of the Berlinkinder - a Cardiff native, I might add - I immediately drew comparisons to Manchester, the old dame that still has its claws in a part of my heart. Manchester is a city that knows itself. The creative energy of the Northern Quarter is palpable; Spinningfields has its own aura reflected in its glass-fronted buildings and after-work drinks at the Oast House; and the city’s music and art both continue to be formidable presences that can draw you directly into its soul.

By comparison, Cardiff is a young city trying to keep up. In the race to join its contemporaries, however, sacrifices have been made - and those sacrifices have inordinately impacted the creative communities. Whereas Manchester's historic architecture frames the artistic soul of the Northern Quarter, Cardiff has lost many a stalwart institution to redevelopment ambitions.

In the last few years alone, we've lost the likes of supreme music venue Gwdih?, the eclectic Castle Emporium, stalwart institution the Vulcan, and more recently Porter's - a fantastic venue for open mic nights and all sort of hi-jinx - has found itself unwittingly on the chopping block in favour of more 'luxury' apartments.

Alongside the loss of other historic buildings in favour of car parks and the same copy-paste student accommodation, we have the effect of a city that’s lost sight of its roots. In marketing terms, Cardiff has strayed from its original core values (and most of its brand guideline) to instead use the same three Shutterstock images and a tone of voice that can only be described as ‘professional yet friendly’ (side note: I hate that as a tone of voice brief).

So how do you fix a problem like bad marketing in your city?

Although not as serious as cases where cities are tarnished by crime and unfavourable reporting, Cardiff’s marketing problem is a little more insidious in how difficult it is to pin down. To overcome it, we need to focus on the intertwining challenges of disparate professional communities, over-zealous redevelopment, and a lack of visibility.

First off, it’s worth recognising the hard work undertaken by groups – especially over the last two years - to occupy vacant spaces in developed areas left behind by investment elsewhere. Take the Capitol Shopping Centre, for example. Like the tide reoccupying footprints in the sand, groups like the Umbrella Art Collective and Tactile Bosch have filled in the gaps with a hopeful glimmer of creativity. Meanwhile, beneath Capitol, a promising new heart has started to beat in the multi-use art space, SHIFT. In acknowledging their effort and how welcomed it's been, we can market Cardiff's plucky creative soul as undeterred - and where we'll always return to once the concrete has dried.

Secondly, those in charge should take a lesson in tapping into the past for some reliable brand heritage. The new Casablanca apartments, for example, are built on the once-infamous night club of the same name. The Casablanca was demolished twenty or so years ago now, but the team behind the apartment development have tapped into a vein of Cardiff Bay’s pre-redevelopment history to stir up a decent amount of interest. They even have the original sign outside as an homage, and it’s a little bit harder to be mad about the new development – which had no bearing on the original property being knocked down - when they've demystified the process on Instagram. Cardiff is a city rich in heritage thanks to Tiger Bay, Welsh culture, and brand exposure on TV - so it's time to push that to the forefront again.

Finally, as we emerged from the depths of our disheartened rants and noticed our glasses were empty, we looked around the table and realised that it’s up to us as well.

When marketing falls short – or is non-existent – it’s up to the faithful consumer to make a noise (if they feel so inclined to do so). We love our city and we want to see it succeed just as much as we want our creative souls to be nurtured.

As such, we all quietly understood that we had to contribute as well, by sharing what we'd heard about, pulling together the threads of our own professional networks, and reminding people that - despite its flaws - we wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Not really. ?

?I’m starting with a triumph close to home this week, as we congratulate our newly appointed sales director Stuart Blakemore - with whom it's an absolute pleasure to work. I definitely recommend checking out Stuart's recent article about the new role and his aspirations, delivered with the trademark wit and humour we’ve all come to appreciate.

Lis Blair – formerly of Bulb and EasyJet – has been appointed as MoneySuperMarket Group’s CMO, effective immediately. Expect to see the brand being wielded with finesse to help alleviate the cost of living crisis for many households.

?Marketing Week’s Mark Ritson has shared his ‘Recession Playbook’ for marketers looking to navigate the tense times ahead without absolutely losing their minds. I highly recommend giving it a read for some powerful pointers – especially if this is the first recession of your marketing career.

Quarter-end is in the rear-view mirror, and we’re now looking ahead to our next All Company Call – a great opportunity to bring everybody up to speed on what’s happening across the business. This week, I’ll be splitting my attention between setting that up (tip-toeing around people’s calendars like Santa on Christmas Eve), intense planning for an upcoming campaign, and the next phase of some exciting website changes to round off the month.

Thanks for joining me for another Monday Marketing Briefing! Have a super week!