Branding Fish Hoek
Branding is a huge part of the Revamp Fish Hoek goal: we can’t tell people to come to our fabulous beach, but offer nothing else for them. Can you really expect someone living in Clifton to drive to Fish Hoek because, beach!?
Visit Fish Hoek: where the sharks might eat you but the food won’t kill you? Could that be the Fish Hoek slogan? Is that really what we’re offering?
Hmmm…. I hope not!
Some words on branding:
Too often, those who work in the fields of branding and marketing feel the need to start with a slogan. Multiple meetings and passionate discussions ensue about how to market a place – without much thought into what they’re actually marketing.
Brand is perception: It’s what others think of Fish Hoek that counts, not what we say we are.
The Niche: Fish Hoek has to stand apart from everyone else. If you can take out the town name and replace it with any other name, that’s generic and provides no reason for anyone to visit. Worst words to use in branding include: explore; discover; outdoor recreation; so much to do; historic downtown; center of it all; best kept secret; close to it all; playground.
The slogan a place chooses is synonymous with the brand: Napa Valley = wine; Las Vegas = night life; Venice = gondalas; Simonstown = navy; Boulders = penguins; Clifton = beach. What is Fish Hoek? What sets us apart?
Brands are about product, not marketing: Visitors are looking for things to DO, not just things to look at. How do we involve people in the ‘Fish Hoek Experience’?
Deliver on the promise: Never, ever roll out the brand before you can deliver on its promise. Which takes us back to point 1: we don’t need a slogan to sell Fish Hoek. We need to do the work first to revive the town – the slogan will come, along with the visitors, the retailers, the boost in the economy.
THE NICHE: Changing the aesthetics of Fish Hoek from a dull, beige, dismal-looking town into a vibrant drive-thru art gallery; honoring the multitude of creative talents in the Valley and provide wonderful opportunities to showcase their work, will create a buzz that will spread far beyond the Peninsula.
Street art has been a feature in every village, town, and city across the world – but none of them has transformed their entire town into a 3-dimensional gallery, where visitors are compelled to stop, get out of their cars, and explore the large and small paintings and sculptures that fill the space. An ever-changing landscape of some permanent, but temporary artworks, will keep bringing visitors back to see “what’s going on in Fish Hoek this month?”
The art will represent all the communities across the valley, from the shores of False Bay to the sands of Noordhoek. Whether it comes in the form of a mural, or turning recycled materials into tables and chairs for a sidewalk café; large or small sculptures placed in likely – and unlikely! – places; walking Fish Hoek will be an experience for residents and tourists alike.
Increased awareness of Main Road will undoubtedly bring a better quality of retailer into the town, and that brings a positive impact on our economy – bringing money back to Fish Hoek means a greater level of spending on infrastructure and those sidewalks can finally get fixed.
ADVICE FROM BRANDING PROFESSIONALS:
Be the purple cow. Boring ideas don’t win. Boring organizations don’t grow.
There will always be critics: If the idea is boring, nobody will criticize it. There will be no conversation.
There will be no inspiration.
Do something worth talking about!
In discussing their experience of rebranding a small Canadian town, the project leaders said this, “We’ve also learned that to brand a community you must evoke emotion….both good and bad. It did not matter if we were lizard town; the cavers hated us because we did not ask them…that was it. They felt like we went behind their backs to build a concept that they did not approve of or simply believe in.”
On that note: it should, and will be, stressed repeatedly that Revamp Fish Hoek is a community group.
IT’S ABOUT YOU.
You are part of this community, and your voice will be heard. Those who choose not to participate hand the decisions over to those who do get involved.
In deciding what the Fish Hoek image should be, consider the following questions and then add your comments:
What do we want to be known for?
How do we create that? How do we deliver the image we want to sell?
What is our ‘to do” list?
Is what we promise unique to Fish Hoek, or can people get it anywhere?
Why should people visit (and spend money!) in Fish Hoek?
Can the community buy into it?
Will it inspire excitement and pride amongst the residents?
Can retailers invest in it?
How do we attract new retailers to Main Road?
What is the timeline, and when can we see a return of that ‘investment’ (emotional or financial)?
Can we create a Fish Hoek that is open in all seasons? Can this be a place to visit year-round?
What is the “Fish Hoek Experience”? It has to be more than “great beach – leave your money at home”. What can people, residents and visitors DO? What can people look at?
And, most importantly, what will bring people back for regular visits?
