Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Cities vying to recruit young professionals
I attended an event this morning hosted by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce detailing Minneapolis and St. Paul’s joint marketing and branding initiative.
The new campaign, "Minneapolis St. Paul: More to Life," was unveiled at a press conference last month. It will promote the two cities as a single destination and seek to dispel common misperceptions. (For starters, it isn’t snowing here 365 days a year!)
What does this have to do with generations? Alot.
Campaign organizers realized the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul needed to retain its college graduates and recruit Gen Xers looking for a place to establish roots and start a family. (By the way, Minneapolis-St. Paul continually ranks as one of the best places to raise a family and among the top states for quality education.)
Undoubtedly, young professionals bring economic vitality and sustainability to a region. For example, Boulder, Colorado has observed declines in its workforce and local economy when young professionals began relocating to Denver.
A similar example would be the state of Iowa. Most college graduates leave the state to pursue careers in the neighboring Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago areas, making the outlook for Iowa’s cities and commerce quite troubling.
Generations X and Y are a hot commodity for businesses and cities everywhere. That’s why cities all over the nation are engaged in similar marketing campaigns. Minneapolis-St. Paul is in good company -- and competition -- considering that Denver, Milwaukee, Austin, Boston, Seattle, and others are also targeting young professionals under the age of 40.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul campaign features an interactive Web site with a blog, calendar of local events, and videos, not to mention a significant number of print, radio, and television ads, and an aggressive media and public relations campaign.
But as I listened to the presentation on the campaign today, I couldn’t help but think there was something missing. There is a common thread that runs among those cities doing an exceptional job of recruiting and retaining younger professionals, and that’s the engagement of the young professionals themselves.
While the Minneapolis-St. Paul campaign will invest a great deal of resources into media and PR and advertising, it will fall short if it doesn’t actively engage the younger generations.
Take Austin, Texas for example. The city has been referred to time and again as one of the “coolest cities” for young professionals. The city is also home to more than eight young professional groups including Young Execs of Austin, Austin’s Young Real Estate Professionals, Young Hispanic Professional Austin Association, and Austin Habitat Young Professionals.
However, the first and oldest young professional group in Austin was an outreach effort organized by the local Chamber of Commerce. It prospered and soon spurred the start-up of several young professional groups representing various industries and demographics.
Boston is another great example with a young professionals association boasting a membership of more than 10,000 people.
Xers and Ys relate best to their peers. They like the idea of networking, socializing, serving the community, and doing business with their peers. They also like to be invited to get involved and to be empowered to make a difference. Without this critical relationship piece in place, the best intentions to reach younger generations often fail.
I urge the organizers of the Minneapolis-St. Paul campaign to consider their own relationship-building efforts. How will this campaign engage its target market and empower them to get involved, to be passionate about the place where they live and do business, and to make a difference?
Because when it comes right down to it, the success of this campaign hinges on the participation of young professionals. The success of this campaign will hinder on the difference between promoting a place to them, and creating a place where they feel right at home.
The new campaign, "Minneapolis St. Paul: More to Life," was unveiled at a press conference last month. It will promote the two cities as a single destination and seek to dispel common misperceptions. (For starters, it isn’t snowing here 365 days a year!)
What does this have to do with generations? Alot.
Campaign organizers realized the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul needed to retain its college graduates and recruit Gen Xers looking for a place to establish roots and start a family. (By the way, Minneapolis-St. Paul continually ranks as one of the best places to raise a family and among the top states for quality education.)
Undoubtedly, young professionals bring economic vitality and sustainability to a region. For example, Boulder, Colorado has observed declines in its workforce and local economy when young professionals began relocating to Denver.
A similar example would be the state of Iowa. Most college graduates leave the state to pursue careers in the neighboring Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago areas, making the outlook for Iowa’s cities and commerce quite troubling.
Generations X and Y are a hot commodity for businesses and cities everywhere. That’s why cities all over the nation are engaged in similar marketing campaigns. Minneapolis-St. Paul is in good company -- and competition -- considering that Denver, Milwaukee, Austin, Boston, Seattle, and others are also targeting young professionals under the age of 40.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul campaign features an interactive Web site with a blog, calendar of local events, and videos, not to mention a significant number of print, radio, and television ads, and an aggressive media and public relations campaign.
But as I listened to the presentation on the campaign today, I couldn’t help but think there was something missing. There is a common thread that runs among those cities doing an exceptional job of recruiting and retaining younger professionals, and that’s the engagement of the young professionals themselves.
While the Minneapolis-St. Paul campaign will invest a great deal of resources into media and PR and advertising, it will fall short if it doesn’t actively engage the younger generations.
Take Austin, Texas for example. The city has been referred to time and again as one of the “coolest cities” for young professionals. The city is also home to more than eight young professional groups including Young Execs of Austin, Austin’s Young Real Estate Professionals, Young Hispanic Professional Austin Association, and Austin Habitat Young Professionals.
However, the first and oldest young professional group in Austin was an outreach effort organized by the local Chamber of Commerce. It prospered and soon spurred the start-up of several young professional groups representing various industries and demographics.
Boston is another great example with a young professionals association boasting a membership of more than 10,000 people.
Xers and Ys relate best to their peers. They like the idea of networking, socializing, serving the community, and doing business with their peers. They also like to be invited to get involved and to be empowered to make a difference. Without this critical relationship piece in place, the best intentions to reach younger generations often fail.
I urge the organizers of the Minneapolis-St. Paul campaign to consider their own relationship-building efforts. How will this campaign engage its target market and empower them to get involved, to be passionate about the place where they live and do business, and to make a difference?
Because when it comes right down to it, the success of this campaign hinges on the participation of young professionals. The success of this campaign will hinder on the difference between promoting a place to them, and creating a place where they feel right at home.
Labels: Generations X and Y, Minneapolis St. Paul: More to Life, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Young Professionals
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