Tag Archives: whisper

Island of White Rock

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If the Island of White Rock as a brand is not sitting easy with the general populace, it appears that the White Rock BC Council may be having equal difficulties, according to the Peace Arch News. The Whisper presentation in open council ? which was to happen in May ? is to be rescheduled to take place sometime in July. Whisper is the brand strategy consultant from California who suggested this as a brand.

There are other White Rock islands

Another strike against the brand is that others got there first. In the state of Hidalgo some 100 kms northeast of Mexico City and about 50 kms east of the pyramids at Teotihuacan, there is a 16th century Franciscan monastery spectacularly sited on a huge former pyramid dedicated to the chief Aztec deity Huitzilopochtli and designated the “Island of White Rock“.
White Rock Island
Another White Rock Island is currently the subject of a dispute between Malaysia and Singapore in The International Court of Justice at The Hague. This piece of bird-whitened rock (also called Pedra Branca or Batu Putih) is located at the east-side entrance to Singapore.

Nearer home, an islet lying in San Pedro Channel off Southern California is also called White Rock Island. Its undisputed owner is now Mrs. Helen K. Morton of San Francisco. It is located under the lee of Santa Catalina Island and consists of two acres of level tableland formed of whitish rock, sheering out of the sea and covered only with stunted growth.

Owning the brand on the Internet

The real test of whether a brand works is whether Google acknowledges it. So what turns up if you do a Google search for White Rock Island?

Someone is going to be very happy. #1 on the list currently is Bob White Masonry, of Rock Island, IL. Clearly finding a brand that will really perform for White Rock, BC seems to be more complex than one might have thought.

Related:
For another example of a group in search of a brand trying to swim against the current, check out Creative Accountants Need King Canute.

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Branding White Rock BC

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The White Rock Re-Branding survey raised some serious concerns for Pauline Mott, which she expressed in a comment on our post on White Rock identity (Canny for the Bairns).

Her comments have now also appeared as a Letter to the Editor in this morning’s Vancouver Sun. She is far from alone in her views. Lance Peverley has expressed similar reservations in an article entitled Slogans are more than just words. This re-branding urge is fine but you have got to do it right.

What Is A Brand?

By coincidence, Terry O’Reilly on CBC Radio this morning in the Season Finale of The Art Of Persuasion was discussing Six Remarkable Brands.

The images below illustrate these six examples. Most people will instantly recognize the six ‘brands’ he was talking about.

The Beatles
polar bear
Oprah
Las Vegas
lego
Mohamed Ali, Boxer
 

It is a question of instant recognition and knowing exactly what that brand stands for. The brand is not some slick marketing packaging. It reflects reality.

The Magic Is In The Product

That heading is a quotation from William Bernbach, one of the founders of DDB (Doyle Dane Bernbach), one of the major US advertising agencies. It was said more than 50 years ago but it is still true.

I’ve got a great gimmick .Let’s tell the truth.

No matter how skillful you are, you can’t invent a product advantage that doesn’t exist. And if you do it’s just a gimmick, it’s going to fall apart anyway.

Developing A Credible Brand For White Rock

There are many millions of people who know and love White Rock. How do they think of it? How can you capture their perceptions in a brand? One approach is just to ask people what word do they think of when they think of White Rock. There is even a website, brand tags, that tries to combine such word choices. By now it covers many major brands although the results are not very impressive.

The Whisper Branding Strategy Consultants were a little more elaborate in their study for White Rock. Among other things they asked a series of questions, If the City of White Rock were a motor vehicle what would it be? and on through … a food, … a song, … a famous person, … or a colour. Unfortunately from first impressions it would appear that those who know White Rock do not relate to this new brand.

Pauline Mott wrote to me and said that for her White Rock is:

A walk on the beach, a stroll down the pier, fish and chips with an ice cream cone chaser – that’s the great White Rock experience. This is what makes it special – making happy memories for generations of families.

If many of White Rock’s fans see it that way, then the brand must encompass that. Perhaps Canny For The Bairns if translated from the original Scottish might just work.

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White Rock, BC – Canny For The Bairns

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White Rock is not just a pretty place.

White Rock is looking for a new identity as Pete McMartin tells us in the Vancouver Sun this morning. Perhaps the City of White Rock could do more to sell its charm but the reality is beloved by many already.

White Rock Beach is famous for its 1,500 ft. long pier, its 2.5km long beach promenade and of course the large white rock which weighs in at 486 tons and is a glacial deposit from the coastal range.

White Rock BC

In some ways it reminds me of a place close to my birthplace. That was Seaton Carew on the North-East coast of England.

A splendid promenade connects the Marina with one of the Victorian’s favourite North-East resorts. Seaton Carew with its miles of broad golden sands and safe sheltered bathing is still the perfect venue for a traditional family day out at the seaside. Enjoy good flat beaches to fly kites and build castles, rock pools to hunt shrimps and amusement arcades that flicker and sing.

In those days marketing was all about getting the right slogan or tagline. Seaton Carew proudly proclaimed that it was Canny For The Bairns. For those unaccustomed to the lingo, that translates as ‘the kids will love it’. Seaton Carew seems to have lost the slogan on the Web according to a Google search for the phrase, since the bairns now seek more excitement, to be found only at Flamingoland, Yorkshire in the UK.

The standard Vekoma corkscrew coaster. Dated, and dull, the ride is notoriously rough on necks. It is nevertheless a classic, worth a ride.

Certainly White Rock does not want to appear in any way dated or dull.

Buy Me

This whole business of new identities is really about marketing. How can White Rock get a new brand? That is what Montreal has been struggling with in recent years. How can you rebrand something as complex as the city of Montreal? What is really needed is a reason for people to buy – what the experts call a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

David Taylor of the brandgym works with some great brands like T-Mobile, Hellmann’s, Bertolli, Top Gear, Peroni and Mars and he today is suggesting a brand should communicate a RTB. That’s Reason To BUY, not Reason to Believe. It all sounds like USP by another name.

Hear the Buzz

White Rock now has a re-branding report funded by a $70,000 grant from the Union of B.C. Municipalities. It was prepared for them by Whisper who are Brand Strategy Consultants. Perhaps the report will help them define a new Reason To BUY. However it may be that Whisper has more to offer than just a new RTB. Perhaps White Rock needs a whisper campaign.

As it says on the Whisper Home Page:

Brand strategy boils down to eliminating the need for advertising and PR. By establishing an engaging brand that consumers are drawn to, you can stop chasing them.

Creating that level of engagement requires that you change and take ownership of the conversation in your industry. Own the conversation. It’s the only brand strategy you need to focus on.

It is what people are calling Buzz marketing now. Find ways of getting into the news. Spread the word. Use the social media. When people on Facebook or in their blogs are telling their friends about White Rock BC, then the City Council will know that $70,000 has been well spent.

Related: Unique Selling Proposition or Point (USP)

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