A year ago the city of Rochester, Minnesota, created a new, more energetic tag line for itself: "Rah Rah Rochester." This news update by David Peterson of the Star Tribune gives you the history of this municipal effort as well as a not very surprising sense that the results to date haven't been horrible. Of course, no one has been taken to the Mayo Clinic for over-excitement either.

There are two problems in the making of this slogan. One is that if a city (or any product or service) is really dull, nothing changes just because a slogan is invented to imply that it is exciting.  Problem two is that if a city (product or service) isn't going to change in order to become what it desires to be in the eyes of others, then it should stick to exploiting what it is.

What do I mean? As Peterson's news item notes, most people familiar with Rochester find it 'peaceful and dull.' In fact, the advertising agency creative director brought in to lead the repositioning effort is quoted in Peterson's piece as saying that Rochester has a "half-empty, humble, content" self-image.

Given there is about a 100% chance Rochester is going to stay this way, then a better slogan would be: "Rochester. Because it's not New York."  Almost as many people who host and attend conventions and stay in hotels in New York City because it is 'exciting,' or full of 'rah rah' also hate the place because it is over-full, not humble, and overloaded with malcontents. Having a convention in a city where someone could actually get convention business done seems to me to be an attribute working in Rochester's favor. Believe it or not, there are some serious-minded convention goers who like getting a hotel room within 100 miles of the meetings… where a cup of coffee isn't eight bucks.

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