I assume Bill would extend the same props to Anchorage’s not-too-distant neighbor, The Yukon Territory, who launched a strikingly similar brand campaign last year called “Larger Than Life”.







At least one savvy Fairbanks-based reporter picked up on Anchorage’s copycat branding blunder.

While apparently a thorough research effort drove Anchorage’s $80,000 brand study, the competitive set analysis only included similar cities, and not the neighboring Yukon Territory just 200 miles down the road.

Everyone is rooting for New Orlean’s speedy recovery, and having tourists flock back to the city thanks to a good brand strategy would certainly help in that effort.

Seth Godin will tell you that any good brand is mythological. And by that he means it has a hero story: a story of trials, pain, and overcoming.

New Orleans has certainly undergone more than its fair share of trials in recent years. Pain? Indeed. It still has a lot to overcome. And a full recovery would be heroic by any standard.

Now look at some of the ads from the CVB homepage:

The tagline, FOREVER NEW ORLEANS, certainly has a heroic ring to it.

The copy conveys a sense of Katrina-overcome, albeit in a tongue-in-cheek manner.

And all the artwork paints a picture of the New Orleans tourists have come to know and love: great food, great drink and great music.

In short, the new campaign conveys the sense that visiting the Big Easy is as easy it ever was.

We’re witnessing a myth being made before our very eyes. And by visiting the city, we become a part of that hero’s tale.

Now that’s good destination branding.

My only complaint with the “Forever New Orleans” campaign is that it can’t last forever. Eventually everyone will want to put Katrina behind them.

But I’m sure no one in New Orleans will complain when that happens.