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the cvb exec
Stacy Brown The Other Side of Louisiana
STACY BROWN is the President of the Shreveport – Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau.
MPG Stacy: Meeting planners really opened our eyes to what they see as our assets, challenges and opportunities for growth. I think this will guide our decisions in future marketing and growth of our convention market. For instance, meeting planners told us they want to see more full service hotels. The Hilton Shreveport has been a huge success and with more hotel investors looking at this area, we hope that what the meeting planners have told us and the success of the Hilton will attract more full-service properties to the area. Here is what we gleaned from meeting planners. Regarding our assets: Location - central location makes for less-stress travel planning. Accessibility - plenty of transportation options once you’re there. Casinos - offers great lodging and entertainment for visiting groups. Historical attractions - African-American museum, municipal auditorium. The Louisiana Boardwalk - shopping and dining are good for non-casino goers. Outdoor activities - fishing, rose gardens. Helpful hoteliers - make planning events easy, less stressful. Regarding opportunities: Improve signage - make it easier for visitors and improve highway signs. Revitalize rundown areas - would add to the overall experience. Attract a large hotel - could house larger groups without extra overhead and hassle.
Your bureau recently introduced Shreveport – Bossier’s new brand - “Louisiana’s Other Side.” How does this new brand reflect the results of your research? The other side of what? NorthStar talked to meeting planners, site selectors, residents, group tour leaders, government officials and more. What everyone kept saying in various ways was that Shreveport-Bossier City was different from south Louisiana. They said that we were this blend of Louisiana Cajun culture and East Texas cowboy heritage. The research also indicated that there was tremendous confusion about where Shreveport-Bossier City was located in the state. So Louisiana’s Other Side speaks to a different personality than just what most associate with New Orleans in the South and it geographically claims the other side of the state. We deliver on all the things associated with Louisiana’s rich brand including great food, music, warm weather and fun. But we also give our visitors a little lagniappe in the way of this fusion of Louisiana and Texas.
Branding campaigns can fail because of egos and politics. Please describe the process that your bureau used to guide this effort to its successful conclusion. We were very successful in including both city governments, economic development, hoteliers, arts and culture partners from the very beginning. The timing was also perfect. The community recognized it needed a brand and that was confirmed through a report called the Urban Land Institute, which came in and took a broad look at Shreveport-Bossier City and its future needs. One of its top recommendations was that the region brand itself. The convention and tourist bureau took the lead in that effort, but was careful to seek partners all along the way. At the community brand launch event, both Shreveport and Bossier City’s mayors were on hand for the event. Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover said, “Visitors to the region see Shreveport-Bossier City and northwest Louisiana as one place and that by utilizing the brand effectively, the area’s potential can be properly fulfilled.” Bossier City Mayor Lorenz Walker echoed that sentiment in his address. “This has been a tremendous project, a community project, something that has been needed for some time now because we are one community. My definition (of Louisiana’s Other Side) is we’re the other side of I-10. We have all the good things about Louisiana, plus a lot more including the friendly attitude and diversity. I think this is going to be a tremendous brand for our community. “So Mayor Glover and I would implore all of you to follow this theme and use this slogan in your businesses and all the opportunities that present themselves.”
One of the elements of your new branding strategy is SBTV. What is it and how does it support your campaign? SBTV is a hotel in-room television service. It is going to help us to show our visitors a snapshot of the nightlife, outdoor activities, restaurants, museums and attractions and more. It is going to help us educate them right away about Louisiana’s Other Side.
What is your WOW program? Our Wow program is an educational tool to train the hospitality industry in excellence. One of the things our brand revealed was that like all Southern destinations, Shreveport-Bossier City promised Southern hospitality. But unlike some destinations, we not only promised true hospitality, we delivered it too. So we just want to provide further training to our more than 11,000 hospitality employees in the area.
Do you have any advice for other CVB directors who may be considering a new brand? My advice would be to make sure all of your partners understand what a brand is and to manage their expectations from the beginning of the project. We did lots of public speaking explaining about branding - that is not just a cute logo or a slogan. Logos are a nice way to visually express your brand but communities should not focus on that, but on the research. A true brand is the essence of your community’s character. |
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: After the research was analyzed, what was your greatest surprise regarding the responses from the meeting planners?