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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2008 > January > 18 > Entry
Get Midwest — or not?
The Dayton Development Coalition has unveiled a new branding campaign for the 12-county Dayton region.
The slogan is “Get Midwest … We Think of Everything … Dayton region.”
So, whadya think? Will it stick? Does it resonate? The coalition spent $1.5 million over two years developing the campaign. Surveys, focus groups, interviews and more were part of the process.
Next up is a $2 million marketing campaign. That money is coming from the Mathile Family Foundation, while the development bills were paid with state funds and private contributions.
Will it sell us? Do you love or hate it? Have any better ideas?
Comments
By painfultruth
January 18, 2008 5:42 PM | Link to this
Are you KIDDING? A “coalition” spent a million and a half bucks on a “slogan” to promote the Dayton area? My only comment is these people have totally lost their minds! Do I think it will work? Just about as well as a rain dance! While I agree something must be done to bring jobs to this area, a slogan has about as much impact as a single raindrop in the Pacific. The only people that will benefit will be the advertising company. Get real - clean up the crime and rotted neighborhoods first! Whay would anyone in their right mind move TO Dayton? Ohio has high business taxes, too much government regulation of our personal lives! Unbelieveable!!!By Jim Crotty
January 18, 2008 5:45 PM | Link to this
David Esrati already said it best on his blog.By skeptical
January 18, 2008 5:58 PM | Link to this
The new slogan has a catchy sound to it. But it is terrible as a slogan for the Dayton region. It sounds more like a slogan for a group of Midwestern states. But even a Dayton-specific slogan wouldn’t solve the real problems facing the region.By Caroline Gentry
January 18, 2008 8:10 PM | Link to this
How about this one instead: Dayton, Where Ideas Take Flight.By TRS
January 18, 2008 8:15 PM | Link to this
As I read it the 1.5M was for more than a slogan and since it includes a 12 county area it is more than Dayton. That being said, it will take more than a slogan. What is being done to seek out development and bring it here? Also, the area needs to think regionally and not just about its own turf - communities need to cooperate within the 12 counties included.By Tony
January 18, 2008 8:32 PM | Link to this
Ohio is not the mid west it shold be eastern mid west as someone who grew up in the mid west (Iowa) I take offense to this sloganBy jill
January 18, 2008 10:22 PM | Link to this
Tony, I think you should probably get over the offense.I grew up in Ohio and fifty years ago they were teaching us that we were the midwest. Let’s not change it now!By MarkW
January 19, 2008 1:54 AM | Link to this
I agree with Tony. I lived in Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota before moving to Dayton, and used to debate the “midwest” point with colleagues the 15 years I lived there. Dayton never felt at all like “midwest”. Although I don’t share Tony’s offense to the slogan, “Get Midwest…” suggests Illinois or Iowa, not the Dayton region.By Rod
January 19, 2008 5:48 AM | Link to this
On a national scale, Midwest will not make people think Ohio or Dayton.By CFNeumann
January 19, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this
LOL, I lived in IA/IL/WI/MO & OH. I also lived in CA where we learned that EVERYWHERE east of the rockies are the midwest! :DBy CFNeumann
January 19, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this
Also, where did this money come from?By Stephen Lahanas
January 19, 2008 12:05 PM | Link to this
There are quite a few problems with the slogan - it is obvious perhaps to everyone except those invovled in creating it that it won’t work. So why does it fail so miserably to capture any sort of coherent message ? 1 - Because people aren’t motivated by demographics or geography. 2 - Because slogans are supposed to capture one core idea, not two or three. 3 - Because it totally misses the point as why our region is or should be attractive to businesses & talented individuals. This was a poor investment…By Riverdale Ghost
January 19, 2008 2:35 PM | Link to this
CFNeumann is correct. Everything east of the Rockies to the Appalachians is Midwest. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin are “The Old Northwest Territory” — that’s why you find similar and matching place names and even institional names in the whole area. And, just incidentally, “The Old Southwest Territory” is Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. In the early days, the United States only extended to the Mississippi River. As for the slogan, it sounds like something concocted because no one could think of anything.By karon
January 19, 2008 5:55 PM | Link to this
high speed passenger rails are coming to ohio!By Skeptic
January 19, 2008 8:39 PM | Link to this
I agree with many of these comments. I live and work in the City of Dayton, and hope things will continue to improve. I support the idea to create a stronger “brand” for the Dayton region. Even so, this is a terrible slogan. It is completely generic and says nothing about the heart of what the Dayton region is about. How about “Discover Dayton: home of innovation”? Just about anything would be better than this one. It somehow manages to sound arrogant and boring at the same time. The Coalition needs to wake up before they spend any more money on this.By Riverdale Ghost
January 19, 2008 8:42 PM | Link to this
PS: Yes, I can spell institutional. And, yes, you can find maps with the designations as described.By oldtimer
January 20, 2008 10:47 AM | Link to this
remember ‘it’s great in dayton’? how about the ‘90-minute market?’ both of those and several others have come and gone. to create a ‘brand’ without using the word dayton seems pretty useless even if the coalition is on the right track. more $$$ to the marketing ‘gurus!’By Greg Hunter
January 20, 2008 2:05 PM | Link to this
The people at the coalition have figured it out - Distance yourself from Dayton. I do not think any of the Coalition lives in Dayton as the goal is too promote people coming in for WPAFB to pick somewhere in the 12 County area to live. With 675 and the Greene, who the in their right mind would live in the place! Be Midwest, we are lemmings. Get Midwest - We have Water!By Jeffery
January 21, 2008 12:17 AM | Link to this
Be Midwestern? In other words “we’re totally square and we like it that way.” American Gothic with computers? This is the anithesis of that creative class stuff that’s been talked about.By mike
January 21, 2008 12:56 AM | Link to this
How about simply…experience innovation. This catches it all.By Theresa Gasper
January 21, 2008 11:44 PM | Link to this
If you’re interested in the entire package, check these out for a broader scope… http://www.daytonregion.com/getMidWestinfo.aspx or http://www.daytonregion.com/beMidWestinfo.aspx Maybe it’s confusing, maybe it’s not what everyone else would come up with, but it’s only going to be successful if we all get behind it. We can either prove the Coalition wrong, or we can help promote the region and all the things we love about it and enjoy the good things that happen as a result.By Ouch
January 22, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this
The slogan is obviously the result of trying to keep too many people happy when putting it together. Alas, it falls flat. I understand the money raised is for the entire campaign, and not just the slogan - perhaps it’s not too late to revamp the latter. Whether or not Ohio is part of the Midwest (I’ve never thought so, but regardless), it is far too generic a term to use for a slogan - especially one where the “Dayton region” is the focus of the campaign (to be honest, even the word “region” softens what should be a phrase with “punch.” I understand and applaud the goal of the campaign - but the slogan is weak and does not carry the message.By No one
January 22, 2008 10:11 AM | Link to this
Gee - it strikes me as a bit funny the Coalition used Lori Turner (aka Congressman Mike Turner’s wife) to come up with this slogan and marketing plan. Who, in their right minds, is going to stand up and say that this campaign is horrendous with her on the payroll????By David E. Bowman
January 23, 2008 4:45 PM | Link to this
Out of curiosity, I put up a poll on this. Do you “Get Midwest?” Cast your vote. http://www.davidebowman.com/get-midwestdo-you-get-it.htmBy Yvan Melnikoff
January 24, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this
If Midwesterners in this commentary can’t even agree on what connotes Midwest,� than by what process were the selling points of this slogan derived. I simply can�t come to terms with the notion of this slogan clearing a single focus group,�and the price tag!!!! If the $1.5 million dollars had been thrown down as a price in a competition between regional universities,�Dayton, could have filled up the town with a festival of the presentations and found some �creative� way to �elect� a winner, and solicited the branding contest nationally as a human interest story = free PR. It�s exactly that sort of short sighted thinking on process that helps keep local �creatives� discouraged.By Kelly Brown
January 27, 2008 1:57 PM | Link to this
Get Midwest - I don’t Get It. The Midwest runs from the Ohio River to the Rocky Mountains, including the Prairie and Great Plains and consists of 12 states. Did we ask the other ll states and the other regions of Ohio to share in this $1.5 million, 2-year project since all may benefit from it? How could an organization that calls itself the “Dayton” Development Coalition come up with this? In a time when we are trying to establish a “creativity class” this is the best we could do? I am a marketing and communication professional and I find this campaign an embarrassment for my hometown - a town I am very proud of. A good brand says what it is in its name and/or tagline. It shouldn’t have to be explained in 6-column editorials. This brand says nothing about the Dayton Region, its work ethic, family values, its creativity or its innovation. Shameful.By Interested
January 28, 2008 12:41 AM | Link to this
?Get Midwest? is far too vague and doomed to failure. But, it might be a good start if the research is correct according to Kevin Riley that says business leaders equate ?Midwest? as ?a good place to start a business, where loyal, hard-working employees can have a high quality of life.? Therefore, why not be direct? Rework the slogan so it focuses on the Dayton region in a good light and captures the midwest qualities. My suggestion: “Get Dayton ? The Jewel of the Midwest”By Dayton Boy Transplanted to Tampa Bay
January 28, 2008 7:48 AM | Link to this
My slogan suggestion: “Dayton is Where the Dream Died” I was a Miami Valley native for 38 years.By wynn
January 28, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this
I was flabbergasted when I read the slogan and the time and money spent. I think it’s awful but when I went to the Dayton Development Coalition web page and saw the full slogan “Get Midwest-We think of everything” with its pitch it didn’t resonate as badly. That said, “Get Midwest,” if it stands alone, doesn’t pique much interest to even go to the web page. It’s so generic squared.By Brian Butcher
January 28, 2008 1:26 PM | Link to this
The most important word “region” is the last word. Hopefully this slogan will help the entire Miami Valley recover from years of economic troubles.By James
January 30, 2008 2:59 PM | Link to this
We can’t agree what “midwest” is for good reason—the definition of the term has shifted much farther to the west than it originally meant. As a Clevelander, I never thought Ohio was midwest—it was always an eastern state in my mind. Having said that, I have absolutely, positively no positive association with the word. In my mind, “midwest” is a term applied to Ohio by clueless New Yorkers. These days, it’s an insult.By Jeffery
January 30, 2008 7:47 PM | Link to this
I am amazed on how many folks posting here don’t consider western Ohio the Midwest. Do some country road riding in Western Montgomery County…it doesn’t get more Midwestern.