Valley PR Blog

Jackie Wright Says:
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:40 pm

Sadly, this is another example of the media latching on to the current “bad news” of the hour and letting it go on and on! While I hate the fact that we have the gun laws that we do and that an AZ resident is calling for the death of our President, we must pick up the pieces and start spreading the word on all the good things this state has to offer. My hope is that the media will listen!

Shailesh Ghimire Says:
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:21 pm

Every place has it’s loonies – doesn’t it? I don’t want to make a list but think of a place and I’m pretty sure you can easily think of some loonie from that place. In this particular case the media is partly to blame – why give this even any kind of credence? Aren’t there better things to talk about? I think there are… but the media likes this because it sells. But as far as AZ’s image is concerned, I wouldn’t worry about it too much – in a few months – no one will remember the gun trotting fellow and hopefully the media gets bored and moves on to the next loonie in the next state….

Marketing Sociologist Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 4:03 am

I believe Arizona works hard at (destroying) its image. Just yesterday I saw a special Arizona license plate. On the bottom was, Arizona – Lots of good characters. Think we can take that good out of that sentence.

We have not had a governor originally elected to office serve two full terms in more than 50 years. Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber was from Arizona. The 9-11 terrorists trained to fly airplanes in Arizona. Even the Miranda Act, which needs to be read to criminals, originated from an arrest in Arizona.

Let’s face it, Arizona has an image problem. The Arizona Office of Tourism probably is the best example of how not to practice marketing. The agency is inept. Arizona ranks just above Utah and New Mexico in Fortune 500 companies – near last. Even Arkansas ranks higher.

Phoenix has the dubious distinction of the highest percentage of job losses since the 21st Century depression started.

In the early 1991 we almost lost the PRSA conference due to Gov. Ev Mecham’s position on the Martin Luther King holiday. We’ve been a laughing stock of the nation more often than not.

Our largest employer is government agencies.
Arizona is not doing a great job of promoting itself to the world. On the other hand, we have the most visited tourist destination in the world. Even the First Family just visited it. Yet our tourism officials are so inept they do nothing to promote that and bring conventions here. If conventions do come here, like the car dealers coming to the East Valley or the government agency that was recently on the news, Channel 15 does an expose, sending all future conventions to Las Vegas.

Both Daughtry and Bob Dylan had to cancel their concerts due to lack of ticket sales – Hall and Oates too.

Our economy is a reflection of the image our tourism officials project to the world. After all, it is tourism that drives Arizona’s economy. Besides the government, we’ve been home to Ramada, Best Western and America West (US Airways). We built our economy on tourism.

We are coming up on Arizona’s 100th birthday. The last state in the Continental U.S. to have a centennial. There will not be another centennial for 47 years – and the baby boomer generation will be dead for that one.

Yet Governor Napolitano practically had the people organizing its celebration arrested five years ago. Rather than embrace the fact someone besides a government agency was coordinating the event, Napolitano appropriated $5-million a year for government agencies to fight this non-profit, Arizona Centennial.

Not just an image problem, a logic problem too. Maybe that’s why the State is the state’s largest employer and we have a $3-billion deficit, no budget approved when the fiscal year started July 1. Even California approved a budget – we are the only state without one. Gee, an image problem?

Mike Padgett Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:25 am

How about a group pro bono effort, involving the many talented PR agencies in Arizona, to add more perspective to Arizona’s image?
Just a thought.

AMRL Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:32 am

I couldn’t be happier than I am in AZ. I moved here partly because of the state’s Libertarian bent and excellent gun laws. Let elitist snobs bash AZ all they want. We don’t need them moving here or trying to change AZ politics to be more like the places they left. If the mainstream media hate AZ, we’re definitely doing the right thing. How’s Mexico’s image doing with its universal gun ban?

Dave Murrow Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:39 am

Good rant by Marketing Sociologist above, with lots of challenges described, even if he posed no ideal solutions.

But, hey, if the Twitter circuitry here in town can get 500 people into a room to hear 5-minute presentations about people’s ‘passions’ (see this: http://bit.ly/GxjZY), there *should* be a way for the indie PR folks here to create a campaign that recognizes the new wealth and talent in Phoenix and greater AZ, and use that as a launchpad to bring about needed ‘cultural identity’ change.

[That monster above, folks, was a run-on sentence.]

Teri Walker Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:41 am

Mike, I agree! There’s a lot more of Arizona’s story that could be told, and who better to help craft it? BTW – not sure the phrase “undereducated cowboys” is very carefully considered…Ouch, on behalf of all the well-educated cowboys out there.

Linda Kaplan Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:54 am

I think these people get way to much exposure and when no one talks back, they think they have more support than they actually do. As a group, we could work to turn this around and set an example for other states. It’s time for the average quiet citizen to be heard very loud. We could do this. After all, it’s what we do.

rosaria Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:21 am

All this from the state that brought us the “toughest Sheriff in the West” and Evan Mecham? Our politics are as wild as our personna. Or maybe it is who we have become. We want to take the AC out of our light rail. Arizona refuses the hand of progress. It’s no wonder we are stuck in the past. Even a slice PR and marketing campaign can’t solve that issue.

Len Gutman Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:14 pm

I think you reap what you sow. Arizona is not much different than other states, we just happen to have a vocal group of yahoos. Maybe the wild west image emboldens them, or maybe they have realized over the years that the moderates in the state aren’t well organized.

I think a state that continues to have low voter turnout and subsequently elects morons deserves what they get. We get guns in bars and racist sheriffs. But it’s not just Arizona — the idiots are running the asylum all over America. Governor Schwarzenegger? Senator Franken? Michelle Bachmann? Er, Sarah Palin?

Don’t blame the messenger. It’s not the media’s fault. It’s our fault as regular citizens who don’t vote and don’t turn out to protest Sheriff Joe and don’t throw out our preachers who preach hate.

Marketing Sociologist Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm

Loved Mike Padgett, Teri Walker and Dave Murrow’s ideas, and a light went on with Len’s comment. Appreciate the ideas on this blog.

Arizona Centennial would embrace brilliant marketing people, community organizers, graphic artists, social media, development people, lawyers, guns and money (a tribute to Warren Zevon and this blog’s reference to guns) to help it pull off the greatest celebration in our nation’s history. Even greater than the presentations at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002. Anyone want to form a group to help? Contact
ArizonaCentennial@yahoo.com today! Remember, the world is watching.

Len’s comment made me realize we have a senatorial and government election next year. Those following this blog could fill the vacuum that exists in both those seats (sorry to the McCain supporters, but this state needs a change).

Wouldn’t it be a tribute to the people who follow this blog to create the greatest centennial celebration plus be responsible for creating Arizona’s political future?

Richard Kelleher, M.B.A.
Marketing Sociologist
Twitter and Friendfeed: PhoenixRichard
MediaRelationsExpert.com

Marketing Sociologist Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:47 pm

Oops – darn spell check, that was governor, not government.

Angelo Fernando Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 3:53 pm

Now that we are done with blaming the perpetrators of this vile deed (including ourselves) I like to see someone take up Dave’s suggestion.

In that New Times pices Moriaty says Phoenix has a reputation, not a personality. That’s not always a bad thing. Some branding gurus like to talk of thjem as synonymous. Manhattan and New Orleans once had a unflattering reputations, but those have been fixed.

Linda VandeVrede Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 pm

Arizona’s wild west/gun/real estate image has been promoted for so long that any concerted PR effort to change that would take some good brainstorming. It’s such a hodge-podge state of transplants that it’s difficult to reach consensus on exactly what any new image should or might be. This was, in fact, the state where Timothy McVeigh did a lot of his planning.

francine hardaway Says:
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:45 pm

As a person who lives in both California and Arizona I can honestly say I am embarrassed about Arizona. And I don’t think it’s media, I think it’s a bigger, deeper problem of transplants who don’t share a social contract, people who don’t believe in paying to educate children, and a government that doesn’t believe we should all kick in tax money to support public goods. You can’t put lipstick on a pig, folks, and right now we are a pig. An economy reaping what it sowed. And a populace without community.

Dan Wool Says:
September 4th, 2009 at 10:05 am

As a CA transplant, I agree wholeheartedly with Francine. Perfectly said. People come to AZ because there is beauty and opportunity but unfortunately, there’s no unifying vision for the future or social buy-in to achieve whatever that is. “Populace without community” – brilliant!

JW Says:
September 21st, 2009 at 5:05 am

Ummm, I grew up here but was born in Chicago. My family dragged me here in 1972 when I was barely two so I’ve been witness to all the changes that have happened here. The problem with AZ is that nobody cares about anybody but themselves. You see it on the freeways, the employment practices, state and local governments etc, etc. Courtesy is extended only to those with their wallets open.
Don’t expect culture or community here either, they are marketing buzzwords from the AZ office of tourism fed to the empty headed mouthpieces on the local news. It’s a transient population usually on a 3 to 5 year layover while they wait to go somewhere else. The right wing is very strong and very vocal in this state and the local news is more than happy to patch the feed to CNN when they’re up to their shenanigans just so the rest of the country can say,”see! it can be worse Detroit isn’t so bad after all!” If there was any redeeming value to this state outside of the scenery (which you have to get out of Metro Phoenix to enjoy) We wouldn’t have such a bad reputation.