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It also gives a thinly veiled nod to cheesehead-wearing Green Bay Packers fans.
Gov. Jim Doyle unveiled the brand promise at a tourism convention in Lake Geneva on Tuesday evening. A brand promise is a strategic framework used to plan advertising — in this case, for tourism and economic development.
Developed under a Department of Tourism initiative, the platform reads: “Because of the passionate nature of the state’s people to create fun, express themselves in original ways and feel more comfortable doing it here than anywhere else, in Wisconsin originality rules.”
Tourism Secretary Kelli Trumble said slogans and ads based on the promise will sell Wisconsin as an interesting place for vacation and recreation and a hub for innovative business and research.
For instance, ads could highlight the House on the Rock in Spring Green, breakthrough research at the University of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Art Museum as examples of originality, she said.
Doyle said the brand promise “captures the people of Wisconsin and their legacy of originality, innovation, pride and passion.”
“Whether it’s Georgia O’Keefe or Aldo Leopold, the leaders of the state’s biotech industry or our beloved Packer fans decked out in cheeseheads, Wisconsin is a place where imagination and creativity abound,” he said in a statement.
Trumble said her agency could run ads as early as this summer under the new strategy.
It could also be used to promote business, natural resources and education, giving the state a unified marketing strategy for the first time, she said. Wisconsin currently spends about $20 million per year marketing itself under various programs.
“We believe we have unearthed for the first time that soul of Wisconsin, which is the brand of originality,” she said.
Trumble started the initiative last fall by forming a committee of marketing experts and others to study what distinguishes Wisconsin from other states. The committee held focus groups in Minneapolis, Chicago and Wausau, received input from a wide swath of business and education leaders and researched what other states had done.
In the end, the group decided to tout the state’s proud and friendly residents and an atmosphere that allows people to relax, be themselves and pursue their passions.
University of Wisconsin-Madison marketing professor Jack Nevin said the state was wise to promote its already proven tourism industry and the innovation that will be important for the state’s economic development.
“I think it’s a really smart way to go. You’re looking at two positions that enhance economic development, which we need to have,” he said. “The promise is encouraging but it’s about developing programs to make the promise a reality.”
Rep. Steve Wieckert, R-Appleton, has pushed for a state brand for years as an economic development tool. He said he worried the effort will focus too heavily on tourism and not receive support from the business community.
Time will tell whether the state’s new message resonates, he said.
“Whether it’s light years ahead of the status quo or just a few steps forward, I don’t know,” he said. “But their efforts are certainly moving in the right direction.”
