Marketing Tool: BRANDING City of Topeka Parking Department
History – Dwight Eisenhower statue (Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Abilene) i Discovery – astronaut suit (Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson) i Nature – Monument Rocks (Gove County) i Western History – the “Marshal” (Boot Hill Museum, Dodge City) i Arts & Culture – glass artist (Moon Marble Company, Bonner Springs) i
When viewers moved their cursor over each image, they saw a larger piece of the photo and a short message. Result: New travelers spent $73.5 million in Kansas— and the state saw an $80 return on its advertising investment for every $1 spent. Dan: It isn’t Reach if it isn’t Read. This digital campaign for Kansas Tourism makes people look, attracting attention with strategically created outstanding images and concise, punchy copy. Then its audience is engaged in uniquely fun and interactive ways to gather information about Kansas tourism hot spots. One of the keys to the success of the campaign is driving people to it through the use of mass media advertising. Many businesses create stellar websites and amazing digital ads but just putting them online doesn’t mean people will see them. It’s like a guy winking at a girl in the dark. Lots of time and money can be spent and you’re still invisible without reaching people and driving them to see you online. Tim: This campaign looks to have broken through by focusing on its key targets. Ad placement is key in an online campaign, as it is in any media campaign. This is a great example of using a good creative piece to drive people back to the website for more information.
The City of Topeka’s Parking Department saw a need to develop a new and positive brand image that tells people that parking in downtown Topeka is easy to find. A new logo and slogan “PARK IT” are visual tools that help visitors to easily find parking. Visitors can download a parking map and the new visitor brochure by clicking the Park It button on the city’s web page. The new visitor brochure was designed to provide information on location of lots and public parking garages, hours of operation, cost of parking, parking violations and permits, and also invites people to visit downtown. Tim: This campaign is “Small but Mighty.” Sometimes people don’t realize what seems like a simple campaign can make such a big impact. On the surface it may sound like a creative way to tell people where to park, but in reality it is showing people how easy it is to patronize downtown. They developed a unique, creative and fun way to let people know exactly how to find downtown parking options and take away any reluctance they might have. Not only is this great information for visitors to Topeka, but also current residents who just don’t know how easy it is to find a place to park. This is a good marketing example of researching a problem and finding a way to fix it! Dan: Unique colors and images make this a logo that will stand out and help people find parking in Downtown Topeka. Current parking signs apparently go unnoticed; I’ve lived here over 30 years and I don’t remember any. So seeing them without mental registration is like not seeing them at all. Consistent use of the unique new logo across other platforms could include the same image dotting on every single map of our city’s downtown area to indicate our convenient parking spots. TK
TK...Topeka's Business Magazine
Summer 2013
45