Positioning Detroit: D. Cars, Culture, Gaming, Music, Sports

The recent death of Disco D got me thinking about artists in the Detroit area who have passed and so the announcement of the rebranding of Detroit to position it as a stronger tourist destination caught my attention.

It's one of those rare instances where a press release is actually full of useful information:
The brand positioning and its graphic representation: "D. Cars, Culture, Gaming, Music, Sports," was introduced at the Bureau's annual membership meeting...

"The brand identity resulted from surveys of more than 1,300 visitors and focus groups in five cities that identified Detroit as "the American city where cool comes from," said Alexander. "This identity focuses on five strengths that best set us apart from other cities -- our auto and music heritage, our distinctive cultural product, Vegas-style gaming, and sports. Together, these strengths, delivered the way metro Detroit delivers them, give us a rare opportunity to own a very powerful and compelling idea -- and that's the first order of business in building a world-class tourism brand identity."

It's worth checking out to get a quick sense of the research behind such a decision and how they will implement their findings.  For example, they're using the phrase D. Cars, Culture, Gaming, Music, Sports and the above graphic not as a slogan but as "an identity reinforcing the assets that define Detroit's 'cool'."  In a sense, it's an organizing idea rather than a marketing slogan.

The decision to focus on a specific demographic group, 21 to 34 year olds, rather than on tourists in general makes a lot of sense.  Unlike baby boomers, for example, many of whom would fixate on the deterioration of Detroit, younger folks might indeed be open to a new view.