Houston. [Is it] Worth It.
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In light of ‘Is Houston the Next Great American City?,’ I would like you to consider the following…
The heat, the humidity, the hurricanes, the flying cockroaches, the mosquitos, the traffic, the construction, the sprawl, the refineries, the ridicule, the pollen, the air, the billboards, the flooding, the image, the property taxes, the short springs, the long summers, the potholes, the no mountains. Houston. It’s worth it.
So goes a new campaign for the city.
[Image: Book cover for the new ‘Houston. It’s Worth It.’ campaign. Courtesy of Houston. It’s Worth It.]
What I find most interesting about this campaign is it’s personal nature…
In a new multimedia campaign, the city of Houston promotes itself in a personal way, showcasing the city’s virtues and idiosyncrasies according to celebrities who call the area home… The city’s approach stems in part from its lack of distinct identity among American cities, despite being the country’s fourth largest, just behind Chicago in population. This reputation for banality puts extra weight on the personal perspective.
- Brand Avenue
As other cities strive for imageability via iconography, Houston aims for mass appeal through ‘customer satisfaction.’ This truly pitches the city as a commodity for consumption.
The following advertisements, part of the ‘my Houston’ campaign, show you where to consume art, food, music, among other goods and services.
Despite the potential of this campaign, it still does nothing to address the real problem of Houston’s history for lack of appeal. This has resulted from a lack of identity for people to latch onto and associate with the city. It is not so much about conformity as it is pride - not that anyone in Texas is short on pride - but this provides an experience that people come to expect.
Think of when you travel to other cities.
- New York, fast-paced with a lot of attitude
- Paris, snobbery with a flair
- Jamaica, laid back with a beautiful view
You come to expect these identities in the culture, the architecture, the food, etc. Iconography - in the form of buildings, landscape, etc. - become objects appropriated to associate with the culture.
Perhaps though, Houston’s campaign can be thought of as grassroots, initiated within from the ground up.
HIWI happened organically in the summer of 2004. Dave Thompson and Randy Twaddle were sitting around discussing why they love Houston and why the city has a bad reputation and they came up with the phrase “Houston. It’s Worth It.” Dave and Randy put up a website where other Houstonians could express why Houston was worth it in their own words. The website continues to provide opportunities for Houstonians to voice their passion for a city that is so routinely misunderstood by outsiders. The HIWI campaign has been covered by newspapers across the country, including the Houston Chronicle, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Boston Globe. Each has run stories about the campaign, calling “Houston. It’s Worth It.” the city’s new “unofficial slogan.”
-HIWI
Maybe we are looking at the first identity formed via web2.0.
via Brand Avenue
Houston. It’s Worth It.
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