Michigan: Brilliant Heart-Based Branding + Positioning
June 19th 2010
So here’s a state that has been decimated with the loss of much of its main industry- automobile manufacturing.
So what they did was shift the focus –from Detroit and its problems to their other abundant natural assets.
What they have done is respond to human needs.
First, there’s the series of Pure Michigan commercials that uses emotional and heartfelt messages of a quiet, healthy, safe respite in a really scary world, whether it’s on land or on their many unpolluted waterways. And they are telling the truth. Michigan is a well-kept secret and absolutely gorgeous with natural resources that take ones’ breath away. Don’t miss it.
Perhaps the most priceless resource they have is their people. They are honest, loyal, hard-working, community-minded survivors. They are midwesterners.
So, in the spirit of survival, they are working hard to become a film capital. Yes, you heard me. They have gone Film Friendly. In a big way. Last year, the Michigan legislature passed nearly unanimously the best film and commercial production incentive package in the nation. They know they need to create a new industry to replace what once was. What innovation! Incredibly creative thinking! In addition to Mother Nature’s stage, imagine all the available studio space that can be created from abandoned or closed auto plants.
Florida is really missing the mark here. We have, and have had for years, ample opportunity to become Hollywood West. We, too, have incredible natural resources and one more thing Michigan can’t claim-amazing weather.
I can’t imagine why we are not pursuing this.
Anyway, bravo to Michigan. Makes me proud to be a midwesterner.
