BUILDING MOMENTUM
SITUATION
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South Main is Memphis' first arts district and brims with authentic charm. In the 1980's, artists rediscovered this forgotten neighborhood located one block off of world-famous Beale Street. With a large inventory of blighted but beautiful, historic buildings, artists and creatives began moving into the neighborhood bringing galleries, restaurants, retail, and development interest.
But two decades later, momentum in the neighborhood had stalled and businesses were eager for increased foot traffic. South Mainers were growing restless with the large number of blighted and vacant buildings as new entertainment and shopping districts in Memphis began to boom. Passionate stakeholders went rogue and began to launch disparate and random branding campaigns for the neighborhood as some retailers and restaurants considered exiting the district for other areas. |
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SOLUTION
In order to make substantive change, we convinced the leadership at Downtown Memphis Commission to dissect Downtown into priority areas and create neighborhood strategies, allowing staff to take a deep dive into districts and address root causes that were stifling community growth. The plan for growth would require than marketing and communications; a well-designed and executed robust plan was in need that included property marketing and activation, neighborhood branding, stakeholder input processes, civic advocacy, public relations, business recruitment, sourcing funds for streetscape initiatives, public art installations and exhibitions, clean and green programs, media and advertising, and new events and programs. This required motivating our high-performing team and providing support and leadership throughout the process.
In order to make substantive change, we convinced the leadership at Downtown Memphis Commission to dissect Downtown into priority areas and create neighborhood strategies, allowing staff to take a deep dive into districts and address root causes that were stifling community growth. The plan for growth would require than marketing and communications; a well-designed and executed robust plan was in need that included property marketing and activation, neighborhood branding, stakeholder input processes, civic advocacy, public relations, business recruitment, sourcing funds for streetscape initiatives, public art installations and exhibitions, clean and green programs, media and advertising, and new events and programs. This required motivating our high-performing team and providing support and leadership throughout the process.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Phase 1: Branding Initiative To get the neighborhood moving in growth mode, we had to rally support from district stakeholders, but bitten by failed branding campaigns and empty promises of investment and support in the past left the stakeholders skeptical and cynical. So we commissioned North Star Destination Strategies to facilitate a brand initiative with the intent of building trust and buy-in from stakeholders and to encourage their engagement in the process. With very creative, passionate, and vocal stakeholders, consensus on a singular brand wasn't happening. So instead of forcing a brand, North Star allowed them to brand the district by giving them a blank avatar. The business owners played with the brand, making t-shirts, creating craft drinks, window clings, and staff uniforms with their own individual expression of what South Main meant to them. |
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GoSouthMain. To properly tell the South Main story, we packaged the district assets and built a new website, GoSouthMain.com, that served as a clearinghouse for everything in the district and the cornerstone for a comprehensive marketing campaign. We developed a series of Video Tours, highlighting the characters, food, shops and art in the district which we shared through social media. We hired a video production company, Cat + Fish, to create a trailer video to capture the artistic, authentic energy in the district. With help from local historians, we curated an online "If These Walls Could Talk" history tour with QR codes on buildings. We encouraged the South Main Association, which had a separate website, to consolidate their website into the GoSouthMain.com so that there was one voice for the district.
Armed with a solid website to point to, we created a series of ads highlighting the creativity, food, shopping and entertainment in the district. The campaign was targeted to a local and regional audience geared to the "southern explorer" through a digital media campaign and publications like AirTran Magazine, Oxford American and Tour Tennessee.
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Creating Ambassadors and Story Telling. During our research, we uncovered a bible of quirky stories about the district that spoke to the ingenuity and creativity of the past and current businesses and people. We hosted a series of walking and bus tours for city ambassadors and front line employees, like media, real estate agents, bloggers, influencers, civic leaders, young leadership groups, concierges, trolley drivers, Chamber of Commerce employees, and more so that they could tell the South Main story in their arenas. And we pitched story ideas to local media relative to new development, new business, and new programs.
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Bolstering Arts and Activating Spaces. Needing more public art in Memphis' first arts district, we produced a public art installation exhibit called South Main Mosaic by securing an art grant and issuing a call to artists to install 9 pieces of public art throughout the district. We also hosted a regional art competition called Unveil South Main where a jury would select 20 artists to exhibit 20 pieces of art for 20 days in unusual places throughout the district. We partnered with the Brooks Museum to present an artwalk called "FOUND!", sculptures by college students inspired by upcoming art exhibit by Marisol.
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We also got aggressive about activating vacant properties and underused spaces, turning a corner lot overgrown in weeds into a Bocce Ball Court, supplying nearby restaurants with bocce sets that could be checked out. We covered windows in empty buildings with banners and artwork, and worked with property owners of vacant land to allow for private events, community gardens and other active uses.
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Save The Chisca.
It was one huge, ugly eyesore and a major barrier to entry into the district. The Chisca Hotel is a historic building that had been vacated for 20-plus years, neglected, boarded up, and serving as beacon of blight. Standing near the foot of Beale Street at Main Street, tourists would not walk past The Chisca to South Main fearing that the neighborhood was blighter. Knowing that city funding was necessary to support historic renovation of the building, we launched an advocacy campaign called Save The Chisca in conjunction with Memphis Heritage. We created a website detailing the history of the building and its significance to the world: it was here, from a radio station in the building, where Elvis Presley was first heard on the air, thus launching rock and roll into the world. We threw street parties in front of the building, made social media rallying cries, pitched media stories, installed children's artwork on the fencing, and ultimately collected over 800 signatures on a petition and an army of advocates to voice their hope for restoration to city council. In the end, the Chisca was indeed "saved" and is back in use as a 152-unit apartment building with two restaurants on the ground floor. The building went from neighborhood deterrent to the welcome mat for the district and a catalyst for more development. |
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Phase 2: Branding Initiative
With momentum starting to build with more investment, activity and foot traffic, stakeholders were now on board with our plan, and it was time to give the district one cohesive brand that everyone could tap into. We commissioned a branding agency in South Main, Farmhouse, to design a logo that represented the history of South Main, but in a cool and edgy way. We used the new logo to install street banners, updated collateral and the website, built a comprehensive visitors guide to share with hotels and conventions.
With momentum starting to build with more investment, activity and foot traffic, stakeholders were now on board with our plan, and it was time to give the district one cohesive brand that everyone could tap into. We commissioned a branding agency in South Main, Farmhouse, to design a logo that represented the history of South Main, but in a cool and edgy way. We used the new logo to install street banners, updated collateral and the website, built a comprehensive visitors guide to share with hotels and conventions.
RESULTS
Within 5 years from the launch of the branding strategy, South Main, this 1-square mile district, had accrued more than $500 million in public and private investment, tripled its residential population, put three landmark historic properties back into active use as well as other blighted properties, added new entertainment amenities including a movie theatre, food court, distillery and two hotels. Property values have soared collectively 63%. Today the South Main brand has taken root and the district continues to grow organically.
Within 5 years from the launch of the branding strategy, South Main, this 1-square mile district, had accrued more than $500 million in public and private investment, tripled its residential population, put three landmark historic properties back into active use as well as other blighted properties, added new entertainment amenities including a movie theatre, food court, distillery and two hotels. Property values have soared collectively 63%. Today the South Main brand has taken root and the district continues to grow organically.