Using the Arts in Cincinnati’s Brand Identity

During a recent Cincinnati City Council Quality of Life Committee meeting, a discussion continued about creating a brand identity for Cincinnati – this time focusing on the city’s arts and cultural assets. Thom Mariner, co-publisher of the arts publication Express Cincinnati, presented before the committee, asking the question, “What is the brand essence of Cincinnati?”

For example:
Bourbon and racehorses = Kentucky, but ? = Cincinnati.

When people think of Cincinnati, what do they think of? Mariner presented this question and went on to describe how the city’s unique and diverse arts organizations can be incorporated into the city’s brand identity. The part of his presentation that intrigued me was the question of whether or not we should talk about the arts in terms of entertainment when promoting Cincinnati as a destination. I thought this was interesting in light of all the discussions on how the arts benefit communities beyond simply entertaining people – instead highlighting how the arts shape a community’s unique culture and bring people together. It is in this context that the arts can be used to help describe the “essence” of Cincinnati and aid in attracting visitors and residents to the city.

But this means positioning Cincinnati’s arts to mean more than just a night out, but rather as one-of-a-kind experiences that you can only get here. And it’s going to involve many people in changing how the arts are perceived and used in describing Cincinnati. One of the first examples that comes to mind is the way the arts are positioned on the Cincinnati Enquirer’s website. Like many major newspapers’ websites, the Enquirer includes arts news under the “entertainment” section of its website. So this mixes Cincinnati-specific arts news with comics, games and the latest celebrity gossip – not the best way to make Cincinnati’s arts stand out. The city’s major daily newspaper seems like a good place to start in repositioning Cincinnati’s arts and cultural sector.

Other changes will likely be needed as Cincinnati looks at creating a brand identity. In his presentation, Mariner suggested moving away from words like “playful” and “fun” in promoting Cincinnati tourism, as these seem to better fit places like Las Vegas. Rather, he suggested we talk about the community’s rich history in its arts and culture, unique landscape/environment and diverse neighborhoods.

Overall, Mariner’s presentation was well received by the committee and drew supporting remarks from area arts professionals and advocates. It will be interesting to see how this discussion of Cincinnati’s brand identity will evolve and how the arts will be included.