City seeks to perfect its pitch

Marketing blitz will begin soon

At a time when communities are struggling to bring in new revenue, Lowell is launching a marketing campaign that officials hope will bring new residents, visitors, and businesses to the city.

The print, radio, and Web campaign touting the old mill city as "Alive. Unique. Inspiring." has been several months in the works and will hit the presses, airwaves, and cyberspace in the next few weeks.

"We have to recognize that the city has an opportunity to come out of this economic downturn much stronger than when it went in," City Manager Bernard Lynch said. "To keep the city heading in the right direction, we need to not only control our costs but we have to grow the revenue stream coming into the city."

The campaign will build upon the city's oft-heard tagline "There's a lot to like about Lowell." Lynch said the phase has a "sticky" quality, but doesn't say anything specific about the city or target a demographic group.

The city hired the Danvers marketing firm Single Source to develop a brand that will tell people exactly what there is to like about Lowell, Lynch said. "The image that seems to resonate with the city is that it's alive, it's unique, and it's inspiring."

The city is putting the finishing touches on the website (www.lowell.org) where visitors can find information about city events, housing, office space, restaurants, and cultural activities. Print and radio ads will run in Greater Boston.

Lynch said the city will target 30-something professionals who are looking for urban amenities such as cultural activities, sports, and good restaurants at prices lower than Boston's. Ads will feature unique individuals and inspiring stories, Lynch said.

The slogan "There's a lot to like about Lowell" will still have a place in the marketing, said LZ Nunn, the city's director of cultural affairs and special events. "That tagline will continue to be used and featured."

Lynch said the city spends $250,000 to $300,000 each year on marketing various events and business development in the city. Funding for the new marketing plan, which cost $20,000, came out of those funds and was spent before the city's finances took a turn for the worse in recent months.

It's unclear how much money for marketing will be in the budget next year, given the city's fiscal problems. City officials are developing a fiscal 2010 budget that will include big cuts and layoffs throughout government.

"It's going to be a challenge," Lynch said. "Clearly there are limitations."

Mayor Edward "Bud" Caulfield said he supports the marketing plan but doesn't know if it will survive the budget ax next year. "The council would have to take a good hard look at it," he said.

Caulfield said next year's budget will focus on vital community services. "Everything else will take a back seat," he said.

But he also knows the city can't give up trying to come up with new ideas to keep the city moving forward. "You need to bring people into the city to spend money," he said. "In these tough fiscal times, you can't roll over and die. You'll lose everything you worked for."

Nunn said the marketing campaign will help the city spend its money more wisely and ideally bring more money into the city. She said marketing will be targeted to a specific audience - one that is more likely to spend its dollars in Lowell.

"The goal is to generate revenue by attracting new businesses, residents, and tourists," Nunn said. "One of the underlying messages we're hoping to communicate about our region is there really is something for everyone in Lowell."

But just how successful the campaign will be is anyone's guess. Nunn said the city will monitor website hits and survey visitors about what drew them to an event and track new condo sales and business development.

Adam Baacke, assistant city manager of planning and development, said in this economic environment, especially, companies want to move to up-and-coming regions that are able to provide an educated workforce. In order to attract those businesses, he said the city has to project a positive image. And that's something that can be done through a marketing campaign, he said.

"Anything that reinforces and strengthens the image of Lowell as a progressive city that is growing, expanding, revitalizing, is good for business," Baacke said. "People making decisions about investment are looking for that."

Baacke pointed to the recent decision by Kadient to move its headquarters from Nashua to Lowell. In a company press release issued recently, Kadient said it moved its 60 high-tech jobs to Massachusetts to be closer to the "innovation and talent pool of the Bay State's technology community."

Baacke said he hopes other companies follow suit.

"Even a single new development project can yield the kind of return on taxes we spend on marketing," he said. "We expect to see a lot more than one."

Jennifer Fenn Lefferts can be reached at jflefferts@yahoo.com.