Here's What $300,000 Gets You

As I wrote Monday, Clay Mathile directed a $1.5 Million contract to Lori Turner, the wife of Mike Turner, a GOP Congressman who Mathile and the rest of the Dayton Development Coalition hope will bring lucrative federal dollars to the Dayton area.

So far, a reported $300,000 has been spent, and this is what Mrs. Turner and her company, Turner Effect have come up with:




Seriously. I think it's a bad rip-off of the "Got Milk" campaign. Anyone have an idea what the orange thing around "get" is supposed to be?

But I'm no marketing specialist. Maybe I should see what the experts have to say:

"It doesn't mean anything to me," said Jack Trout, principal of Trout & Partners, a Greenwich, Conn., marketing strategy firm that serves Fortune 500 companies. "You put an ad out there and say, 'I want you to come here.' That's obvious ... I'd much rather hear or see important news about what's happening in the area."

Anyone else?

Branding campaigns must deliver a focused and comprehensible message to attract consumers, said Shashi Matta, an Ohio State University assistant professor of marketing.

"What's missing for me when I look at this logo is, 'What is it telling me?'" Matta said. "It needs to be specific to Dayton. 'Think Midwest,' 'Be Midwest' or 'Get Midwest' is way too broad for Dayton.'"

"In branding, it's a heck of a lot more effective and cost-efficient to build on what you have," said Lightle, who previously worked for years developing brands for Thailand, Colombia and Taiwan to help them sell goods in the United States. "The coalition has taken the position that they're going to start with something all new. That's inherently more risky."

Seems unanimous.

Thanks to the guys at DaytonMostMetro for the image. They generously included the "Dayton Region" part of the logo, although it doesn't appear to be part of the plan. Dayton Most Metro have also come up with a list of other suggestions (wonder how much they're getting from Mr. Mathile) you should go read and judge for yourself. I decided to add my own:

Dayton: Ever heard of it? (One I use frequently when travelling)

Dayton: We're better than Lansing (based on personal experience)

Dayton: Someday, we will stop messing with I-75

Dayton: Our river never caught on fire (Take that, Cleveland)

Get Midwest?: Get out!

Feel free to add your own snark in the comments. Who knows, you might get a $300,000 contract out of the deal.