Chances are several Milwaukee-area residents have Indianapolis on their minds as the city gets ready to host Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts.
Of course many think the Packers will be there for the Feb. 5 game. But, if you've never been to Indy you may be turned off or pleasantly amused by a new video that markets the city to event and meeting planners.
Created by the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, it's a parody of the Chicago Bears "Superbowl Shuffle." Running more than 5 minutes, it's pretty lame and while it doesn't probably showcase all that Indy offers it's drawing perception challenges already via Deadspin and other sites.
A thoughtful post on Urbanophile.com brings up the challenges of marketing smaller sized areas and cities like Indianapolis and for that matter Milwaukee.
Sports and conventions are big business and often cities that aren't in the top 20 in population aren't even on the radar much less people's minds. First impressions and perception mean a lot, and if you haven't been to Indy does this video paint a picture you'd like to look at?
Yes, it's a parody and yes, it stands out. Too often convention bureaus put out crap that looks and feels stale and the same. So maybe Indy did right here. I don't know.
I asked our convention experts at Visit Milwaukee for a comment, and probably out of professional courtesy director of public relations Jeannie Sherman told me, "we appreciate the opportunity but we don't have any comment on the video."
Your thoughts on it? Chime in via the talkbacks.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
