Routes to Market - Midlands Business Insider

Are Midlands' cities promoting themselves effectively? Andy Coyne Finds Out

A debate is, if not exactly raging, at least bubbling under about the best way to market the region's cities. It started when Clive Dutton left his role as Birmingham City Council’s planning and regeneration director recently and made some comment about the city having an anonymous identity and criticising what he thought was a marketing-by-committee approach.

The debate has picked up again this month with the news that Marketing Birmingham and inward investment body Locate in Birmingham have co-located (that’s moved into the same office to you and me) and its not a huge leap of imagination to see the organisations working as one.

But to business leaders in the city, the shape of the city’s marketing body is less important than what it does. Gary Cardin, partner in charge of the Birmingham office of property consultancy Drivers Jonas and chairman of the Colmore Business Improvement District, says: “You have to decide who you are marketing to. Soft marketing is very different to the business community’s needs.”

Cardin believes Dutton made some important points in his exit interview, particularly with regard to leaving some aspects of marketing the city to the professionals.

"Birmingham is packed with professionals with experience in all sectors and across a variety of generations – from a thriving digital community, which could help promote Birmingham's messages through exciting new platforms to people with the experience of pulling businesses successfully through the last recession,” he said.

Richard Brennan, chief executive of Birmingham Forward, which speaks on behalf of the professional services sector, agrees the private sector needs to be involved in marketing the city. He says: “It can’t really be left to the council, development agencies or UK trade and involvement.

We base this on our own experience. When we go to Berlin we want to meet local businesses that aren’t paid to tell you something.”

With this in mind, Birmingham Forward set up its Ambassadors’ Programme to help Locate in Birmingham, so potential inward investors get to meet people working in the city as well as those paid to market it.

“We really have to help this to happen,” says Brennan. “I don’t think Birmingham has spent enough on promoting itself outside the area. There was a small campaign on the London Tube, but it's not enough.”

For those who think the public sector can do the job of promoting a city itself, Marketing Derby is often cited as an example of where this happens to good effect. However, its director, John Forkin, admits “any campaign will be so much better when the private sector is at the heart of the strategy as a partner”.

Marketing Derby has looked at what other cities have done and honed its offering accordingly. Although Derby City Council is going through a rationalisation process, chief executive Adam Wilkinson is impressed with the work Marketing Derby is doing. The council provides 50 percent of the funding needed to run Marketing Derby and Wilkinson has confirmed this funding has been renewed for next year.

He said: “Marketing Derby only employs three people, which is remarkable for the amount of work it does, so it's excellent value for money.”

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