FBI MEMOS
Memos from the ad agency

The theory behind branding is to get the name of your product or service so ingrained in the psyche of your publics that you’re top of mind when they need assistance with their cash outflow needs.

(Note: If you know me, you know I would never use the terms like “psyche of your publics” or “top of mind.” I’m just showing off in case any pretentious MBA-types stop by.)

That is why a lot of companies spend so much on advertising when it seems unnecessary. Sometimes it works too well, the brand becomes synonymous with the category, eliminating any differentiation. Like Band Aid and Kleenex. And here in the south, Coke.

(Note #2: In the south, “Would any of y’all like a coke?” means, “Would anyone here like a cold, carbonated beverage?”)

Most brands need to evolve over time. I talk a lot about social media for brands, which is the most recent evolution being embraced by a lot of companies. Evolving is often a matter of staying current or losing market share.

There is a brand that I am very interested in, the home of our ad agency, Music City. The Chamber uses it, the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau uses it and it is well known around the country. And like all good brands, it is evolving.

Or, at least it is trying to. What got me thinking about it is the tremendous amount of attention that Nashville is getting right now. At this writing, the NFL Tennessee Titans are 9-0, which bumps their games up to game of the week status, bringing attention to Nashville on home game days. And tonight is the CMA Awards. Good Morning America is here and lots of media folks from LA and New York are coming to town for the show.

And they’re bringing cowboy hats. Which inspired this tweet on my personal twitter account yesterday:

“CMA week. The only time people wear cowboy hats in Nashville. And they’re all from LA and New York.”

I have news for you folks from the left and right coasts coming in for the CMAs. We don’t wear cowboy hats here. Sometimes you’ll see them on tourists, but that’s it. They wear them in Houston and Laredo. Not Nashville.

(Note #3: Some of the pop country acts wear them. Often it is because of a receding hairline. See Kenny Chesney)

The cowboy hat is a symbol of the biggest hurdle that the brand Music City has to overcome. Many people still have the “hay bale and Hee Haw” perception of Nashville that was put out by the country music industry for decades. What people don’t realize is that the original brand for Nashville was “The Athens of the South,” because of all the colleges and universities here, as well as the fact that it has traditionally been a center of the publishing industry. In fact, a full-scale replica of the Parthenon was built for the city’s centennial to celebrate the Athens of the South theme.

(Note #4: There is a gigantic statue of Athena inside the Nashville Parthenon. I’ve never been in there. I hear it’s impressive.)

So in the mid 1900s the country music industry hijacked the Athens of the South brand and Nashville became Music City, USA. And in the 60s and 70s, the TV show Hee Haw was syndicated all over the country with its good old, down home, hayseed, hillbilly humor. And Nashville has become synonymous with songs about tractors and country boys and girls and watermelon wine. And cowboy hats.

After several years of shunning the Music City brand in the 80s, the CVB and Chamber decided to embrace it, for better or worse. I had a discussion with a friend recently who thinks that the city should once again abandon the Music City brand because of the backwoods connotation. I disagreed with her. I think the brand needs to evolve. The city can’t shun country music, nor should it. But it can embrace all the other music that comes out of this town. People don’t realize that the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan Simon and Garfunkel, Joe Tex, Roy Orbison, Perry Como, Carol Channing, Kansas, Bob Seger, Frank Black, Matchbox Twenty and Kid Rock (to name a few) have all recorded here. We just opened a new symphony hall which is being described as one of the best in the world, and it houses a world-class symphony. The largest classical music label recently moved its headquarters here from L.A. It’s not unusual to bump into Michael McDonald or Sheryl Crow or Steve Winwood or Jack White around town.

So the challenge that I see for the brand evolution of Music City is not discarding the country roots, but adding the wide variety of other music that originates in this town to the discussion. It’s an interesting, ongoing case study that I’m watching closely.

Now, I’m gonna put on my cowboy hat and walk downtown to see if I can catch a glimpse of Brooks and Dunn.

I have talked a lot here about social media and the importance for companies to use social media sties such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to increase their visibility on the Web. It is good for search engine traffic, and when done properly, can be very good for customer relations.

The most important rule when using Twitter as a corporate tool is to have a voice and a personality. We have a Twitter account for our ad agency in Nashville which I update. I try to keep things professional (the crazy stuff goes on my personal account) but I also make sure it is conversational and fun. Home Depot and Comcast have embraced the service to help folks out who are having problems. It adds a great personal touch to what are usually faceless corporations.

Well, there is a new kid on the block at Twitter, and I think what they are doing is so clever, I wish I had thought of it and pitched it to them. I’m talking about the Twitter account of George Dickel. For those of you who don’t know, George Dickel is one of only two Tennessee Sipping Whiskeys (the other is Jack Daniels). The Dickel distillery is located in Cascade Hollow, near Tullahoma and was founded in 1870.

The brilliance behind the Twittering George Dickel is that it is written by George Dickel, circa 1870. When I discovered the account, I went back and read all the tweets. Twitter has a “favorite” feature where you can save tweets that you are especially fond of. I started hitting the yellow favorite star immediately — and I am pretty stingy when it comes to favoriting.

Vodka? Heavens! Boiler-room potato-spirits of the lowest order.

{Camp-Fire Coffee} Wake; prepare coffee up-on camp-fire; fill cup with coffee; add 4 saddle-thimbles whisky; consume; fish.

On election day:

Why the long queue at First Presbyterian Church to-day? Perhaps they have decided to off’r penny-beer with their Calvinist heresy

And another favorite, a good-natured poke at neighbor and competitor, Jack Daniels and their Lynchburg Lemonade:

{Cascade Hollow Lemonade} Chill whisky over-night in spring; fill cup; add 3 sq spring-water; send 1 lemon to J. Daniels via post.

There is more to this story than me just heaping praise upon someone being able to write clever one-liners in the style of a 19th century whiskey maker. Having spent most of my life in Kentucky and Tennessee, I have an affinity for whiskey, both Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey. I have consumed my fair share of Dickel, but I vary my purchases, depending on mood and time removed from payday. I haven’t bought Dickel in a good, long time. Yesterday I bought a bottle of it and had a sip or two while watching the elections returns. The reason I did so is solely because I am such a fan of what they are doing on Twitter.

The George Dickel Twitter account is fairly new. I hope they stick with it. George, if you’re reading this, well done. Joining Twitter resulted in one less bottle you have to worry about selling.