Written on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 6:32am by Alan Bedenko | 50 Comments
Buffalo: A Sense of Place
I invite you to watch this video, which was produced by the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, which complains that it doesn’t get the full bed tax.
I also invite you to comment on it. I won’t inject my own opinion right away, but am curious to see your response.
UPDATE: The CVB’s Ed Healy gives some background in comments.
50 Comments
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No need to be so defensive is my first thought. Also, Newell Nusbaumer is a tool. Nice images– really that’s the Buffalo I love, but quit apologizing. I’ve told the story before, but it is worth repeating– when my law partner’s husband came to Buffalo for the first time he said, “Why didn’t you tell me you live in a resort area?” If you look at Western New York through fresh eyes we have a lake that is beautiful, and skiing, and parks that are as nice or nicer than almost any other place I’ve ever been to. We have an arts scene and a music scene that is terrific– world class, really; and we (still) have theater that other cities would love. Sell the positive, don’t start out by standing in a hole.
The term “sense of place” rings so incredibly hollow to me. Richard Florida coined the term over a decade ago and cities like Buffalo, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh have used it as a replacement for terms like “booming economy”, “bustling city”, and “growth” ever since.
Also, the video is waaaay too long to be used virally and the “man on the street” interview portions are long, tedious, and a bit on the begging side.
Shorten it up, use some faster music, quicker cuts, get away from the loving adorations of our buildings. Cities are made of people.
If more people would look for what Buffalo has to offer, as opposed to complaining about what they think it doesn’t have, this would be a much better community.
First, I thank the Community Foundation for their relentless support of Western New York.
Second, regarding the video, it did not resonate with me.
Yes, some of the images were beautiful but the music and story line was too artsy-fartsy for me. No doubt the art scene is a significant component to Buffalo but there was no mention of what makes Buffalo special:
1) Our people – down to earth – friendly people – city of good neighbors.
2) Our great restaurants – foods that make Buffalo unique.
3) Our sports scene (Bills/Sabres/Bisons/Bandits).
4) Our Colleges and Universities – YOUNG people!!!
4) Our future – where are we going – anything new going up – our evolving economy.
There was nothing overly upbeat about this video and it did nothing to dispell the “rust belt” image. (No images of our new buildings, loft conversions, and some of our great suberbs.)
I know I will get slammed and lose credibility for going here but when MTV was here and did Fraternity Life: Buffalo – I was blown away by some of their videography of Buffalo and WNY. It was exciting, it was bright, it showed a community that was a live and well. I felt proud of the scenes and the fact that they showed a youthful perspective of WNY.
Instead, I felt like I just watched a video about Burlington, VT (which, is great place btw) or Gary, Indiana but way too slow for my taste.
I guess I have different expectations for Buffalo and its future. Sadly, we missed the boat on this one.
Go BN..
Great point about the Fraternity Life…
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I also liked the Better Days/Sabres video…virally vivacious Buffalo-wise…captured the spirit of this great town…
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There is absolutely nothing wrong with EV or AK Gallery or the waterfront…each is part of Buffalo’s soul…but there is soooooo much more to Buffalo than what you saw in the video…something the video fails to capture…something that sucks people like Pundit in, brings people like Geek back and keeps people like me here…this is how the creators of the video should have approached the project…how do we capture the soul of Buffalo on video to me that is the sell…the Better Days/Sabres vid did it…
Go Buffalo Niagara has a couple of good points which should be elaborated on. Damn right UB and the colleges in the area should be emphasized– the people in the video are all old, and having a college scene means that there is also going to be a vibrant cultural life. In emphasizing sports, on the other hand, I think it would be better to focus on the surprising number of sports activities that are participatory. We have rugby teams all over the city; we have a running community that is active and extensive; there’s soccer and softball– and all of these things could be shown in a way that would place our parks and parkways in an attractive way. Pro sports, meh. You might come to Buffalo to see your team play one of ours, but Andrew Zimbalist has pretty much put to rest the notion that pro sports benefit local economies. Make it about quality of life, not the opportunity to root for laundry.
And yeah, Teds and the Anchor and Anderson’s and all the other unique restaurants that are unlike anything else anywhere (Mighty Taco!) deserve a place as well.
PS: I really wish Buffalo Pundit and Buffalo Rising, etc. had an edit feature. Sorry for the typos and numbering issue above.
I liked it although I agree with Chris Smith that it’s a bit too long.
Also, I think it could use more background music – something more jazzy/lively. Newell is awesome. Oh, yea, a shot of Paula Polinski would have added something (don’t know exactly what but just “something”).
I also meant to say that I thought the film footage was narrow or limited in scope. As someone mentioned above, to dispel the old rustbelt image some shots of new builds would be good and also more recreational shots of people bicycling or playing tennis in Delaware Park. In sum, it’s OK but needs some editing work.
“Buffalo is authentic, genuine, honest and real”. Blah blah blah. So claims Detroit, too.
Television ads:
“In our pasteurized and sanitized world, we’re crying out for something real.”
“When you need to feel something, come on down to Detroit, because the thrill of a real city is pure Michigan.”
Radio ads:
“What’s the definition of a day out? Going to the mall, or a chain restaurant?”
“But what if there was a city that was different, where things were like night and day?”
“We all need to get away from the norm, and there’s no better city to experience a real city than Detroit”
Looks like they got their copy verbatim from the comments of boosters in Buffalo’s newspapers and blogs, and substituted “Detroit” and “Michigan” where appropriate.
Given the Detroit campaign, I’m increasingly under the impression that describing a city as “real” or “authentic” is the rough equivalent of calling a retarded person “special”.
Good points Bill Altreuter about ecotourism and sports activities in WNY. (like Boston’s Ski & Sports Clubs – http://www.bssc.com/)
But I disagree with your take on pro-sports. Like it or not, the Bills and Sabres are a regional treasure and part of the fabric of our community. Take the Bills and Sabres out of Buffalo and all you will have is a video like what you see above.
Boring.
The Bills, Sabres and FAMILY keeps expatriates connected to Buffalo. The Albright Knox and our waterfront do not!
The very beginning of the video says that people have two impressions of Buffalo, that of a snow and that of a rust belt city. The video goes along way to dispell the notion of a dead rust belt city. However, nobody thinks this is Florida and there was no reason given to visit Buffalo in the winter. If anything, most people’s first impression of Buffalo is that it is buried under a mountain of snow. This video failed to capitalize on winter activities: sledding on Shakespeare Hill in Delaware Park or Chestnut Ridge, x-country skiing or snowshoeing in Delaware Park, alpine skiing at KB or Holiday Valley, watching the Sabres play. Try to show why people would want to live or visit year ’round not just June through August.
The Bills, Sabres and FAMILY keeps expatriates connected to Buffalo. The Albright Knox and our waterfront do not!
And a few other things too–like the food.
One of the things that I truly miss, perhaps having been a resident and not looking in from the outside, is the buildings.
Although I DO agree with Geek that WNY is about people—and though I disagree with many of you politically, When I’m home it is always re-inforced to me that the PEOPLE is what makes WNY a great place–
We really have some great architectural features.
Buffalo SOUTH does NOT have buildings like City Hall, Central Terminal, and the wonderful churches. The Frank Lloyd wright buildings, the Oldmstead parks. And if you’re a Year-Round Sports person, whether you participate or just like to watch, it’s hard to find a town where there’s more going on.
If only there was a broom large enough to sweep the “100 People who Run Buffalo” the hell out of their political offices and positions of patronage/power, “the thinks you could think”!
Hank – You and I have some SERIOUS differences but c’est la vie.
I like it. If I saw it, I would consider visiting Buffalo. That’s all it’s supposed to do, right? The CVB’s purpose is to attract visitors, not relocations. The video seems well crafted to do that job.
I think we have two fine ambassadors in Nussbaumer and Zimmermann.
Why the Bills/Sabres matter> The Bills, Sabres and FAMILY keeps expatriates connected to Buffalo. The Albright Knox and our waterfront do not!
I’m an expat, and I could car less about professional sports.
I think the reason expats are often so passionate about their hometown is that its culture is so … well, odd compared to the rest of the country. A half-century of economic decline, an increasingly marginal location that is hard to get to (can’t drive into the region without paying a toll), and a lack of new blood from new residents and immigration have isolated Buffalo much in the same way Eastern European countries were during the Cold War. Add the pervasive influence of traditional Roman Catholicism (Buffalo is the second most Catholic city in the United States), weather, and old-school ethnic identity, and the result is Buffalo’s culture and zeitgeist.
Why the Bills/Sabres matter> The Bills, Sabres and FAMILY keeps expatriates connected to Buffalo. The Albright Knox and our waterfront do not!
I’m an expat, and I could carw less about professional sports.
I think the reason Buffalo’s expats are often so passionate about their hometown is that its culture is so … well, different and odd compared to the rest of the country. A half-century of economic decline, an increasingly marginal location that is hard to get to (can’t drive into the region without paying a toll), and a lack of new blood from new residents and immigration have isolated Buffalo much in the same way Eastern European countries were during the Cold War. Add the pervasive influence of traditional Roman Catholicism (Buffalo is the second most Catholic city in the United States), weather, and old-school ethnic identity, and the result is Buffalo’s culture and zeitgeist.
Life as a Buffalo expat isn’t like the experience of leaving Columbus, Grand Rapids or Fort Wayne. It’s like being from an entirely different country. It’s probably no big deal for somene to move from Minneapolis to Omaha, but a Buffalonian can experience severe culture shock just by moving to Rochester. Other cities have former residents, but only Buffalo has expats and a diaspora.
I am a college student (temporarily ex-patted from Buffalo) who has commented here only a few times before, usually in anger
I really like the generally positive/constructive vibe of these comments and critiques. I spend (too) much of my free time watching videos, reading blog posts, etc. about my hometown and therefore think my disappointment with the video is pretty indicative of its failure to captivate…
I decided to comment to say that I agree about the Sabres/Better Days video. There is some quality to its footage and editing that makes it speak way more of the Buffalo I love, and that I think others would love, than this one. I think the music plays a big part in that, as well. I am no particular Goos fan, but now everytime I hear that song its all wrapped up in hope for the Sabres and the city’s future. I think the soundtrack to the BNCVB video was weak and poorly assembled, which ultimately made it less powerful. Imagine if a couple songs were used that viewers would hear later and think “oh, man, I should realllly go to Buffalo.”
I hope someone with video editing skills reads these comments and goes to apply for a job with the Visitor’s Bureau!
Was this video designed solely for people who wish to travel in the summertime?
As we all know, Buffalo has lots to offer when the weather gets cold as well.
Unintentional Comedy Factor award goes to any scenes where the waterfront is celebrated as being something positive.
Baby lawyers all learn the rule of primacy and recency. You’re more apt to remember the first and last things told to you, and the stuff in the middle tends to get muddied.
This video starts out with negative speech and negative images of Buffalo. Oh, gee. I can’t wait to visit.
The simultaneous images are of a hapless pedestrian walking in the road on a windy, snowy, freezing day, and then a rusted-out, abandoned factory of some sort.
Hooray.
Sense of place my ass.
Elmwood, Elmwood, Lake, Downtown (shot from, ironically, the top of a parking ramp), Elmwood.
Cue Newell speaking without a script, “They spend their days here, ya know, walking around the city going, like, ‘I can’t believe; this is a Buffalo I never expected’, and that’s – ya know – the real Buffalo.”
WTF does any of that mean?
It’s a genuine place. Genuine means a guy on Allen Street with a slide guitar. It’s like stepping back in time. Yeah, to 1958. Then we cut to Bill Zimmerman (”Science Journalist“??!) on a boat. Discussing architecture. Why from a boat?
Positives: The Darwin Martin house is highlighted. Very nice indeed. Nash Home. Very nice indeed.
The waterfront gets some play, and yes it’s quite nice. For about 5 months out of the year. But why does Bill Zimmerman make people want to come visit Buffalo?
The only thing – the only thing – outside of Buffalo city limits that gets any mention whatsoever is Niagara Falls. It’s a 1 minute throw-in afterthought. How sad.
Yes, we have lots of beautiful summertime festivals. Albright-Knox is great.
The editing is horrific, though, as some people correct themselves mid-sentence. How ’bout a re-take.
Newell: Elmwood goes and goes. Allentown is “dripping with character”. Again – WTF does that mean?
V.O.: “Buffalo really has a sense of place. I think you feel like you’re in Buffalo, you’re not in homogenized America when you’re here. All these different, unique things to do which are really the class and quality of a major international city but you feel like you’re in a small town.”
Bill Zimmerman: “You can do Buffalo in a weekend. You can sail into Buffalo, fly into Buffalo, ride your horse into Buffalo and do it in a weekend, if you want, but you’re gonna want to come back.”
And what has all that taught us? Apart from Darwin Martin, Nash House, and Niagara Falls, what does that video show that is unique to Buffalo? What do Newell or Bill teach us about Buffalo exceptionalism or genuineness?
As other commenters have suggested, there are glaring omissions:
1. Buffalo Bills – the only NFL team that plays its home games in New York State
2. Buffalo Sabres – a phenomenon. A winter phenomenon.
3. Winter? It’s not all bad. We are a four-season city. We have restorative Spring, glorious Summer, a gorgeous autumn, and winters that are sometimes a hassle, but sometimes quite fun. Sledding at Chestnut Ridge? Tubing in Colden? Ice fishing?
4. Ellicottville fall festival – where is it?
5. Toyfest – where is it?
6. Roycroft and the Arts & Crafts movement – non-existent.
7. Old Fort Niagara – let 1812 come to life, and have a nice picnic on the shores of Lake Ontario.
8. Do we need “personalities”? A simple voice-over would have been fine. Ask regular people what they like.
9. Do we have a “sense of place”? Sure. Just like many places do. That doesn’t make us exceptional. City of Good Neighbors. That would have been a nice angle – the people.
10. Erie Canal locks in Lockport – omitted. That’s historic. That gives you sense of place.
11. Greycliff? Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s FLW, too.
The list of attractions and reasons why Buffalo is special really is quite long. I could go on and on. In my opinion, if this is the best work product the CVB can put out, then it really doesn’t deserve the whole bed tax.
As Chris pointed out, “sense of place” is becoming a tired phrase. As Dan pointed out, to pimp Buffalo’s “genuineness” is the same thing, rooted in an effort to overcome our economic mediocrity and population loss. It’s a weak argument.
Think about all the domestic U.S. attractions that one has to bypass before reaching the phrase, “hey, let’s go visit Buffalo”. Elmwood Avenue shopping is by no means going to seal that deal. Neither is the drip-drop of Allentown’s “character”. This whole region ought to be packaged together. Frankly, the real pitch should have been, “So, you’re in Niagara Falls. How about a 20 minute pop down I-190 and check out a genuine FLW house / Allentown Arts Festival / etc.” Not the other way around.
The focus is too narrow and too backwards.
The video was a yawner and too defensive. There is no reason to expect a video that is paid with taxpayers’ money to be good. The people making the video have no financial stake or risk. It was the typical result for a government initiated project. The bed tax, itself, is obscene. Add the fact that a good share of the money is allocated to other County spending and you have a great argument to abolish the tax. The only accomplishment is employment for the politically connected at the expense of our economy.
It’s hard to disagree with anything everyone has said here, and I think that is part of the problem I had with the video. We live here, so we tend to look for what is missing. Outsiders, of course, won’t know.
That said, it struck me as a video that tried to tell the story but was too worried about offending someone by omission. Rather than show a sampling of our great restaurant choices, they chose none because, well, we don’t want to offend anyone. Niagara Falls looked like a throw in (a good one, at that) but it simply wouldn’t be possible to include Ellicotville, Amherst, Lockport, and so on because, well, we might leave someone out and they would be offended. Mention the Sabres? Better mention Shea’s. Mention skiing? Yeah, but what about the golf?
I agree with an early post that the Sabres/Better Days did it better.
I would like to more about the intended distribution/audience for this. Might help me understand some of the editorial choices.
In journalism, it’s called “burying the lead”.
Niagara Falls is the international draw. When the teeming masses are looking for destinations to which they will vacation, Niagara Falls makes the short list, Buffalo does not. Leading with Niagara Falls and spicing it up with information about Buffalo as an added value destination makes more sense.
However, as Steve said, the editorial direction is based on several factors:
- Desired audience
- More importantly, which foundation or individuals underwrote the project
If the money sources from Buffalo, it’s going to have a Buffalo spin.
I wonder if Niagara County contributes revenue to the CVB and what percentage of the total budget comes from public/non-profit/tax revenue in Niagara County and the other counties around WNY.
We have one of the greatest natural wonders in the world sitting in the Buffalo-Niagara region and we spend 8 minutes of a marketing video for that region talking about Elmwood? Weird. Sometimes the problems and the solutions seem so obvious to me and I can’t understand why our marketing organizations and government just can’t get out of their own way.
Slow, Boring, repetitive and amateurish.
steve > Rather than show a sampling of our great restaurant choices, they chose none because, well, we don’t want to offend anyone.
I don’t blame the powers that be for leaving out restaurants. Sure, Buffalo has its landmark restaurants (Anchor Bar, Duff’s, Schwabl’s, and so on), but so does every other city. Buffalo has an abundance of old-school taverns and red sauce/Southern Italian restaurants, but it’s nothing unique to Buffalo; just something that every other similarly sized city has, only more. The Buffalo area is lacking in many ethnic and emerging cuisines that are commonplace in cities of a similar size. Buffalo really isn’t a foodie destination; it’s tastes are more gourmand than gourmet.
Consider this: Orlando, Las Vegas, NYC, Paris, and the like are standard tourist destinations, but almost nobody visits North Korea. For the few that do, though, it’s a memory that will last forever. Why not promote Buffalo in the same manner? Visit Buffalo, not just for the architecture and whatnot, but for the lasting memory of the experience, and the serious indie cred you’ll earn.
Here’s a thought: promote Buffalo as an off-the-beaten-path tourist destination that visitors will remember forever.
Here’s an example of a great marketing video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6i7AB0W_aI
Titled, “Pittsburgh, Wow!”
Man, I thought BuffaloRising was full of whiners and Monday Morning QB’s – this site takes the cake. One person said “Way too long,” the next person says “why not include this, and this, and this, etc…” It’s hilarious. I also think it’s funny that people want the Erie County visitor bureau to promote attractions that are in Niagara County (other than the obvious – the Falls) and Cattaraugus County. I also find it weird that Pundit wrote something just assuming everyone goes to Niagara Falls, and not Buffalo.
Perry, they are the Buffalo-Niagara CVB, not just Buffalo. I think it’s pretty astonishing that you would assume that people around the world would be searching for info on Buffalo rather than Niagara Falls.
The Falls are one of the most widely visited tourist attractions on the planet and we should leverage off the brand to promote Buffalo, not the other way around.
(pfewww, Dan finally was able to insert a red-sauce comment…..)
I finished the eight minute video thinking, Asheville looks like a real cool place…which goes to say that the video choose to spend a lot of time on a very narrow brand extension / market segment, that being culture and cultural tourists
It showed a high quality of life, but not the level of differentiation that I think people come to expect when you live in a major city, metropolitan region, big-league town, whatever. It’s hard to say we have everything, are 20 minutes from everything, an hour flight or less than Millions of people, etc. while simultaneously espousing a thriving “bluegrass on the corner” scene. I think people want to say all those things when they are hyping Buffalo, but this video tends to not.
Baltimore went this route with their campaign: http://www.areyouinonit.com
In the end, it’s about a philosophy about how to market our area. This video is intended to reach out to people like Newell, Tim Tielman, Bill Zimmermann, and other people over 40 who like to look at buildings and love history. That’s cool if it’s part of the overall marketing strategy. However, it’s the lead and the meat of the campaign.
It is absolutely silly to downplay the biggest brand we have in our region and that is the world famous Niagara Falls.
If I saw that video, I wouldn’t want to come to Buffalo, nor would most people within my sphere of influence. There doesn’t appear to be anything “fun” to do. Authenticism and architectural integrity aren’t fun to most people. For chrissakes, a significant portion of the CVB site reads like a manifesto of the preservationist community.
I would market Buffalo as a regional destination. Niagara Falls, Toronto, Zoar Valley, hiking, biking, bars, restaurants, history, architecture, all that shit. What can you do within a 90 minute drive of Buffalo? See natural wonders, multicultural boomtowns, rural america, great architecture, shopping, science museums, aquariums, all of it. You sell the whole picture, not be parochial about a singular portion of the region and people.
On a greater scale, it’s ludicrous that two cities who are less than 20 miles apart and should leverage each others assets to draw tourism dollars, work independently. Niagara USA and Erie Niagara CVB should be combined both for cost savings, but to concentrate scarce monies to build a regional marketing campaign. Buffalo and Niagara Falls often speak about cooperation (about 20 organizations that have BuffaloNiagara in the title) but often times work towards different ends.
Here’s the NiagaraUSA video. http://youtube.com/watch?v=CdzX2nMYd6M
Put their video together with our video, add in some stuff about the other regional attractions and BOOM! you have a world class offering that appeals to a wide spectrum of family and cultural tourists. That’s what Alan and I are talking about.
What I simply do not get is why people will not remove the features that make Buffalo look like a Rust Belt city.
There is a reason they are rusty. THEY ARE NO LONGER USED. Why the hell do people insist on keeping them around. It is like keeping a picture of you ex-wife on the mantle after she left you for a younger man and moved south.
Within a couple of years, Buffalo could remove everything that represents rust…. Boom there goes one negative.
The second IS NOT A NEGATIVE. How about listing all of the places in the US where someone can own a boat and a ski cabin and drive to both in under 30minutes? Can not find many. Next question is where in the US can someone to afford both a home, a boat and a ski cabin on a upper middle income salary…….
And Bill Zimmerman using the word Journalist is funnier than the word scientific. A couple of blog posts on BRO does not make you a journalist. No matter how many drunk interviews you do with members of the PBA.
“There is a reason they are rusty. THEY ARE NO LONGER USED. Why the hell do people insist on keeping them around. It is like keeping a picture of you ex-wife on the mantle after she left you for a younger man and moved south.”
Maybe the best comment on preservationists I’ve ever read.
Ms. Schneider had a clear, attractive voice. She quickly made her points. She should have been the ONLY narrator, and it should have been cut down to 3 or 4 minutes. Newell Nussbaumer sounded like he just put down a joint; nothing wrong with that just save it for after.
The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, WNED-TV and the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier were the recipients of a grant from the 21st Century Fund of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo for a project called “The Buffalo Architecture Experience” in spring of 2006. The funding called for our consortium to promote the national broadcast of WNED’s production of “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buffalo,” to install a number of interpretive signs focused on Buffalo’s architecture and history in the downtown core, and to produce two short videos that would serve as companion pieces to “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buffalo.” All of this in the service of promoting Buffalo as a cultural tourism destination.
The first short video, “Buffalo’s Architectural Treasures,” was produced in the summer of 2006 by the Buffalo Niagara CVB in collaboration with WNED-TV. That video can be found as an extra feature on the DVD of “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buffalo,” on the CVB’s web sites and YouTube. The second short video, “A Sense of Place,” was produced by the same collaborative team during the summer of 2007 with what remained of the 21st Century Fund grant. Due to budget constraints and a tight production schedule at WNED actual filming time of “A Sense of Place” was limited to a handful of days last summer. This, of course, limited the scope of the subject matter that could be explored as well as the geographic locations that could be included.
The decision as to what to feature in the video was driven by the fact that the video was conceived of as part of the “Buffalo Architecture Experience” marketing initiative. Customer research conducted by the Buffalo Niagara CVB in the summer of 2006 revealed that the people who travel to Buffalo for architecture, design and the arts are typically empty nesters 55+ years age (or somewhat younger, without children), who can be described as “culturally savvy urbanists” and “bifocal intellectuals.”
“Buffalo’s Architectural Treasures” and “A Sense of Place” were both made with this demographic in mind. Choices related to music, locations, interview subjects, pace, etc. were all made in consideration of this intended audience and the goals articulated in the grant proposal.
The video is not intended to serve as a business development tool for site selectors or for relocation efforts by corporations or realtors. It’s not intended for use before Sabres’ games. It is, however, meant to pique the curiosity of the baby boomer/PBS demographic who have demonstrated an interest in the types of travel experiences we have to offer at sites such as the Darwin Martin House and the Albright-Knox. Our intent was to get these people to think differently about Buffalo and to counteract the snow/rust pre-conceptions that without fail rise to the top of any discussion of Buffalo in the focus groups the CVB has conducted in places like Toronto, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
Ed Healy
Director of Communications, Buffalo Niagara CVB
Pittsburgh wow? More like Pittsburgh corny including the opening music – ICK! I agree with many of the comments but that explanation from Healy seems to answer many of the concerns. I am glad, however the Buffalo video did not include jugglers as in the Pittsburgh video. The only thing worse would have been mimes.
These chamber of commerce videos always run the risk of being corny especially when they try to make everything seem fast paced and active when they really are not as in the case of both Buffalo and Pittsburgh for the most part. I think that Pittsburgh video showed the same angle of downtown at least 6 times
This which Chris said is exactly what I thought while watching:
When he advocates things on his blog it’s like that too. I’ve no idea whether that’s deliberate on his part or if he just has no idea that there’s a board range of interests and priorities and his are well outside the mainstream. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it can be a big impediment when trying to convince others to take some action or to see some issue a certain way. Those empty cliches appeal to a small segment of people who see the world as he does, so it makes sense he often says them and people nod and tell him compliments he wants to hear either because they’re in that segment too or just to be polite. But it’s not at all effective for a wider audience.
I should add the parts about the Falls were pretty well done, and the visuals for the lake were good but the sailing guy had too much talking time. The rest was way too narrowly targeted and should’ve been squeezed into a couple minutes to allow time for many other things. If Canadians will see this, why not at least mention Walden Galleria for 15 seconds? That sort of thing could push a potential vistor over the tipping point into deciding it’s worth a trip.
Oh by the way, whoever stated that Richard Florida coined the term “sense of place” is wrong. That term has been used in architectural circles for many decades. Believe it or not there were people interested in urbanism and the sense of place long before Richard Florida came along.
We are all suffering from a twisted corollary of the Stockholm Syndrome. The more downtrodden Buffalo becomes – the more loyal we become to it.
Dave, you’re right; I should have said Richard Florida introduced the phrase into the popular vernacular. It’s always important to dwell in semantics and not the actual issue. I know you architects were way out in front of the “sense of place” thing decades ago, and for that, you should be continually commended.
As for the Pittsburgh video, it shows places and things that the majority of people like to, ya know, do. Call it corny but people with families on vacation like to shop, eat, engage in varying types of activities. It’s not specific to one small segment of the tourism market.
Ed says the video is intended to target these types of people, but on the whole, the thrust of our regional marketing campaign is hyperfocused on architectural tourists.
I hadn’t know where the funding came from. My family participated in 21st Century Fund of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo program in the first years of its existence, and in the end decided that it was crazy to throw money at things like Art on Wheels. Although well intentioned, it is a good example of the maxim, ‘the best is the enemy of the good’, and this video is a fine illustration of what we objected to. It isn’t bad, it is just not very good, and the little story Ed Healy tells about it (”Due to budget constraints and a tight production schedule at WNED actual filming time of “A Sense of Place” was limited to a handful of days last summer. This, of course, limited the scope of the subject matter that could be explored as well as the geographic locations that could be included.”) is a fine illustration of how mediocrity gets created. It is done by committee, and it is done by focusing on limitations, rather than on possibility. We bailed on the 21st Century Fund, and now spend our time and money directly on the projects and causes that we believe in. I can’t get too worked up about the video, or the people who were involved in it– they are all well intentioned. Good intentions are a useful paving material. I promise you that there are a dozen high school kids at SqueakyWheel on any given afternoon who could have done a better job at capturing Buffalo– and plenty more artists there who could have worked with the budget for this video and made something amazing.
I like the visuals, I dislike the speaking. It just seems like it’s trying too hard to convince the audience. As with the Pittsburgh video, the visuals should tell most of the story. (or this… http://www.brandatlanta.com/press/creative-ad.php – for Atlanta, far less corny.)
Leave the narrative interpretations up to the visitors.
Finally, the fact that someone got paid to do a market study that resulted in the terms “culturally savvy urbanists” and “bifocal intellectuals” makes me want to commit subversive acts of Fight Club violence against society. I am reflip’s bitter hatred of superficially essentializing marketing-types.
Not really semantics Chris. You used a specific phrase with specific meaning. But, I will accept your correction in the name of focusing on the subject at hand (even though I am not convinced that the correction is true either)
As for the Pittsburgh video. Sure it shows lots of fun things to do. But it is a corny chamber of commerce video. You can find similar videos for every city in America. There is probably one just like it for Buffalo with the same type of bad background rock style music as well. Oh and don’t for get to throw in the Jazz. We all know any hip city has to have the jazz. That whole Pit video was a cliche.
Not defending the Buffalo video by the way.
TADA!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f38ACHdIiw
Steel,
Watch the Atlanta video that I posted and tell me it isn’t better than both the “corny” Pittsburgh video and the Buffalo video highlighted on this thread.
They (brand atlanta) spent millions on that. Tell me you couldn’t do that for a few grand here, and have it appeal to many different people at once (not just bifocal intellectuals.)
Sorry for offering unsolicited advice. Won’t happen again.
I know this is a dumb idea, but what if the CVB or BuffaloNiagara whatever, partnered with a local college(s) and distributed the B-roll taken from this project, and see what came from it.
Lose the paid “experts”
Engage the city’s future
Make it viral?
I have seen a ton of these Buffalo/WNY/Buffalo-Niagara videos come and go; between all of them they include everything everyone here is calling for.
The thing is, the CVB is responding to years of calls from MANY people that they focus on what is really different about Buffalo—world-famous stuff like the Wright, the Knox, and so on, and that’s what they got funding for. A lot of cities have sports teams and shopping malls, as important as those things are.
The CVB will NEVER win in this situation, well at least not on a comment forum like this one. But they are trying to respond to all the feedback they get. The answer: have someone from outside, with zero agenda, come in and do a video? I dunno.
I remember that BNE one, Eisenbart–that was at least shorter. I agree short is good for this type of thing.
Does this prove the CVB should not get bed tax money? I don’t think so. Their institutional charge includes much much more than making videos for people on blogs to critique, and they have succeeded on a lot of fronts, including getting some great out-of-town press for WNY and bringing in major conferences–i.e., convincing groups to come here instead of Vegas. Not so easy.
Eliz makes a good point about the bed tax– I hadn’t picked up on the swipe at that which appears in the lead-in to the post. CVB has a tough row to hoe, and needs that money– working downtown I see the benefit to the economy that tourism, sport and convention business brings, and it is significant. The natatorium at ECC all by itself is probably responsible for several thousand visitors a year– that adds up to a lot of restaurant meals eaten and hotel beds filled. More of that, which is what the CVB is promoting is a good thing for everyone who lives and works here.