No Limits: New image campaign highlights Houston's high points. David Kaplan, Chron.com
The city has gone through a number of image campaigns over the years, including "Houston Proud," "Expect the Unexpected" and "Houston is Hot."
The Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau has two active campaigns, "My Houston," featuring Houston-born celebrities touting the city, and "Houston Is...," spotlighting local chefs, artists and others who are making their mark on the city.
Kaplan also reports that the GHP is planning to spend 12 Million dollars over the next five or six years trying to convince people that Houston is a really great place to........
What exactly?
We know that people are coming here because this is where the jobs are and if you ignore the trendy spots (of the type people in the GHP would like you to live) the Houston region is still very affordable. We also know that there is a lot to do in this city despite our local leaders telling us things to the contrary in an effort to fund trinkets. (The goal of trinkets being to get local dignitaries names engraved on plaques which future generations ignore.)
Houston has parks, shopping, a fairly active social scene, museums, and a host of things to do that are within a day trip from almost any point in the region. This includes traditional non-Houston things like hiking, biking, camping and kayaking.
The thing is, most of these things are pretty widely known, so what the GHP is really trying to do is a.)justify their existence and b.)continue beating their head against Houston's climate.
Unfortunately, for them, no matter what they do it's never going to be as good as the Houston: It's worth it campaign that was launched outside of the auspices of GHP and has continued to be a better marketer of the city than any of the focus-group driven crap sandwiches produced by the Partnership or it's sister organization the Greater Houston Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
$12 Million for a second-tier product? Only in a City and region operating in a leadership vacuum is this considered a smart plan.
