Community: City of Muskegon
Population: 10,000+
In May 2015, our community took the first step in inserting Muskegon into the discussion of great communities. At that time, our community committed to investing amazing resources in our brand and our image. Branded as the Watch Muskegon movement, we set out to put the rest of the state on notice that “We’re just getting started.” Watch Muskegon is a county-wide initiative of stakeholders vested in the community. The campaign strategically focuses resources on economic development, beautification, education, customer service, marketing, and community engagement.
Residents have embraced the movement at a level that we could never have imagined. T-shirts, yard signs, flags and banners have quickly become our home team uniform, and are proudly displayed with a renewed spirit and sense of pride beckoning outsiders to step inside and experience Muskegon.
Repurposing, reinvesting and reinventing itself from the inside out. If seeing is believing, just WATCHmUSkeGOn!
Replicability:
A community needs a group of energetic and dedicated citizens, business owners, chamber of commerce, non-profits, government entities, etc. who are passionate about their community and willing to work together as a team to promote their community. Stakeholders are needed who are willing to fund the campaign. There are three pillars to the campaign - Marketing, Education, and Beautification. Marketing is the promotional part of the campaign. The STAR program is a four hour class offered to those in customer service positions. The purpose is to educate our own citizens about all Muskegon has to offer so they may be better equipped to answer questions our visitors may have and promote our community whenever possible. The third component is beautifying the area. We learned Google maps takes visitors to Lake Michigan through a corridor that encompasses many municipalities. A plan has been developed for municipalities to work together and focus on that particular corridor this year to clean lots, plant flowers, and make improvements to the overall appearance that will be inviting to our guests.
Creativity and Originality:
The Watch Us Go campaign was created from the name of our own community – mUSkeGOn. It was a clever play on words created by Revel, a local marketing company. The tagline, “We’re just getting started.” was added to the slogan that caught the interest of citizens who are excited to see what follows.
Community Impact:
This campaign has had a tremendous impact on the community. There are few places one can go in the County without seeing a Watch mUSkeGOn banner, flag, yard sign, business sign, t-shirts, billboard, bumper stickers, hats, letterhead, signatures on emails, etc. displayed for all to see. Television commercials and billboards can be seen over 100 miles away and it continues to grow. Investors have taken notice and indicated it was this campaign that gave them a renewed interest to invest in Muskegon. For the first time, cruise ships have scheduled more than ten stops in Muskegon. As watersports are played, museums are marveled at, and parks are pondered, Muskegon has turned the tide. Repurposing, reinvesting and reinventing itself from the inside out.
