I always envied those cities that actually had time (and the money) to get on the conference circuit and tell their success stories.
It’s like anything in life, people want to be part of a winner — and in this case, people want to shop, dine, live, play, work and learn in a place that has a winning story to tell. So, the hip cities get hipper and rich cities get richer from the positive stories that get spread around for places on the move.
I vowed to never be a PR hound for the City I worked in unless we had a genuine story to tell. Too many times I read glitzy brochures about a city only to discover the city couldn’t live up to all the hype — the old pig in lipstick routine.
As a result we’ve been reticent about getting too far out in front of our downtown development and spinning tales that were more sales pitch than real content. But now, we’ve got something real behind the story. Buildings are up. New businesses have popped up all over town and there’s a distinctly new happening place kind of vibe that permeates around downtown Kent.
Kent isn’t a sales pitch, it’s the real thing. So now is the time to let people know about us and get them amped up enough to come visit us, because once they get here I know there’s plenty of temptations here to keep them busy (and spending money to support our local economy).
In a whirlwind of a week, we brought our videographer/producer/creative co-conspirator/Kent resident, Mr. Mike Pritt, back in to plan, shoot, edit and produce a new video clip to celebrate where we’re at today. Somehow, Mr. Pritt worked his black magic and pulled another rabbit out of his hat with a great video that was premiered on the jumbo-tron at halftime of the Kent State University football game Thursday night but is now posted on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
Spread the good word, because as Dr. Lefton says in the video, Kent is happening right now.
Enjoy. New Downtown Kent Video
