PHL: Marketing beyond a plane, train destination

There is something to be said for speaking in one voice.

Key promoters of the city and region certainly think so, having all agreed to adopt a new marketing tagline - "PHL: Here for the Making."

In coming days, you can expect to see it in ads and promotions by the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Select Greater Philadelphia, the Convention Center, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., and Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association.

The goal, according to Jack Ferguson, president of the convention bureau, is to leverage the marketing clout of those groups by adopting a single, focused slogan that will resonate with businesses, conventions, and travelers who might be interested in coming here.

The slogan is ambiguous enough to allow it to be used in multiple ways.

"It can be, 'Here for the Making - the Perfect Convention,' " Ferguson said. "Or, 'Here for the Making - an Excellent Trade Show.' Or 'Here for the Making - a Great International Visit With Your Family.' "

The slogan will be incorporated in print and television ads, Ferguson said. The television ad time will be provided by Comcast/NBC.

The promotions will feature endorsements of the city by a number of individuals representative of Philadelphia's burgeoning business and cultural renaissance. Those will include restaurateur Jose Garces, fashion designer Lele Tran, and Bill Hunt, chief executive officer of AgustaWestland. Mayor Nutter will also be featured.

Rob Wonderling, the chamber's chief executive officer, said his organization had already incorporated the slogan in pitches it would be making to more than 600 manufacturing companies it was attempting to lure to the region.

The slogan follows the success of Philadelphia's adoption of PHL as a universal reference to the city in its marketing campaigns.

PHL was a product of focus groups that identified the letters as a ready marketing tool, given PHL's widespread use by the airline industry and Amtrak as a designation for the city.

"It has played extremely well," Ferguson said. "Today, about 70 organizations use it some way, shape, or form."

One organization that is taking a pass on the new slogan is Visit Philadelphia, formerly the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. Visit Philadelphia is charged with attracting "leisure" tourists, as opposed to the business crowd targeted by the convention bureau.

Meryl Levitz, president of Visit Philadelphia, said her group planned to stick with its own long-running slogan: "With Love, Philadelphia XOXO."

Hopefully, there won't be any confusion in the making.