Putting city ‘back on map’

DOWNTOWN — The firm hired to develop a strategy to promote Glendale as a destination for businesses, visitors and potential residents expects to begin a research effort this month that may last until October and involve a series of surveys and focus groups, an executive said.

City officials agreed to terms with the firm, North Star Destination Strategies, in November, hoping it would help give Glendale a recognizable identity or brand.

Although the firm expected to begin its research at the start of the year, it is awaiting completion of a city contract, which officials anticipate will be signed next week.

“It’s basically trying to put us back on the map,” Deputy Development Services Director Emil Tatevosian said of the planned marketing effort.

Glendale’s mix of business districts and its urban expansion in recent years has left it without a clear identity to the outside world, something that an organized marketing plan could change, officials say.

“Thirty years ago, we were considered a bedroom community,” Tatevosian said. “You just drove through Glendale. But today it’s a very different community.”

A marketing campaign could emphasize the city’s downtown retail draws or its relationship to the entertainment industry as the home of DreamWorks Animation and planned offices for the Walt Disney Co., he said.

But the first step, before a campaign can be created, will involve an extensive research effort, said Don McEachern, chief executive of North Star.

The group will employ 18 research methods, including focus groups with stakeholders and community leaders, surveys of residents, city officials and businesses and behavioral analyses.

The firm will also conduct “undercover interviews,” which will involve interviewers posing as visitors, or potential city residents who might visit coffee shops or local eateries to ask about Glendale, McEachern said.

“They’ll talk to people where people gather and say, ‘Hey, I’m moving to Glendale. What’s good to do here?’” he said.

The company will then use the research to propose a strategy for how best to market the city, which could involve advertisements, brochures and a website comparable to promotional materials for a university or tourist destination.

North Star expects to place six of its staff members in Glendale and will have about two dozen working on the project overall in an effort to extract an effective brand image from the research, McEachern said.

“The idea is then for that strategy to be a part of the criteria for making decisions that affect investment, business and other strategies,” he said.

Get in touch ZAIN SHAUK covers business and politics. He may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at zain.shauk@latimes.com.