Raising Cane
By Rob Perez
New pro-Hawaii plan
launched in bad timingThumbs up, Hawaii!
Oops.
Wrong marketing campaign.
But this one has a touchy-feely quality similar to the 1995 "Thumbs Up" public relations fiasco that tried to boost Hawaii consumer confidence even as the local economy was tanking.
That think-positive campaign, cooked up mainly by big business, failed miserably. Few consumers bought into it.
In this new campaign, a joint effort between the state and the private sector, we're told Hawaii is a good place to operate a business in part because of the aloha spirit.
Here's the slogan: "Hawaii is the one place on Earth to do business where life and aloha are part of the bottom line."
Yeah, right.
Tell that to Square USA, which closed its Honolulu movie studio earlier this year, leaving more than 100 workers without jobs and shuttering one of the state's largest tech employers.
Tell that to the Ohana Foundation, another high-tech company that closed last year, putting about 90 people out of work.
Tell that to Adtech, a telecommunications company that has laid off dozens of employees and shifted manufacturing operations to California.
Tell that to the businesses that fought multiple efforts at this year's Legislature to place more regulations on their industries.
They're still looking for the aloha.
The idea behind the current campaign, unveiled last week, actually is a good one: Create a brand awareness that Hawaii is not just sun and surf but a place where people can do serious business in a pleasant environment.
And unlike the "Thumbs Up" pitches, this campaign is backed by nine months of market research, including surveys, individual interviews and focus group sessions designed to gauge perceptions about Hawaii as a place to do business.
The state initiated the branding push after repeatedly hearing the same message during marketing and trade trips to Asia and elsewhere. Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business owners, trade officials and others expressed the widespread view that Hawaii was considered strictly a place to visit, to have fun and to relax.
"They don't think serious business takes place here," said Sharon Narimatsu, deputy director of the state's Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, which is working with local companies on the campaign.
Once the state pitched the idea to the private sector, companies jumped aboard, doing the bulk of the work. Advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, for instance, donated its services to come up with a "Business in Hawaii" brand, including the slogan.
The advertising campaign, which kicks off with a slick spread in the May issue of Hawaii Business magazine, will highlight local success stories. One such story: Xcel Wetsuits in Haleiwa, the country's third-largest wetsuit manufacturer.
Narimatsu said the marketing won't gloss over problems that businesses face here, but the idea is to emphasize Hawaii's positive attributes.
There's one problem, though. Many company owners, jaded by their experiences, don't see things so positively. They lament that Hawaii is unfriendly to business because of high taxes, onerous regulations, crippling bureaucracy and a host of other factors, all of which contribute to the high cost of doing business in the islands.
Narimatsu acknowledges such a lament. "We sometimes are our own worst marketers," she said.
That's why the marketing push initially will focus on Hawaii, not elsewhere. To counter all the negative vibes, the campaign in the first six months to a year will attempt to create a greater awareness among local residents about why Hawaii is a good place to do business. After that, the marketing goes national and international.
Jennifer Floto, a University of Southern California public relations professor who has helped cities and states on branding campaigns, said such efforts can be effective in keeping and attracting businesses.
Typically it takes three to five years for a brand to become recognizable, Floto said.
While critics of Hawaii's plan are skeptical, Floto said the approach being used here sounds like a good one to attract interest from business owners who value lifestyle issues almost as much as bottom-line ones.
So far the state has spent about $90,000 on the campaign. Including the in-kind contributions of the private-sector partners, the total cost has reached an estimated $500,000. The tab is expected to grow as the advertising begins.
Measuring the effectiveness of such spending will be difficult. Narimatsu, though, said the state and its partners will be able to gauge whether the brand awareness is increasing by conducting periodic market research and comparing the results with data already accumulated.
As the state's tab grows, however, some people are bound to question such spending at a time when the government is cutting or reducing programs for education, health and social services.
While the state in the long run may benefit from the branding campaign by attracting outside capital, any short-term gains will seem elusive.
Kathleen Hasegawa, executive director of the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance, said she believes trying to diversify the economy is good because creating jobs will help residents.
"But can we honestly be promoting Hawaii as a good place to live and do business when we're shredding the safety net for health, housing and human services for our people?" Hasegawa asked.
That's a good question. And the answer?
Two thumbs down.
Star-Bulletin columnist Rob Perez writes on issues
and events affecting Hawaii. Fax 529-4750, or write to
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. He can also be reached
by e-mail at: rperez@starbulletin.com.
