Brockton has a new slogan 'Where Better Begins.' What do you think?
Chris HelmsBROCKTON — The city has a new marketing slogan, "Brockton: Where Better Begins." You may have seen the promotional video, which dropped in November.
"It's been like a warm hug for those of us who live here. It captures the best of the city," Christopher Cooney, president and CEO of the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, said of the video.
More recently, "Where Better Begins" ads have gone up on BAT buses and at informational kiosks.
"We need to tell our story," the city's CFO Troy Clarkson said in a City Hall interview. "There's so many good things going on here right now, but if we don't talk about it, it didn't happen."
The video showcases what economic development types call the city's "value proposition" of location and value. It features Brockton businesses like Brockton Beer Co., Cape Cod Cafe, Vicente's Supermarket and W.B. Mason. Brockton's Virginia DePina, director of marketing for Massasoit Community College, voiced the video.
“I am incredibly proud of Brockton, which has always been a city of firsts," Mayor Robert F. Sullivan said in an announcement of the effort, "and this campaign tells our story of being a welcoming community of impactful, new beginnings for businesses, families, students, seniors and visitors where ideas take root, businesses grow and anyone can thrive."
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Should campaign get ongoing tax dollars?
The campaign is a public-private partnership between the Chamber, Eastern Bank and the city. Each of those entities chipped in $50,000 for an initial outlay of about $150,000. The small start could turn out to be a down-payment on a more muscular strategy to attract businesses, developers, residents, students and visitors.
"This is on a shoestring. There isn't a dedicated source of revenue for this," said Cooney.
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The Chamber president said he is encouraging Sullivan to consider spending a portion of the money the city gets from its motel tax on marketing.
Many cities and towns use part of their hotel tax for marketing themselves. They include communities like Plymouth and Sturbridge. Plymouth spends about a fifth of its occupancy tax revenue on promotion-related expenses, according to its most recent budget. During fiscal 2022-23, that brought in $88,395 for marketing the town.
Brockton's motel tax brought in $451,038 in fiscal 2021, according to the city's fiscal 2023 budget. Cooney said the city has almost 500 hotel rooms. And a new 70-unit hotel is being built at the mall.
Sullivan said in February he's been talking with both Cooney and Eastern Bank CEO Bob Rivers about how to get more dollars behind marketing Brockton.
"You have to invest money to get a return on the investment," the mayor said. "We're gonna make sure that it's fiscally responsible."
Room occupancy taxes
| Municipality | Room tax |
|---|---|
| Brockton | 6% |
| Boston | 6.5% |
| Lynn | 4% |
| Quincy | 6% |
| Bridgewater | 6% |
| East Bridgewater | none |
| Easton | 6% |
| West Bridgewater | none |
| Stoughton | 6% |
| Raynham | 6% |
No bid
Not everyone is happy with the process used to produce the video. Sullivan confirmed in a February interview that the city didn't put its $50,000 share of the campaign out to bid. One local video production company owner, Rui Lopes of Anawan Studios, in November wrote a widely shared Facebook post laying out his critique that Brockton production houses should have been first in line for such work and that the mayor's office showed itself to be "[C]ompletely tone deaf."
Brockton's Emmy-winning Noube Productions contributed to the video, but Boston marketing agency CTP played the lead role. CTP did not return an email from the Enterprise seeking comment. Both Noube and Anawan are Black-owned production companies and Brockton itself is majority people of color.
In a February interview at Anawan's downtown studio, Lopes stood by his arguments. He said a conversation is being scheduled between him and the mayor.
"How can this be remedied in the future?" Lopes said.
Lopes said the video itself was good, but the way it was produced didn't take make the best use of Brockton's home-grown talent.
Meanwhile, the city and its partners continue to promote the video and overall "Where Better Begins" campaign. At the mayor's State of the City speech on Thursday, March 16, Sullivan showed the video to applause from the crowd.
"I think we're off to a good start," said Cooney.
Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on Twitter at @HelmsNews. Thank you, subscribers. You make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Brockton Enterprise.