Gushing about Lightfoot’s “authenticity” and calling her “the ultimate representative of the city of Chicago,” he told Quig that “my job is to highlight her strength, her complexity as a human being and as a mayor of our city.”
Really? I thought his job was to start repairing Chicago’s shattered image at home and abroad. It will take tremendous creativity and focus to undo the city’s growing reputation as a hotbed of violence, crime and corruption.
When I spoke with Fassnacht this week, he assured me that the city branding strategy isn’t intended to burnish the mayor’s image.
“The brand of the city is much, much bigger than the mayor,” he said. “But the mayor is part of it.”
Fassnacht didn’t provide specifics on Lightfoot’s planned role in various promotional gambits in the works at City Hall. He explained that the city isn’t planning a traditional marketing blitz that blankets media outlets with a catchy tagline, but a series of discrete events aimed at building a positive image over time.
“It’s a long journey” to build up a city’s brand, he said.
With the city facing a massive budget deficit, there’s no money to buy airtime for television commercials or slap ads on billboards. Instead, Fassnacht is banking on “earned media,” adspeak for staged events and activities that generate favorable press coverage. Plans call for events tied to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Regardless of format, Fassnacht clearly sees Lightfoot as a branding asset.
“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t use her,” he said, again extolling Lightfoot’s “authenticity” and noting her status as the city’s first openly lesbian Black mayor.
That kind of talk raises questions about whether the branding campaign is as much about showcasing Lightfoot as the city. Yes, she has an important role to play in communicating vital information to the city, such as the importance of social distancing and mask-wearing during a pandemic. But admeisters can turn public service messages into not-so-subtle political spots by portraying an elected official’s personal qualities in a positive way.
Consider the three-minute YouTube video in which a apparently homebound Mayor Lightfoot urges Chicagoans to “stay home and save lives.” The expertly crafted piece shows many sides of Lightfoot, all flattering. There’s the cool-headed “analyst” explaining that data shows social distancing stops viral spread, the playful “baker” spelling out “Stay Home!”in flour, the straight-talking “voice of reason” telling friends they don’t need to get their roots dyed or toenails painted, the frustrated “beginner” struggling to learn the guitar.
