OKC's Impressive New Marketing Campaign

[DwnTwnTul]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GJIHhypBmU

[AquaMan]

That was powerful marketing. Well done and very inviting. It doesn't exactly fit the OKC many of us have experienced, but was factual nonetheless and put OKC's best face to the public.

I would want to live in that city. Tulsa better get its game on. Something other than Ritze from Broken Arrow trying to make Obamacare a felony or consistently voting down river development efforts.

Note: What I mean is that Tulsa is way too political. Everything here seems to be about politics, guns, conservatism, golf, beer and restaurants. Ok, we get it. Conservative is king in green country. But pragmatism should be king when it comes to business and economic growth. When we spend so much time "living" our politics with visceral hate for Obama and his policies, making sure our gun shows are the biggest and the best...we miss the growth opportunities. All one has to do is read these forums, talk to strangers and watch our area politicians to get that image of Tulsa. One of cynicism, fanatical religion and radicalism. I am so tired of people blurting out their opinions on guns and Obama to me as a perfect stranger and as though I obviously must agree.

The funny thing is, that OKC is probably more conservative, fundamentalist and rural in nature yet that image isn't the one projected. The community image thrives in spite of Fallin and her cohorts, because they separate their politics and religion from their business development.

Just an observation from a progressive who isn't too happy with OKC outshining us.

[sauerkraut]

That video was very impressive and hard hitting. Low cost of living & Strong recession proof economy are  hard to beat that tag lines. The outdoor sports are attention grabbing too with lakes and trails all around the city. 20 years ago OKC was jealous of Tulsa, today it's flipped around. Tulsa needs to get on the ball and fast. WoW that was something!

[sauerkraut]

The state of Oklahoma has a strong economy so there should be enough left over for Tulsa...  Look at the bright side A booming OKC will boost Tulsa too. I'd rather have it be the other way around but what can you do. Tulsa has that mayor election mess coming up - two people running for mayor and both are bad news for the residents of Tulsa... Too bad we can't vote "None of the above" and do without any mayor if those two are our only choices. It looks like OKC is leaving Tulsa in the dust and even a new "brand" may not be enough to boost Tulsa up..

[TheArtist]

 I will tell ya what that video was.  That was someone with some brains and talent (or perhaps luck), hiring someone with a lot of talent and brains.  

I could make a video of Tulsa that would blow you away.  

That video, I give it about an 85-90 grade.  We are just so used to crap that we can be almost surprised when someone does something decently well.

Last Tulsa video promo I saw made me cringe, it was a worthless, rapid paced barrage of images that even the most die hard Tulsan, intimately familiar with what's in Tulsa, would have a hard time telling you what you just saw. Anyone else in the country would have been left with the impression, "What the heck was that?", at best.

Kudos to OKC

Now, I am a Tulsa cheerleader and do think we have a lot going for us, a lot of nice new things that have recently wrapped up and that are in the works (thank goodness for Mr Kaiser or I would be hesitant to say even that).  But, we seem to be lacking in vision, talent, brains and gusto at the top.

A while back I was in OKC for a fundraising event.  Granted it could have just been the company I was with and the particular crowd at the fundraiser... but there really was a different feeling in the air that was different than what I have run into in Tulsa.  Very professional, full of positive energy, dare I say "classy", a go get em big city vibe.  But, again perhaps I have just missed running into that crowd here?  I am trying to be part of that crowd or at least trying to not only point out faults but be someone trying to make a difference.  I am "told" I am a talented artist and often get told that I would make a lot more money elsewhere and people wonder why I am here.  But I choose to stay here, well, because so many talented people do leave and it hurts Tulsa, and I want to see Tulsa succeed. Not enough things to see or do? Lacking in things like museums (and we do rank low compared to other cities our size)... well, it may not be much yet, but gosh danged it I have at least STARTED a museum lol. And we will get there.  Working with the folks in the Deco District to start a fall festival downtown (may hear more on that down the road). Now I am trying to open a retail shop downtown and turn an eyesore into something positive.  etc.  But I am a nobody. I am a little guy living in a working class neighborhood driving a small, beat up, old Ford truck, struggling to pay the bills.  But sometimes I look at the people in power who have much more influence and ability to make positive changes than I do and wonder "WHAT THE FRACK! ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING!"  For every step forward, and we are making many, there seem to be an equal number of steps back or roadblocks thrown in the way.  It's like we are having to make strides "in spite of" the local government, rather than them being as talented and visionary and walking hand in hand with others who are as well.    

[Townsend]

They did a great job.

I'd love it if our chamber could come up with a marketing plan as attractive.

[YoungTulsan]

Top Youtube comment: "Proud to be a Oklahoman!"

*facepalm*

[BKDotCom]

OKC: 

It starts with our revitalized downtown which radiates outward...   And check out what we've down with our river.

Tulsa

the parking hassle, closed streets. Why go to a business downtown when you find a business that is not downtown and has plenty of free parking? If I was looking for a place to open up my business I would not think of making the downtown area of any city my location. I for one never go downtown and I have no need to

quit trying to develop our river

[sauerkraut]

The Tulsa scuttle butt has turned back to finding Tulsa a "Brand"... Tulsa needs to get it's rear in gear we're already being left behind by OKC. We need to  make something first out of Tulsa and the Tulsa brand will follow. Let's build up our river front  for one thing it can be a  world class place for running & cycling. Ban dogs from River Parks Trails let the dogs use the Tulsa dog parks. Going for a run on the Riverside jogging trails and seeing dog poop all over is not saying much for our city.

[Conan71]

The Tulsa scuttle butt has turned back to finding Tulsa a "Brand"... Tulsa needs to get it's rear in gear we're already being left behind by OKC. We need to  make something first out of Tulsa and the Tulsa brand will follow. Let's build up our river front  for one thing it can be a  world class place for running & cycling. Ban dogs from River Parks Trails let the dogs use the Tulsa dog parks. Going for a run on the Riverside jogging trails and seeing dog poop all over is not saying much for our city.

Funny, I'm on the trails quite a bit and never see dog crap on them, not even up on Turkey Mountain when I go there on my mountain bike.  I don't have a problem with people running or walking with their dogs so long as they keep them on a leash.

As far as OKC leaving us behind, their river trail system is light years behind ours.  They don't have anywhere close to the network we already have in place.  As far as building up the river front, that requires higher taxes, which you don't appear to like.

[cynical]

Funny, I'm on the trails quite a bit and never see dog crap on them, not even up on Turkey Mountain when I go there on my mountain bike.  I don't have a problem with people running or walking with their dogs so long as they keep them on a leash.

As far as OKC leaving us behind, their river trail system is light years behind ours.  They don't have anywhere close to the network we already have in place.  As far as building up the river front, that requires higher taxes, which you don't appear to like.

Remember, SK doesn't know the difference between dog poop and goose poop. Let's ban geese.

[AquaMan]

Lets eat them instead. Pate'

[rdj]

They do have a nice trail and recreation area around their urban lake, Lake Hefner.  However, the drought cycle we are in as let to it being at historic lows.  The lake is also OKC's water source.  They've begun water rationing as a result.

[DTowner]

I agree this is a slick ad.  What is most frustrating is not that Tulsa has not done a similarly slick ad, but that our failure to do so is more a product with where we are currently than our inability to hire the necessary creative minds.  One of our problems is we are 10 years behind OKC and our political and business leaders have generally not been up to the challenge of developing a plan to close the gap.

While OKC was passing MAPs and building a river through Bricktown, a baseball stadium, a downtown arena and setting off a wave of public pride and private investment that culminated in an NBA franchise, Tulsa's political class was debating a floating convention center and drawing up plans for consultant driven projects like aerodromes, aquatic centers and other far flung sports venues that left out the central ingredient – the interests of the voters.  After two failed votes, Tulsans finally realized that what was happening down the turnpike was pretty amazing and that downtown development really did require a vision paired with a public financial commitment in order to attract private investment.

Vision 2025 was a good start, but before the crowning jewel project could even be completed and allowed to prove its value to a wary populace, our political class decided that focusing on downtown development wasn't interesting enough and instead diverted its small pool of political capital and the public's limited attention away towards remaking the river.  Indeed, not one but two plans were put forward.  One was reasonably sensible, well thought out and was partially  bankrolled by some serious players.  The other must have been birthed over a few too many glasses of grand cru wine by people who clearly had no engineering training, political sense or financial comprehension beyond of the value of their trust funds.  Alas, it didn't really matter which plan went before a skeptical public, many of who's communities stood to gain little from river development, because the voters were not prepared to tax themselves some more to create a "build it they will come" paradise on the Arkansas River, particularly when V2025 had yet to prove itself and deliver on its promises.

Meanwhile, while our leaders largely left us rudderless during the 1990s and early 2000s, a number of private entrepreneurs took leaps of faith and invested in downtown.  What today seems like obvious good ideas and investments, at the time were thought foolhardy at best.  Now, with what seems like an overnight revival of once forgotten downtown neighborhoods, downtown is rising from the ashes and beginning to take on a life and vibrancy not seen since Tulsa's heady oil capitol days.

Yet, still, our political class fails to grasp the opportunities staring them in the face for capitalizing on this momentum and moving Tulsa forward to fulfill its potential as a regional leader in business, entertainment and culture, and attract those companies and dynamic young workers all cities crave.  We could be focusing on connecting our developing downtown work and entertainment districts with higher density housing and entertainment near downtown, and in doing so lead the way as a forward thinking city on the rise.  Truly, "A New Kind of Energy" – one of those past new "branding" slogan collecting dust on a shelf somewhere in City Hall.

Instead, fueled by envy of the latest doings of our Capital city big brother, the siren song from the water once again tugs at the coat strings of our leaders and the soft chants of "river development" are rising.  Never mind it is not clear what is really meant by this prosaic and amorphous phrase, as we head into a mayoral election season the chorus is only likely to grow louder – "we need to develop the river."  Too bad few notice, much less comment on, the fact that the east side of the river is well "developed" from SW Boulevard to south of the Creek Turnpike with parks, trails, entertainment and housing creating what should be the envy of OKC, not the other way around.  The west bank from SW Boulevard to I44 is covered by a sprawling apartment complex, a park, a concrete business (ugh!), a city maintanence facility, a power plant, and a refinery.  Just where is this "development" we seek to go? 

Perhaps instead of searching for a new "brand" that surpasses all the old new brands we have lying around, we first step back and try to develop a vision and a plan to carry out that vision around which a brand can be something more than just a slogan – but instead a unified concept of what Tulsa is and where it is  headed.  When we have that accomplished, the slick ads practical write themselves.

[Townsend]

They do have a nice trail and recreation area around their urban lake, Lake Hefner.  However, the drought cycle we are in as let to it being at historic lows.  The lake is also OKC's water source.  They've begun water rationing as a result.

Corps begins water release at Canton Lake for OKC

http://kwgs.com/post/corps-begins-water-release-canton-lake-okc

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers has begun releasing water from Canton Lake in northwestern Oklahoma to help replenish the drinking water supply in Oklahoma City.

Debbie Ragan, a spokeswoman for the city's utilities department, says the release began Wednesday morning. Ragan says 30,000 acre-feet of water will be released into the North Canadian River and captured in Lake Hefner to replenish the drinking water supply that serves about 1.2 million people. It should take about two weeks for the water to reach Oklahoma City.

The water release has been criticized by state Sen. Bryce Marlatt of Woodward, who says the city should impose stricter conservation efforts before taking water from western Oklahoma.

Marlatt says removing the water will devastate Canton Lake's role as a regional fish hatchery.