After two years of pandemic stasis, crime stories and a broadly battered image, Chicago is going on the offensive, launching a guerrilla marketing campaign Monday to promote itself as a more influential world city than many realize.
Created by Chicago ad agency Energy BBDO, the pro bono “Chicago Not in Chicago” campaign touts a long list of homegrown innovations — from the cellphone to the skyscraper — that have changed the world, but with little credit given to the city of origin.
“Since its founding, Chicago has influenced the most important cities across the globe,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in an introductory video to the campaign. “The high-rises, mobile phone, Ferris wheel, house music, coffee maker, soap opera and many other things were all created here in Chicago. However, only a few people know that — until now.”
The campaign will live on a new website featuring quirky videos that the city hopes will be widely shared on social media. The inaugural video features a double-decker bus that descended on New York City in October to stage a tour pointing out Chicago innovations integral to the Big Apple.
In the video, the faux tour guide takes passengers past the Empire State Building and other iconic buildings, reminding them the skyscraper was invented in Chicago. Most architectural historians credit the 10-story red brick and granite Home Insurance Building, built in 1885 at the corner of La Salle and Adams streets, as the first modern skyscraper.
They next drive by the trendy Le Bain dance club where house music, born in Chicago during the 1980s, is apparently all the rage. The tour guide also mentions cellphones, which were invented by Motorola in 1973 and brought to market 10 years later with the bricklike DynaTAC. He then ticks off everything from coffee makers to softball as Chicago creations, ultimately chanting the city’s name for the balance of the three-minute video as the bus rides the streets of New York.
Michael Fassnacht, president and CEO of World Business Chicago and the city’s chief marketing officer since April 2020, said the campaign will produce similar videos in other cities, starting with a London tour later this year.
“If you look at big cities in the world, they could not exist without Chicago,” Fassnacht said. “Each of them have Chicago stories in their city.”
The “Chicago Not in Chicago” campaign will include national advertisements in newspapers and magazines, but will rely primarily on social media to spread the word, Fassnacht said. There are also plans to put a billboard in New York, he said.
While the budget is low, it is the first comprehensive branding campaign for Chicago since the pandemic hit nearly two years ago. Like many major cities, Chicago has faced a sharp decline in everything from tourism to mass transit usage as remote work, social distancing and commercial closures made it something less than a toddlin’ town for many.
Chicago, which welcomed nearly 61 million visitors in 2019, fell to 16 million in 2020 and was projected to attract just under 29 million last year, according to data provided by Choose Chicago, the city’s official tourism arm.
The city’s image as a crime capital, which dates back to the days of Al Capone, has also flared up during the pandemic — fairly or unfairly — as Chicago saw upward of 800 homicides last year, the deadliest total since 1996, according to Chicago Police Department data and other sources.
“We have been facing tremendous headwinds,” Fassnacht said. “We are in a little bit of a downward cycle, but I’m very optimistic about our recovery.”
Fassnacht said the campaign will be the first step to rebuilding Chicago’s image as a tourist and business destination. He cites some improving trends in hotel occupancy, transit usage and event attendance — before omicron hit in December — as signs the city is poised for a robust recovery when the pandemic wanes.
He also sees it as a morale builder for Chicagoans, and a call to action to patronize and promote the city’s attractions, such as restaurants, museums and theaters.
In headier days, Chicago had more ambitious marketing campaigns, such as “Chicago Epic,” a 2015 national TV commercial targeting far-flung markets such as San Francisco and Denver in a bid to broaden the city’s appeal as a tourist destination. The city also extended the campaign overseas, with translated versions of the spots running in China. The multimillion-dollar campaign was created by ad agency FCB Chicago, then headed up by Fassnacht.
The new campaign has simpler goals: recasting Chicago and raising awareness for the post-pandemic future.
“It’s like a brand, you have to be top of mind, you have to be out there,” Fassnacht said. “It’s never too early to promote Chicago. We should promote Chicago every single day.”
