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What's the New Word? 'Buffalo For Real'

Part of a fresh campaign designed to highlight the area's cultural tourism assets

By David Robinson 
 May 10, 2011

"Buffalo For Real."

That's the new brand identity that local tourism officials unveiled Tuesday for the Buffalo Niagara region as part of a campaign designed to highlight the area's cultural tourism assets.

The slogan, developed by a volunteer team of local advertising and marketing executives, will become the centerpiece of the region's tourism promotion efforts, focusing on architecture, culture, museums and historical sites.

Research by the former Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, which is being renamed Visit Buffalo Niagara, showed that the region's history, museums and architecture were among the main reasons tourists visited Buffalo, along with a stop in Niagara Falls.

"We knew that we had an incredible product," said Dottie Gallagher-Cohen, president and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara. "We just need to get the word out about what we have to offer."

As part of the rebranding, Visit Buffalo Niagara also redesigned its annual visitors guide and unveiled the first phase of a revamped website (www.visitbuffaloniagara.com) that will feature eight "webisodes" about the region.

Erie County Executive Chris Collins, who battled early in his term for a shake-up of the tourism agency that included the ouster of longtime top executive Richard S. Geiger and his replacement by Gallagher-Cohen, said the new campaign is "exactly what this community needs at this point in time."

"It covers all of the treasures we have," Collins said.

"We're not Disney World. We're not trying to be Disney World. I look at this branding campaign, and I say maybe I need to go see what this is all about."

The idea for the "Buffalo For Real" campaign has its roots in the belief that the region should embrace its heritage, which a century ago had Buffalo among the leading cities in the country.

That past led to a collection of cultural and architectural attractions that, while lacking the broad appeal of traditional tourist destinations such as Niagara Falls, have their own cadre of devoted followers who are willing to travel distances to see them.

Sites such as the Olmsted Parks, the Roycroft campus in East Aurora and the Darwin Martin House can be powerful magnets for the empty-nesters and the highly educated "bifocal" class that are drawn to architectural and cultural attractions, Gallagher-Cohen said. That also includes travelers interested in gardening and those partial to independent local restaurants.

"This campaign pulls that all together," Mayor Byron W. Brown said. "The product is as good as the community we are branding."

While Niagara Falls remains an important part of the overall effort to bring tourists to the region, the new campaign attempts to carve out a unique identity for Buffalo Niagara rather than piggybacking on the mass appeal of the falls.

"For people in that targeted demographic, we have the Disney World of cultural travel. Among that group, we have something to sell," Gallagher-Cohen said. "You should come to Buffalo because you can also see Niagara Falls."

The campaign was developed on a shoestring.

While branding campaigns typically can cost $250,000 to $500,000, the "Buffalo For Real" initiative was created by local volunteers whose staff time was donated by their employers. Going forward, the campaign will rely on targeted advertising, especially online.

About half of Visit Buffalo Niagara's $3.7 million annual budget goes toward marketing.

drobinson@buffnews.comnull