Ft Lauderdale - In case you're lost
There is little to say about Fort Lauderdale that has not been said already. ‘Oft refered to as Yachting’s capital it has a boatshow that is so good the bottled water alone is only affordable by the very wealthy. It has a mythical place known only as Behindlester’s where anything in the world that is involved with yachts can be magically repaired or made. It has electricity and beaches and invented the concept of Spring Break where underage students gather wearing identical clothes and hunt in small packs for alcohol. Lauderdale has so many sportfishers that it sutains most of China’s white sock and ‘cut off’ denim industries singlehandedly. Lauderdale has so many canals it is known as ‘ the Venice of America that is outside Vegas’.
It is a shame then that Lauderdale is slowly losing is position as the seminal player in the superport game. It would seem to me that as the Dollar faired so ill against the Euro the advantage of the exchange rate was not captitalised on at all. There never once appeared to be any public money put into any campaign to encourage the yachting industry to keep coming to Lauderdale and the businesses who are based in the environs.
The US economy is in the lead in slowdown and the recent ‘non tank vessel response plan’ (NTVRP) regulations, Immigration problems for crew and Transport Workers Identification Credials (TWICS) regulations have taken a toll on the perception of Ft Lauderdale as THE place to visit. Some sort of campaign discouraging rumours and encouraging clarity on the issues would have been wise. The yachting press in the US have raised the issue of Lauderdale’s demise but essentially they were preaching to the choir.
If one travels by British Airways one of the worst parts of the trip is the advertisements on the entertainment system that highlight Wales as a fantastic place to do business and to live. However awful and repetative it was as a campaign it worked and people went there, did business there and even lived there. Dubai encouraged business by boring us senseless with the most patronising ‘ads that suggested everyone lived in giant shopping malls, was very tanned and beautiful and yet not extravagent in any way. People went there and lived in those malls so many in fact that the landlords doubled the rent and all bought Ferraris.
The point is that Lauderdale has something unique to offer the Yachting world in addition to its geographical location. It has a skilled ‘yacht quality’ work force and the can offer great value in the global yachting market. It also has some of the property market’s greatest problems indeed very few economic optimists currently live in Lauderdale.
It would seem to me that the public sector could do more to market Fort Lauderdale outside the states. The yachting market must surely be important enough to warrant it and there is plenty of expertise on the subject of how to attack it. The right demographic is relatively easy to target and every time the news reports more doom and gloom here in the US economy it would seem like a good idea to try and generate income.
The first step should be to come up with a brand, logo and tagline. So ,I am holding a competition open to anyone. Send me your suggestions and I will pick the winner and notify you of your prize. The winner will have the chance to rename Fort Lauderdale, and get free bus rides for week.