Will Charlotte PR efforts backfire?

I was recently asked my opinion on the public relations campaign that the Charlotte Chamber, Charlotte Center City Partners and Charlotte Regional Partnership plan to embark upon. My comments were published in the September 17, 2010 issue of The Mecklenburg Times in an article titled “Group seeks positive press for Charlotte” by Caitlin Coakley. But they don’t fully express what I was trying to communicate.

It is no secret to anyone who knows me how much I love Charlotte. I love the city and I love the people who live, work and play here. I even love those goofy politicians with whom I disagree more often than not. And so I care deeply about how we continue to project our established reputation as a place where people choose to put down roots.

The communication strategy and messaging will depend largely on the PR agency that is selected. (My  Team of Experts is not bidding for this project.) But the entire effort may backfire if the chosen agency decides to distance our city from the banks because of the troubles in that sector. Charlotte’s banks and related financial services are important to our nation as well as our community. We may have been knocked down, but we certainly have not been knocked out.

But even our big banks started as small entrepreneurial ventures. And this is where Charlotte’s strength lies … our entrepreneurial spirit. We are a community where business opportunities abound and where optimism greets the day. From the roots of entrepreneurship grows jobs and disposable income and entertainment and community service and an environment that beckons corporate headquarters to move here.

It is my sincere hope that Charlotte’s public relations campaign will base their strategy on the rock solid foundation of what makes Charlotte great — entrepreneurship. Because I really don’t want this effort to backfire.

Patricia Golden, President

My Team of Experts, Inc.

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