It’s dangerous when you’re in my business to call a client or project “the best” but I have to say that spending a February day with the marketing team from the Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau (RMCVB to their friends) was a kick.
The team wanted to build a stronger sense of identity and vision for itself, and so we gathered at the Visual Arts Center for a series of activities and discussions designed to get them thinking a little more intently about who they aspired to be.
Since RMCVB’s essential task is to market and sell the Richmond region to tourists and convention goers around the world, I thought it might be interesting to see which cities the RMCVB marketing team identified with.
After playing with a hundred balloons – a small lesson in collaboration – the small group filled dozens of colorful sticky notes inked with phrases and characteristics the group felt described them at their best. They were then asked to use those characteristics to determine what city they – as a team – were most like.
We ended the day in two teams with markers and pastels and very large sheets of paper laid out in a workroom at the Visual Arts Center. VisArt’s Aimee Joyaux guided both teams through a mildly competitive mural making activity – capturing their team as a city visually.
What made the RMCVB marketing engagement so much fun – even beyond the creative and colorful elements embodied in balloons, post-it notes and pastel crayons – was the high energy and sense of fun the team itself brought to the day. There was little apprehension, and plenty of willingness to play hard and take a critical look at the gaps between their self-perception as a team and how they might be perceived by others.
I’m not really sure which city they finally embraced, but working with the RMCVB team was a good reminder of why I love working in Richmond.