Are You Listening? If Not, Shame on You! 🙈 🙉 🙊

“It’s life Jim, but not as we know it.” This Star Trek quote really encapsulates the sentiment of this week’s newsletter. Change is afoot friends, and you’d better be listening. So that you don’t have to be in twenty places at once, we’ve rounded up some of the most captivating, awe-inspiring and engrossing trends, tidbits and tactical facts you need to be aware of today, as a place management or DMO professional. Read on, and share your feedback with us!

– Your Bright Brothers Team

Are You Listening? We are undoubtedly living during an era of unprecedented change. There’s no denying that, and if ever there were a time to stand up, make your voice known, be heard and push for change – it is now. While 2020 may feel like an indissoluble catastrophe, it’s led to a lot of positive change that had been fomenting for years, but may never have seen the light of day. The confluence of the election, the pandemic, social disparity, technology and community engagement have brought with them a new age of input and a radical departure from old ways of doing things. It’s not surprising. We’re more than one-fifth into the century, and topics like constituent engagement, participatory budgeting and communal allocation of resources are beginning to impact our communities, our government and the world as a whole. Consider that in the last month we’ve seen tangible examples of how cities are reimagining neighborhoods, reinventing infrastructure is driving new means of mobility, and Minneapolis is already diverting police funding to healing change through art. If these are not some of the most inspiring examples of what our communities can and should be, we don’t know what is. To drive the point home, we want to know how your district is engaging locally, and what kind of constituent and stakeholder intel you’re undertaking. If you’re not… 1) shame on you, and 2) give us a call so we can help. It’s 2021 after all, and you needn’t know everything, but you do need to listen.

Photo credit: Henry Be, Unsplash 

In marketing there are three surefire ways to get engagement. Showcase images of babies, animals, and human faces. We’re into this #pupsonthepromenade campaign by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore asking you to hashtag your dog photos for them to use on their Insta. What a great idea? Woof!

Photo credit: Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore 

That burrito you ordered for delivery yesterday might just morph into a sticky consumer platform offering cloud kitchens, pervasive digital advertising platforms and brand loyalty programs of the future. We find this hefty read from FastCompany absolutely fascinating. It evaluates and projects the maturation of the on-demand food delivery app from a logistical nightmare, to an all-encompassing community featuring ratings, reviews, curated content and photography – and the operational know-how to become the next big wave in our social evolution. Fostering community through app usage is a goal for many start-ups, and we can clearly see how this industry is on a trajectory that could radically alter, meld and redefine the communities we serve today as place management professionals. Give it a read while you’re waiting for your Dasher to approach.

Photo credit: Jon Tyson, Unsplash

The “RESTAURANTS Act of 2021” (Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive) was reintroduced in the House and Senate this month with seemingly bipartisan support. We all know that restaurants have been one of the hardest hit sectors and comprise a significant portion of our members and ratepayers. While relief has come in drips and drabs plus some gift cards sales, the ongoing impact of the pandemic means real relief is imperative. In a statement issued by the bill’s sponsors (including a few of our dream team faves), it was noted that the $120 billion revitalization fund would allow restaurant owners to retroactively apply for grant funds that cover eligible expenses back to Feb. 15, 2020, and up to 8 months after the legislation is signed into law. Bon appétit!

Photo credit: Drew Beamer, Unsplash 

If you didn’t catch that infrastructure link in the opening section, we’re sharing it again here. Why? Because it’s important, but more interestingly is your ability to drill down on this fascinatingly interactive map by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. While transportation/mobility topped the list of locally-stated priorities, there are still 1,116 other projects to explore, ranging from energy to facilities, to water and our favorite, communications. Given this week’s outrageous rolling blackouts and energy issues plaguing Texas due to a rare winter storm event, it’s imperative we bolster our infrastructure nationally and locally. Play around with the map to see what your local officials consider a priority.

Photo credit: Kinder Institute for Urban Research