Community Engagement, French Kissing, and TikTok Tips 💋

As #hotvaxsummer continues, we’re seeing a continued trend in polar opposites. Vaccination counts continue to climb, and yet the Delta variant is decimating progress in pockets of unvaccinated areas. The service sectors are still struggling with resource recruitment of human capital (although Chipotle has a brilliant plan for that!), lumber’s down, housing numbers are still percolating and there are signs of inflation everywhere. What does this mean for our cities and communities? There are some fascinating facts to note, including why your org should be on TikTok, literal French kissers, community engagement tips, some Philly firsts and a hilarious video that pokes light-hearted fun at what many of us do all day. Sit back, relax, enjoy the ride and educate yourself on where this wacky summer is leading us.

– Your Bright Brothers Team

Everyone seems hype about TikTok, and with good reason. Launched in 2017 replacing a vacuum left by Vine, the platform now boasts nearly 74 million active users. And it’s not just “kids” making funny dance videos. The last four years have allowed the platform time to mature, to be tested by marketers, and has gained massive appeal and purpose. The functionality-slayer and copycats deluxe at Facebook/Insta launched Reels to compete with the sticky platform. Our own co-founder, David Romako will be talking TikTok tips and tactics at this year’s IDA 67^th Annual Conference and Marketplace in Tampa, FL. Those savvy guac-stars at Chipotle devised an ingenious resumé program on TikTik to recruit employees during a labor shortage. This article from Entrepreneur lays out exactly why all businesses should consider TikTok as part of their marketing mix. It’s viable, long-lasting, curated and coercive to say the least. We know of several districts and DMOs using the platform.  How ‘bout yours?

Photo credit: bloomicon – stock.adobe.com

As a wise woman once said, “L’amour, l’amour, toujours l’amours,” and we’re also in love with this vaccination campaign from France that mixes racy imagery with a wink and a nod in favor of all the reasons to get vaccinated and get out there again.  In a veritably French way, this campaign is designed to counter the potential undesirable effects of the vaccines and target in on basic human nature; the need for personal interaction, love and togetherness. Each poster includes a delicious image of humans being humans (perhaps at our best), with the words, “Yes, the vaccine can have desirable effects,” and goes on to say that “With each vaccination, life starts again,”. Getting jabbed never felt so saucy!

Photo credit: ARS-PACA

…this hilarious video from Joey Joe and Sean has been making the rounds in the UPMO community and it’ll have you ROFL. It’s funny because it’s on-the-nose about how many of us get excited about breweries, coffee shops and a Trader Joe’s coming to town. It’ll have you and your coworkers saying “We’re not a big city, but we’re definitely not a small town” for weeks. You’re welcome.

Photo credit: Joey Joe and Sean

We’ve been talking a lot about community engagement recently. As a foundationally imperative principle of strategic planning, community development, placemaking and more – it’s part and parcel to our processes at Bright Brothers Strategy Group. It all comes back to the adage “you only know what you know”. However when you leverage community input – astounding ideas and insights often rise to the top. Over the past few editions of this e-blast we’ve examined and promoted various types of community engagement, including Jay Pitter’s recommendation of doing neighborhood walks and collecting community stories. In this brilliant little nugget shared on Hinge Collective’s Instagram feed, you’ll learn five excellent alternatives to public meetings. Don’t say we never gave you anything!  :P

Photo credit: Nina Strehl – unsplash.com

Philadelphia is known for a lot of firsts; like the nation’s first public school (1698), first hospital (1751), first university (1765), first daily newspaper (1784), first zoological garden (1874), the first mural arts program in the country (1984), and one of our favorites – the first city to pass an ordinance mandating that all construction projects designate a certain percentage of the costs for public art (1959). But it’s not just historic firsts. The City of Brotherly Love continues to pave the way with big announcements recently; both negative and positive. The city has already surpassed last year’s gun fatalities by 34%, and even though New York State has declared a disaster emergency, Philly’s mayor is not yet pressed enough to do the same – despite more than 1,100 people shot so far this year (some as young as one year old). It’s not all bad news coming out of Philly though. Other firsts we can celebrate include the recent creation of a special LGBTQ crime tracker, first-in-the-nation to launch a menstrual hub, and Lyft is bringing back a version of “shared rides” to Chicago and Denver, but Philly first on July 19^th. Gays, guns, pads, pons and shared rides on ride share. What other jawns do you associate with Philly?

Photo credit: Jose Antonia Gallego – unsplash.com