How do we lose the 'boring & dull' stereotype?

[Norman]

I think we have to reinvigorate our marketing side. Send out free caps or shirts via a website that say "SA Brilliant Blend" with the logo on it, with a letter telling people to wear them at home and other places as well (limit it to 5 caps/household or something). Give them out at the airport for international (or even interstate) visitors. There are so many things we can do to better market our state nationally and globally, it's not funny. All it takes is some money and some fresh ideas.

[crawf]

Adelaide is not boring it has alot to offer, what really ruins this city is the locals negative attitude and anti-progress people.

I couldn't care less what any person for interstate thinks, Adelaide and South Australia are heading towards the right direction and have a very bright long-term future. You just need to go down to the city and see how its becoming more vibrant and alive (even after 5pm) and the growing number of construction sites.

As I said a few posts back marketing in this state has improved dramatically over the last few years, though because this state has suffered from poor economic/population growth and marketing in the past its still hurting us. However some of the highlights of the tourism sector in SA in the last few years include
- Adelaide hosted its first Australia Tourism Exchange in 2006 which is a major boast to the states profile as the event attracted 700 travel experts from 40 countries. We have won the hosting rights for the 2010 exchange, another major plus.
- Fantastic new logo and slogan replacing "Discover the secrets of SA"
- New airport terminal, which has attracted more domestic and international flights aswell as boasting the city's profile
- New bus terminal, which will be boasted even more thanks to the soon-to-be built hi-rises and food/retail outlets.
- Improvement on the Adelaide Visitor Guide, such a greater focus on the inner suburbs - However there it still needs alot more improvement to really show of this city to potential vistors.
- New format and improvement on state region brochures, they all look fantastic.
- Tramline extension has opened up Glenelg even more
- More festivals and events etc....

Then ofcourse the $2 billion public transport upgrade will boast the tourism sector aswell, such as the Port Adelaide/Semaphore train line.

Anything can happen between now and future, example Melbourne is currently all the rave at the moment. However some of the city's main infrastructure is starting to struggle with high population growth and housing prices are going through the roof, so Melbourne could eventually end up in Sydney's current situation and Adelaide or Canberra could be all the rave. Another example, Brisbane was declared a backwater and large country town in the 80s, now look at it.

Anything is possible, never say never.

The reason for this thread is to brainstorm ideas on how to lose our negative image, and not 'how do we attract more tourists to Adelaide'. (although bringing more tourist to Adelaide is a great idea, but not the focus of this thread)
I, at no point have suggested that people will come to Adelaide to view our new buildings. The reason why I suggest removing that photo is because it was taken in 2007, and the problem is that it could have been taken in 1991, and bar the change in signs on some buildings, the skyline looks the same! This generates a negative image for the city, because people will assume that because the skyline has not changed the city must be backwards, stagnated and dull. I strongly believe that Perth's modern and dynamic skyline subcontiously saves people from calling Perth dull.

The city has been nicknamed 'Dullsville' by the locals and people from interstate, plus Perth's skyline has hardly changed either

I'm sure if had the kind of money that WA is currently swimming in, we would be spending big on projects have visionary planning.

[Prince George]

Since we have a troubled relationship with our brother Melbourne, perhaps we could learn something from our sister Austin

Austin's population is similar to Adelaides and its density is even lower. Until recently it had very little public transport, which is starting to improve now. It has a very modest skyline, and is very reminiscent of Adelaide; take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aust ... onnell.JPG. Even the new buildings that they're putting up look rather like the ones we're building in Adelaide. They have no major professional sports teams, it's the largest American city not to have any (although the University of Texas Longhorns fill the void somewhat).

Now, Austin has a swagger about it, it is sure of its place in the world. It doesn't hurt that it's the capital of Texas, but there's more to it than that -- there are state capitals that are dull. Austin has a sense of being independent and unique that I think you don't get about Dallas or Houston. It comes from a strong group of independent minded locals that are really passionate that Austin is different to other places. They launched the unofficial city motto "Keep Austin Weird" http://www.keepaustinweird.com/home.html and they're very motivated about running and patronising local businesses. You can particularly see it by the University on Guadalupe St, and on South Congress Avenue, aka SoCo, http://austin.smallplanetguide.com/rent ... ighborhood. On SoCo you can get shirts reading "78704-ever" - there aren't many places that can get pumped up about their postcode.

(Mind you, not everyone in Austin agrees, there's even someone running a campaign "Make Austin Normal" and selling shirts saying "I heart Big Box Stores".)

This is what I want to see happening in Adelaide, I want places that have some spirit to them. Places where the people think "Of all the houses, of all the shops, of all the streets I could be in, this one is the best". We've got some promising starting points - Norwood is close, as is parts of Unley Rd; I think Semaphore could have a real shot at it ("Semaphore-ever"?); the shopping precinct on Goodwood Rd is promising; Glenelg should be there already, but I can't decide if it's gone too far along the path of same-iness.

Maybe we're not good at starting this stuff at the grass-roots level, so perhaps the councils need to give it a helping hand to get it started. Just some simple things - help the local businesses make posters or shirts or whatever to get the ball rolling. Hold some events in these places, draw the residents in to remind them what they've got on their doorstep. Even use the competitive instincts between areas to promote that idea that where you are is unique and different -- I reckon that's what the SANFL used to do for us before the AFL came to town.

I know the Queen and I are out of town at the moment, but when we're back we're going to be looking for ways to spend our dollars locally and supporting local businesses and people. It sounds like a small thing, but I think that it's actually really important and we're going to be making a point of doing it. There's no sense in complaining that Adelaide's boring if we send our money overseas.

[crawf]

However some of the highlights of the tourism sector in SA in the last few years include
- Adelaide hosted its first Australia Tourism Exchange in 2006 which is a major boast to the states profile as the event attracted 700 travel experts from 40 countries. We have won the hosting rights for the 2010 exchange, another major plus.
- Fantastic new logo and slogan replacing "Discover the secrets of SA"
- New airport terminal, which has attracted more domestic and international flights aswell as boasting the city's profile
- New bus terminal, which will be boasted even more thanks to the soon-to-be built hi-rises and food/retail outlets.
- Improvement on the Adelaide Visitor Guide, such a greater focus on the inner suburbs - However there it still needs alot more improvement to really show of this city to potential vistors.
- New format and improvement on state region brochures, they all look fantastic.
- Tramline extension has opened up Glenelg even more
- More festivals and events etc....

Oh and I forgot to say, SA will receive a major boast in tourists due to the Pandas going to Adelaide Zoo next year

[Edgar]

Adelaide has been lacking behind by a large margin mainly due to our previous debts and government activities, but I can see that we are only starting to grow again now, in its second phase post the 1990s.

We'll lose the stereotype attitude as we progress, as long as we all know we are keeping ourself positives and not comparing our standards with the rest of the cities in Australia, we are on the right track.

All SA needs is a little injection of overdose on the developments and we'll be alright.

[pushbutton]

Sorry but I hardly call a few pandas in a zoo a "major tourism" anything!

Adelaide simply doesn't have major tourism. What is does have though is tons and tons and tons of POTENTIAL as a major tourist destination, which is why it's such a crying shame that there's nothing here for tourists to do.

[TooFar]

Where has this notion come that I am proposing building 'iconic' buildings?

From here. OK, you're saying we need to update the photo, but why? To show that we have more buildings here now.

The single most effect way is to have a continually changing skyline, or at the very least, some regular updates. The fact that the view from Montefiore Hill has barely change since the 80’s is the main reason why interstaters think Adelaide is dull. The skyline is dull and boring – the city is dull and boring. It is the only view that they associate with the place.

I agree. That is why it is imperative that this image be removed from the main Adelaide page on Wikipedia:



It should be replaced by an image taken from a viewpoint which better reflects the density of the CBD but also features some of the new buildings which have gone up (which aren't seen from Light's Lookout).

TooFar's notion that "The single most effect way is to have a continually changing skyline, or at the very least, some regular updates" is flawed. People are not going to come to Adelaide to check out our continually changing skyline. We have to bring them here to experience something, which will then make them want to experience something else, and then something else ....

The skyline is the front door to the city. It is peoples first impression.

Most people outside of Adelaide rarely, if ever think about the city. The only time they do is if there is some weird news storey (Similar to how the rest of the world thinks about Australia). Generally the only “picture” they have is this photo. If their picture of the place never changes, then they would assume that the place never changes either. They don’t know about all the cool thing going on inside the city, as they assume the place is dull as their perception has never changed.

Let’s put it another more primitive way, you are out at a club looking for a girl, there are 5 standing at the bar looking at you. 4 of them are tall and sexy, the 5th is short, kind of awkward looking and is wearing an old cardigan and long skirt. You don’t know that the awkward looking girl has a PhD, is trilingual and is a beast in the bedroom, to you she looks dull and boring. Of course you will pay attention to the 4 tall and sexy girls and forget about the other one. It is human nature, first impressions count. People are superficial, and are drawn to things of beauty.

When people look at the Adelaide skyline, they immediately compare it with where they live, and if you live in the 4 larger cities, it looks dull and boring. There a no iconic or even glass towers, just old, dull, boring boxes.

[rev]

Might have been suggested already, but get rid of the Royal Adelaide Show, and turn the Show Grounds into a permanent, year round theme park, providing both outdoor and indoor activities.
You want to lose the boring and drull stereotype? Then provide some entertainment and excitement for young people, because it is the youth of Australia who view Adelaide as boring and dull.
And who do you associate with boring and dull? Older people. Therefore, you have to appeal to young people. Bring in more raves and outdoor music concerts in the park lands(hopefully the loud music causes a few nearby nimby residents to drop dead). This was in the paper actually. Actually this is probably one of the better ways to change the image of Adelaide as being a boring and dull city.

[crawf]

[quote="rev"]Might have been suggested already, but get rid of the Royal Adelaide Show, and turn the Show Grounds into a permanent, year round theme park, providing both outdoor and indoor activities.
You want to lose the boring and drull stereotype? Then provide some entertainment and excitement for young people, because it is the youth of Australia who view Adelaide as boring and dull.

Two words - White Elephant.

Actually its not just the youth...

[Will]

Regarding the Royal Show, I think a sensible first step would be to extend the duration of it from its current 8 days to 16 days.

Such a move would help fill the calender with a few more days of excitement, but it could also be used to gauge whether any further extensions to the duration of the show are warranted.

[Wayno]

Regarding the Royal Show, I think a sensible first step would be to extend the duration of it from its current 8 days to 16 days.

Such a move would help fill the calender with a few more days of excitement, but it could also be used to gauge whether any further extensions to the duration of the show are warranted.

the thing that brings lots of people to the annual show are the "non flashy" attractions (dog/cat shows, horses, agriicultural stuff, etc). Many of the people who organise this side of the show do so for free (they are enthusiasts) and i doubt they would want to extend by another week.

So, the question is whether 16 days would work without that side of the show being present?. In my opinion it could work, if the extra week was focused on more of a "high adrenalin" party audience - large-ish music gigs across 3-4 stages, etc...

[Norman]

Maybe we could hold an annual Adelaide Festival in November or something at the Showgrounds with more rides and all that jazz.

[Wayno]

Maybe we could hold an annual Adelaide Festival in November or something at the Showgrounds with more rides and all that jazz.

a few ideas for the showgrounds:
* Jazz Fest - new orleans style, but without the sea breaks...
International Fireworks Symposium - companies come and demonstrate their new fireworks each year. would aso bring lots of business people...
* World Chili Festival - blow your rear-end off with some kickin' chili food from around hte globe...
* Massive sand sculpture competition in the new Goyder Pavilion. Offer decent prize money ($100k enough for 1st prize?) They will last a long time out of the weather...

[crawf]

Regarding the Royal Show, I think a sensible first step would be to extend the duration of it from its current 8 days to 16 days.

Such a move would help fill the calender with a few more days of excitement, but it could also be used to gauge whether any further extensions to the duration of the show are warranted.

No. What really needs to happen is the Royal Show held during the School holidays, which would give more people (namely school/uni/tafe students) more time to go to the show.

[cruel_world00]

I think the problem with the Show (and it's been discussed in the media etc before) is that there is a strict schedule that they adhere to with all the capital city dates and country dates and Adelaide's school holidays don't fit into the schedule. Something like that anyway.