On Sunday, November
16th, many Buffalonians woke up to reading a massive, and dare we
say “glowing” article on Buffalo’s architectural treasures in The
New York Times. The article titled
“Saving Buffalo’s Untold Beauty,” published in what most people
consider to be the holy grail of the media world, spanned two and a half pages
and featured seven color photos of Buffalo-area architectural wonders. Like the
Times article, a positive story
published or broadcast on a national media outlet can have an immeasurable
impact on its subject. In the case of the New York Times article, it meant that over 1.5 million affluent
readers were now informed that “Buffalo is home to some of the greatest
American architecture of the late 19th and 20th
centuries” – says Times
architecture critic, Nicolai Ouroussoff.
Success does have
many fathers. Quietly behind the scenes in the Queen City, there is an army of
media-relations professionals, who pitch positive stories about Buffalo with
the hopes of attracting people and attention to the city. Buffalo Niagara
Convention & Visitors Bureau, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and numerous
other organizations bend the ear of national editors, hoping to land the next
article or story for Buffalo.
Judging by the
clippings, Frank Lloyd Wright, Garden Walk Buffalo, cross border travel and
national sports are what people across the country have learned about Buffalo
in 2008. Buffalo can boast its name in newspapers such as The Toronto Star and The New York Times,
and in national magazines such as Town & Country, Conde Nast Portfolio and AmericanStyle.
Free hits on Buffalo
are also worth a lot of money. In the April 2008 issue of DreamScapes
Magazine, Buffalo was featured in a
5-page spread entitled “Sophisticated Buffalo”. DreamScapes is a Canadian travel magazine based out of Toronto.
The article highlighted several Buffalo attractions that were perfect for a
“girlfriends’ getaway”. It highlighted places such as Papaya,
The Chocolate Bar, Bacchus, the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, the
Albright-Knox Art Gallery and Elmwood Village shops in photos. This is
free publicity for those attractions. If the destinations featured were
to have paid for the five-page layout at an ad rate of $8,540.00 per page, the
exposure would have had a media value of $42,700 and publicity value of
$128,100. Buffalo was also one of the cover stories for July’s issue Canadian
Automobile Association Magazine with
a readership of over 1.6 million from the much-desired Canadian market.
How do authors go
about writing articles on distant cities? Sometimes there is enough
information in itself, such as with the NHL Winter Classic. Many times
though, authors use an insider’s perspective to gain knowledge. In this
case, and in many cases of national publications, the author will contact the
Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) with an initial idea.
Valerie Mutton, author of the article in DreamScapes contacted the CVB in early 2008, wanting to write a
story about a girlfriends’ shopping getaway. In addition to sending
her information on shopping districts, the CVB gave her a basic itinerary of
must-see art galleries, theatres, restaurants and attractions. Excited by
all that Buffalo had to offer in addition to shopping, she came to Buffalo for
a weekend in March. Doug Sitler, Communications Manager for the CVB gave
her a guided tour of Buffalo. What followed was a great success with a
five-page feature story.
In July, Carolyn
Thompson wrote an article for Associated Press highlighting the continued
growth and success of Garden Walk that was entitled “Buffalo’s Garden Walk
Blooms Larger Every Year”. Her article was featured in more
than 14 newspapers across the country, including Newsday, Staten Island Live, and Times Union.
More kudos came with
Buffalo’s designation as #1 Mid-Sized Arts Destination in AmericanStyle Magazine, an arts lifestyle magazine for enthusiasts
and collectors. Buffalo placed first over Scottsdale, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA;
Savannah, GA; and New Orleans in the Mid-Size Cities category. AmericanStyle stated that Buffalo received votes from across the
country praising the Queen City as “a hidden jewel” and “a
well-kept secret”. The magazine cited the Albright-Knox Art Gallery,
the addition of Artspace Buffalo to the scene, construction of the new Burchfield-Penney Arts Center and a commitment to the arts from City of Buffalo Mayor Bryon Brown as
reasons why Buffalo is a top-tier arts destination.
The next time you cringe at
“another Buffalo snow story” from the national media, you can rest
assured that there are people out there on the frontlines in boosting Buffalo’s
image. With a lot of exciting projects making their debut over the next
year or two, the area can look forward to even more positive publicity.