Advertising Idaho (Moscow, Sandpoint, Hope: for sale, low crime, schools)

[sintaxis]

Hey everyone!

So I've been reading all the threads here and there are so many people passionate about Idaho and I thought this would be a good place to come to for some advice. I grew up in IF, went to school in Moscow for a year or so, and I love Idaho but I'm living in Spain (coming up on three years now), specifically Madrid! I miss Idaho a lot, and all the great activities that are available. Thankfully I'm coming back for xmas this year!

In any case, I'm finishing up my two BAs here and one class that I am required to take is international advertising. I have to create a campaign for Idaho! My professor deemed it the "most difficult" out of the class.

Here's the thing though: there are lost of tourist campaigns for Idaho- and they all focus on the same things that anywhere in the Inter-mountain Northwest and/or PNW has: wilderness, extreme sports, wide open spaces, etc.

I want to do a campaign urging people to MOVE to Idaho! Focusing on low crime rates/ low COL/ family friendly/ etc. So I'm asking for a little help in these areas because I know some of you out there are well versed on the topic matter. Anything or any brainstorming ideas would help me out! It's a bit hard for me as well, because I am a 20something single woman and don't exactly know what motivates families and well established professionals to move to a place like Idaho.


TL;DR: Any ideas for an advertising campaign to get people to move to Idaho would be supremely helpful!

Thanks guys!

[Shaner]

Well as you said, crime rates are low, we have a very wholesome family setting, good morals and values, and we have great schools. Jobs are scarse, but we have some major companies in Idaho who do provide some good jobs. The one thing I hear from people moving here is our pace of life is slower than most places, and it costs alot less to live in paradise. Hope that helps!

[IdahoBound]

I can't (yet) tell you what it is like to live in Idaho, but I can tell you why I am planning to move my family there. Of course Idaho's incredible beauty is a big part of it. But, coming from New York state, I am attracted by the relatively low cost of living (compared to NY), friendliness of Idaho residents, low crime rates, much lower population. For us, making the change from NY to Idaho is about the quality of life. From what I can tell, Idaho residents have a 'live and let live' philosophy that NY doesn't have.

[sintaxis]

Wonderful! These are both right on with what I was trying to communicate.

I've redeveloped a positioning highlighting these other aspects of Idaho that are unrelated to the natural adventures, but now I'm having a hard time coming up with a tag line. Right now Idaho uses "Adventures in Living", which I think is okay except for the fact that there is almost no information on the "living" aspect and really circles around the adventures.

I'm trying to think of some catch phrase or tag line to help my campaign. Brainstorming with my brother and mom, the best we've come up with is "Vibrant Idaho". Vibrant can be used in the aesthetic sense, to underscore natural beauty, but also in the diversity angle to show some of the other benefits of Idaho. However, I'm afraid that Vibrant Idaho is a bit lack luster in terms of a catch phrase. It does have that nice Viii(brant) Iiii(daho) sound similarity, but I can't tell if it's too plain or not.

Any advice? Any Idahoans have great short descriptions of living in Idaho that could be catch phrases?


Also, IdahoBound, Would it be okay if I quoted you in my presentation? Also, can you tell me what got your attention for Idaho (as opposed to Montana, Washington, Utah, etc)?

[Bigbear2]

IDAHO - We Got The Meat As Well As The Potatoes

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Sintaxis,
What a great project! It must be both fun and challenging, and connects you in a very meaningful way with your roots. But...you may have been surprised that so few Idaho members have responded to your query. I could be wrong, but having spent a lot of time on this forum the past few years, and part of every summer in Idaho since 2004, I think my first reaction to your post was probably the same as many other members, a sinking feeling: "Oh no, don't give people additional incentives to move to Idaho!" If you look through the treads (as I know you have) you can't be oblivious to the perception that much of Idaho has changed over the past 10-15 years, due to the influx from other states. I won't even get into here whether the influence has been predominantly negative, or why/why not, but you need to know that not everyone in ID is going to think that a campaign to make people move there is a great idea! That being said, it can still be a worthwhile project for a university class, and I wish you the best of luck.

[Fisherman 100]

If you move to a rural local you better have some money saved up. Septic, well, snow removal, maintenance of acreage does not come cheap. I am talking thousands not hundreds. I do the snow removal and maintenance myself. Main cost is equipment. You also have to maintain that. Furthermore there is no work here. So I don't know how you would convince someone to move somewhere without a guaranteed income. A large part of the 95 corridor from CDA to Sandpoint is for sale. The boom is over and now all I see are empty business buildings. Unless you have an Internet business or are retired it would be pretty tough to make it here. Just a few thoughts.

Plus you had better enjoy digging snow