Santa Ana, the most populous city in Orange County, has an identity problem, and the Chamber of Commerce wants to do something about it.

It is one of the safest cities of its size in the country, but Chamber officials say it is stereotyped as plagued by gangs and crime. And with a population that is 76% Latino, Santa Ana is viewed as a place where English is a foreign language and assimilation is discouraged, the Chamber said.

To counter those perceptions, the city and Chamber hired the Santa Ana-based DGWB marketing group to “brand” the city with a new image. Its “Education First” slogan will give way to a new tagline in 2003: “Santa Ana: The Spirit of Change.” The idea is to attract more visitors to Santa Ana and to encourage professional firms from throughout Southern California to relocate downtown.

Chamber officials acknowledged that many in Orange County view Santa Ana as a Latino city with, perhaps, good Mexican restaurants but little else to offer non-Latinos.

Downtown 4th Street, also known as Fiesta Village, is lined with businesses that cater to Latino shoppers. As part of “The Spirit of Change,” the Chamber plans to bring stores to the area that will appeal to a more diverse group of consumers.

“Businesses that might reach out a little bit more; just change [4th Street] a bit. Celebrate [4th Street] but improve it at the same time,” DGWB partner Mike Weisman said.

Although the marketing of the new and changing Santa Ana is more than a year away, people are already taking issue with the concept. And the song used in a video promotion might perpetuate the stereotype of Santa Ana as a violent city rather than quell it.

DGWB has promoted the branding with a brief-but-hip video. The hitch: The background music might send a subliminal message that Santa Ana is a place of unrest, alienation, paranoia, and distrust of police.

DGWB partners Jon Gothold and Weisman chose the 1967 protest song “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield as the score for the video. As Santa Ana’s best attributes begin appearing on the screen, the protest anthem’s lyrics call different images to mind:

“There’s something happening here,
What it is ain’t exactly clear.
There’s a man with a gun over there,
Tellin’ me I gotta beware.
I think it’s time we stop,
Hey, what’s that sound,
Everybody, look what’s going down.”

“It’s used to say that there’s something going on. Stop. There was a change in the air in Santa Ana,” Gothold said. “None of the focus groups we showed it to picked up on the other message” of uncertainty. The input from focus groups of people who live outside Santa Ana showed there are barriers that must be overcome to market the city to companies and professionals, Weisman said.

“Santa Ana, in their minds, was out of sync with the rest of the county. There’s a picture floating around in their heads that’s years old. The issue of gangs came up. That people who live here ‘don’t even speak my language.’ That’s from a lack of information. But perception is reality, and we have to deal with that,” Weisman said.

The key to promoting the city is to convince the doubters that Santa Ana’s large Latino community is a positive asset, Weisman and Gothold said.

“The Hispanics are a jewel for the city. From [the critics’] minds, we’re coming from a position of behind [because of the Latino population]. We’re going to need a strategy to get these people to cheer us on,” Weisman said. “Hispanics own businesses and homes here. They have our values. They have the American dream”

Mike Metzler, Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce president, said, “The image of the town impacts its prosperity.”

Residents feel good about their city, which is the county seat and home to the Bowers Museum, Discovery Science Center, St. Joseph’s Ballet, and a downtown Artists’ Village, he said.

"It’s the outsiders who come here only when forced for jury duty or to tend to other government issues that we have to convince,” he said.

Metzler and Gothold, who live in Santa Ana, say there is much about the city that can appeal to professionals, whom the Chamber is trying to woo to the downtown area. Gothold and Weisman moved their office from Irvine and settled in the old City Hall building, which they purchased.

Most city neighborhoods are made up of older homes, and the downtown area’s old buildings also have been preserved. It is an image of community where crime has plummeted in the past decade that the Chamber and DGWB want to promote. The sterility of some of South County’s cities is absent in Santa Ana, Gothold said.

But while DGWB and the Chamber firmly believe that the tagline, “Santa Ana: The Spirit of Change,” is right for the city, others are not so sure.

Liz Goodgold, CEO of the brand consulting company The Nuancing® Group, called the new slogan a "throwaway line.”

“Smart cities differentiate themselves by having something to offer a wide audience,” she said. “Anaheim equals Disneyland, great shopping, and sports. When I think of Santa Ana, I think of a remote city in Orange County.

“The problem with ‘The Spirit of Change’ is that it has no tangible benefit,” Goodgold said.

Besides, she added, it doesn’t exactly exude confidence.

“In America, we don’t like change. We like the way things are. Change broadcasts fear and uncertainty,” Goodgold said.

But Weisman said the new tagline shows that Santa Ana “is continuing to evolve into new opportunities.” The workload is full of change, he said, and “we are trying to portray the immense positives that come with change.”

City councilman Jose Solorio admits he is not completely sold on the new tagline. “There may be other slogans that can achieve the same outcome and be embraced by a larger group,” he said.

The slogan was chosen by a committee of Chamber officials and DGWB. The other finalists were “The City is Back,” “An Urban Oasis,” “The Soul of Orange County,” and “Something Great.”

“They’re going to have to work with the community to make sure it’s a slogan that people embrace. They have to explain what the changes are about and why they’re good,” Solorio said.

Manny Ramirez, chairman of the Santa Ana-based Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the new tagline “doesn’t ring true for me.”

“That’s not what I think of when I think of Santa Ana. I think of the spirit of diversity and other things. I was born and raised here. What’s the marketing change they’re talking about?” he said.

He will give the new tagline a chance to catch on, he said.

Gothold said the marketing strategy is still being developed and that the branding campaign will be launched in late 2003, but only regionally.

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