Five Brand Position Ideas For The Esplanade Association

Submitted by
Edward Boches
Chief Innovation Officer, Mullen
Professor of Advertising, Boston University
@edwardboches
Five positioning ideas for

Since I’m not there, a few things about me. I’ve
been a partner at Mullen for 30 years and spent 15
of them as executive creative director and chief
creative officer. During that time I helped position
and launch brands that include Monster.com,
Google Mobile, Nextel, Stride Rite, Tufts Health
Plan, Oxygen Media, Puma apparel, Reebok Golf,
Lending Tree and many more.
Today I remain at the agency part time as its chief
innovation officer and teach advertising and
creativity at Boston University where I am a full time
professor.
I often commute by bike along the Esplanade from
the Longfellow Bridge to BU. It’s both a joy and at
times treacherous. Of course, you know that.
Edward Boches

Objectives:
Develop a position and tagline for The Esplanade Association
Connect it to the Esplanade’s many uses and the Association’s mission
Make it work for both the Esplanade (the park) and the Association
Consider use in future marketing efforts and signage
Be flexible enough to work with a new name or logo
Overview

Boston is a great city indoors. We have
museums and concert halls. Historic sites and
restaurants. Places to gather, connect, and be
inspired. But Boston is also a great city
outdoors. Thanks to the Esplanade and all that
it has to offer.
Everything from morning yoga classes, to
eagerly anticipated concerts. As a result
people come to play and relax. To see and be
seen. To wander and wonder. And to get
away from the indoors and into the outdoors.
Spend a little time on the Esplanade and you
quickly realize that Boston is a great place to
be outdoors. And the Esplanade is Boston’s
great outdoors.
Reason
why
this
idea
works:

The
nice
thing
about
this
idea
is

the
double
meaning
of
Boston’s

Great
Outdoors.
It
suggests

that
Boston
is
great
outdoors,

thanks
to
the
Esplanade,
and

also
reminds
us
that
the

Esplanade
is
Boston’s
great

outdoor
experience.
Works for: The Esplanade The Associationx x
Boston’s Great Outdoors
Restoring Boston’s Great Outdoors

Restoring Boston’s Great Outdoors

Restoring Boston’s Greatest Outdoors
Preserving Boston’s Great Outdoors
Options
Note:
There
are
a
number
of
ways
to

play
with
Boston’s
Great

Outdoors.
This
direction
has

lots
of
potential.

Why do we come to the Esplanade? We come to
walk along its winding path. Or find a secluded
bench beneath a tree. We come to cycle and sail.
To read books and to daydream. We come to
watch our children play. Or to be children again
ourselves. We come because we can hear music.
Or discover silence. Work off calories consumed
that day. Or savor an ice cream. We come to
escape the heat. And to find the warmth of the
sun.
We can do all of those things elsewhere. But the
Esplanade, with its natural beauty, its plants and
flowers, its many views and its proximity to the
river makes them all better. Life – whether strolling,
stretching, playing or pondering – is better on the
Esplanade.
Reason
why
this
idea
works:

This
idea
allows
the
Association

to
portray
and
reBlect
the
many

activities
offered
by
the

Esplanade
in
a
way
that
can

brand
both
the
park
and
the

programs
offered
by
the

Association.
Life is better on the Esplanade

Strolling is better on the Esplanade
Music is better on the Esplanade
Yoga is better on the Esplanade
Pondering is better on the Esplanade
Playing is better on the Esplanade
Holding hands is better on the Esplanade
Daydreaming is better on the Esplanade

is
is
is
is
is
better on the Esplanade

Yoga
Sailing
Hatch Shell
Playground
Ice Cream
Lagoon
MIT Bridge
BU Bridge
Boston is better on the Esplanade

Making life better on the Esplanade

It’s the antidote to the stress of urban living. To the
time we spend in cubicles and small apartments.
At the end of the day, you may think you need a
drink, but what you really need is a little Esplanade.
You need time outdoors, proximity to nature,
space to think and unwind, or burn off some
calories. You need the sound of birds chirping. The
wind rustling the leaves. The river lapping at its
banks. You need a shot of outdoor beauty, of
Mother Nature in the middle of the concrete jungle,
of a reminder that there is rejuvenation available for
the taking.
What you need, what we all need, is a little
Esplanade.
Reason
why
this
idea
works:

This
idea
encourages
and

reminds
people
to
use
the

Esplanade
for
what
it
does
in
so

many
different
ways:
it
offers
us

an
antidote
to
the
stress
and
and

pressure
of
every
day
indoor
life.

It
also
reinforces
the
mission
of

the
Association.
If
we
all
need
it,

we
need
to
care
for
it.

We all need a little Esplanade

Because we all need a little
Esplanade in our lives

It’s easy to take our parks and recreation places
for granted. Or to assume that they are the
responsibility of someone else. The city. The state.
The Parks Department. But like any great
resource, we have to take care of our urban
outdoor spaces. We have no choice but to
protect, restore, plan, execute, and make sure that
a place as wonderful as the Esplanade, a space so
essential to quality of life in our city is cared for.
The Esplanade Association is that someone. We’re
here. To preserve the Esplanade. To make it better
than it’s ever been. And to make sure it’s still here
for generations to come.
Reason
why
this
idea
works:

It’s
a
reminder
that
we
can
not

take
the
Esplanade
for
granted.

And
it
lets
everyone
who
uses

and
enjoys
the
space
know
that

there
is
an
organization
that

both
strives
to
preserve
the
past

and
make
the
future
even

better.
The
Esplanade
isn’t

merely
a
place
for
the
moment,

it’s
a
place
for
all
time.
Works for: The Esplanade The Associationx
For the next 100 years

In the original plans, the Esplanade offered us a
stunning tree-lined park, gracious archways, inviting
footbridges, and inspiring views. But that was before
parking garages were erected, before Storrow Drive
introduced noise and pollution, before budget cuts
forced a swimming pool to become a compost pit.
Still, behind the erosion, the deteriorating bridges, the
aging architecture lies the stunning beauty of one of
the world’s great urban parks.
But it needs a vision and a plan to execute it. To
restore the landscaping, rescue gathering spaces,
revitalize the facilities and reclaim space that rightly
belongs to the Esplanade.
Everyone wants the Esplanade to be beautiful. But it
takes a committed group of people to bring it back.
Reason
why
this
idea
works:

This
idea
focuses
on
the

Association’s
role
in
restoring

the
Esplanade
to
its
intended

glory.
By
suggesting
that
the

beauty
needs
to
be
brought

back,
it
calls
attention
to
the

deterioration,
the
old

architecture,
the
imposition
of

Storrow
Drive,
etc.
while

declaring
that
the
Association
is

doing
something
about
it.
Works for: The Esplanade The Associationx
Bring back the beauty
x

Boston’s Great Outdoors
We all need a little Esplanade
For the next 100 years
Bring back the beauty
Recap

Some Alternative Lines
Where Boston lives outdoors
Preserving Boston’s life outdoors
Restoring splendid to the Esplanade
We all need a little Esplanade in our lives

“We want a ground to which people may easily go when the
day’s work is done, and where they may stroll for an hour,
seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the bustle and jar of
the streets where they shall, in effect, find the city put far
away from them…”
(Frederick Law Olmsted, 1870)

Five Brand Position Ideas For The Esplanade Association

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