When you think of the area bordered by the MLK traffic circle, Euclid Avenue, East Boulevard, and all those small streets in between, what comes to mind? The Cleveland Museum of Art? The Museum of Natural History? Maybe Case Western Reserve University? Recent research has shown exactly that. University Circle Inc. (UCI) has discovered through its destination marketing research that people often think of one major attraction in University Circle rather than thinking of the Circle as one destination with many attractions. Market research also confirms that people view University Circle as difficult to find and confusing to navigate. To address both of these issues, UCI is working with its institutional partners, as part of the second phase of its destination marketing campaign, Find Yourself in the Circle, to create greater awareness of University Circle as a destination center that’s easier to find, easier to navigate, and easier to enjoy.
With the help of its institutional partners, UCI chose Brokaw, Inc., a successful Cleveland-based advertising firm, to help tell the University Circle story to wider audiences. Brokaw started by interviewing marketing directors from around the circle and conducting focus groups and an online study of people throughout our 17-county region. While the audience does indentify University Circle with single institutions, many were shocked to learn about everything else they can find here. More importantly, the research shows that UCI and its partners have an opportunity collectively to market University Circle as a destination center to millions of people who don’t know about everything that they can find here.
The work to raise awareness has already begun. During this past summer, UCI launched its first television and radio spots under the Find Yourself in the Circle banner promoting WOW! Wade Oval Wednesdays to a mass of viewers and listeners throughout the region. Surveys at WOW! have shown that the advertising is working. With its partners, UCI will do more television spots and targeted media to its regional audience to raise the awareness of University Circle as a premier destination in the region.
While UCI will convey the compelling University Circle story to new regional audiences and raise the Circle’s awareness, the actual visitor experience is just as important. And UCI President, Chris Ronayne, pushes his staff daily to attend to every detail of the visitor experience. You can see some of these results with the new wayfinding signage created by Studio Graphique and Wagner Electric Sign Company, unveiled by UCI in July 2009.
Today, visitors know when they’ve found University Circle because they’re greeted by 10 prominent 20-foot gateway signs that boldly announce their arrival into the Circle. As visitors travel the district, they can follow 64 more signs of a simplified and better connected wayfinding system that takes them from a grand gateway to their ultimate destination. The signs make it easier for visitors to find University Circle’s major attractions, and also help with branding the district with their size, scope, and consistent color scheme.
The challenge for UCI and its institutional partners is making the Circle’s patchwork of world-class institutions a promising place for millions throughout the region to visit. Taking the message to these masses and making their visit a welcoming and easy experience will likely make the difference for this special destination.
I read that there will be a new hotel at Euclid and Cornell. Currently I can recall that in addition to the new hospital building, there is Church of the Covenant, and an apartment building on the southeast corner and one a bit farther east at Ford and Euclid (I think you might have identified one of them as “uptown”. Which of these buildings will become a hotel and when? Will current renters in that building be displaced?
By the way, this page has two “Notify me of follow-up comments via email.” Did I need to check both options?
Yes, Susan, a new hotel in UC is one of our four strategic investment projects. It will be at the corner of Euclid and Cornell but it is a new construction project–not a renovation–which will be located at the current parking lot site behind the newly renamed Uptown Plaza (the apartment building is University East). It will not displace anyone and one of the mandates for the project is to replace the number of parking spots lost so the parking capacity in that area will more than likely go up, or at the very least stay the same. I encourage you to visit our website and view our 2008 annual report to learn more about that and other projects: http://www.universitycircle.org/uci.aspx The 2009 report will be up on November 19 with updated information on these developments.
Ah. Thanks whoever you are for your help with this mapping.
It’s a lot of clicking to get to that map. That’s one of the foibles of adobe, but I managed to find it with some tenacity.
Crain’s posted that congratulations are in order on tax credits awarded to UCI, but the site has no press release – did you guys know that you got them or did you find out via Crain’s? Oh… click back to see that you posted this in news this morning! Thanks for the workaround on Crain’s subscription block.
Though I patently disagree with UCI on the need for the highway to UC and CCF and was thoroughly dismayed to see Carnegie Medical come down, I am pleased to hear the news of Tudor Arms. More investment in existing buildings like this one and in businesses and neighborhoods along Carnegie and Woodland could make two more pleasant and affordable opportunity corridors.