Destination Brands already exist for every city, region, state and country. And, those brands play differently for different audiences. While most Americans possess a brand awareness of Chicago, that awareness is vastly different in other parts of the world...as backers of a bid to host the 2016 Olympics in the Windy City are learning.



In a fascinating USA Today story, organizers are learning that international visitors still believe “the stubborn perception that, long since the stockyards, steel mills and gangsters like Al Capone disappeared, Chicago remains a gritty city of belching smokestacks and dangerous streets.”



Where the City wants to be known for it’s stunning lakeshore, gleaming skyline, vibrant arts and culture scene, the incredible Millennium Park, deep dish pizza and the lovable Cubbies, many Europeans think crime and dirt. "They think it's a very criminal city," said one international visitor of her friends back in the Netherlands.



But just saying it and slapping a logo across it won’t change those perceptions, especially when American TV shows and movies ("The Untouchables," "The Fugitive" and "ER" among them) often paint the city as ominous and violent. And, for many international consumers, their opinions of America are often underpinned by our video exports.



I don’t have a snappy answer for Chicago’s dilemma...because there isn’t one. But I do know that denying commonly held perceptions is not the solution. And, as much as it’s the last thing that most marketers want to do, destinations need to acknowledge the perceptions that exist while proudly displaying how they have evolved.

It’s also gonna take more than the $20 million that the City and State invest in marketing Chicago as a destination.