Madison vs. Milwaukee

Having lived my entire life in Milwaukee and Madison, I've got a good idea where James Rowen is coming from when he compares the two cities at MadisonMagazine.com. Each has its own flavor, its own unique charm.

Rowen astutely observes that Madison is more successful in promoting itself than is Milwaukee (it also has an easier task being smaller and focused around the capitol and university):

The Historic Third Ward? Where's that, Madisonians say. Walker's Point? Most Madison residents haven't heard of it. Development along Brady Street or National Avenue or Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, or in Bay View or the Menomonee Valley, or along the ever-expanding RiverWalk north from downtown, towards Commerce Street and the Riverwest neighborhood, and south to the harbor? Sorry, doesn't ring a bell.

Part of this lack of knowledge is because Milwaukee doesn't toot its own horn very loudly. It is curiously adverse to self-promotion; Madison has a much better spin machine running full tilt about itself.

Whether it's Badger football, cutting-edge stem cell work at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), or some national magazine rating as a great place to live, Madison knows how to sell and celebrate itself. Milwaukeeans are more reserved about their hometown, and sometimes offer less praise about their city than do visitors. One friend visited from Kentucky a few years ago and was so taken with the downtown, the museums, the restaurant scene, and the varied and historic architecture that he tried, unsuccessfully, to trade his newspaper career there for a job here.

Since Rowen's article was written, Milwaukee civic leaders, including Mayor Tom Barrett have unveiled a plan to promote the city and its neighboring counties as "Milwaukee". The idea is to take a more branded approach to the region and create a more marketable identity for an area home to a $63 billion economy.

From the Journal Sentinel article titled The Goal: A strong regional economy: 7 counites launch joint effort to brand, sell 'Milwaukee':

The first step involves the creation of a brand or "regional identity" that all seven counties will accept. The "Milwaukee marque," as its planners call it provisionally, will become the centerpiece of the Web site and promotional efforts.

Even small steps amount to big breakthroughs. The seven counties have agreed to use "Milwaukee" as part of the regional brand. At least one regional economic cooperation effort failed five years ago because the collar counties refused to identify with their big urban neighbor. Mitchell, of the Waukesha County Economic Development Corp., said many visitors still cannot pronounce the name "Waukesha," but they all know Milwaukee.

Another big component of the plan will be the retention of businesses.

For that, the Milwaukee Development Corp., an arm of the MMAC, has begun a systematic outreach program to visit major employers in the region. One-on-one meetings with executives will give local governments an early warning when employers are in trouble or might plan to move or expand. That will allow local authorities an opportunity to intervene.

At the same time, the program will methodically collect information on companies and feed a database on regional economic trends that will become an analytical tool.

The biggest effort for now is to topple the "New Berlin Wall," as some call the boundary of suburban New Berlin that lies on the Waukesha-Milwaukee county line.