Editor’s Note: This is the story here in the Berkshires that will not die. A small town with big dreams, Lenox MA,, the summer home of the Boston Symphony’s Tanglewood, has once again looked to a big city for aid. The town has hired a New York City ad firm, Bodden Hamilton, to manage a campaign to attract tourists. It’s proposed “Lenoxology” campaign has split the town, and prompted Red Crow’s Mickey Friedman to imagine other possibilities.
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Mickey Friedman
July 30, 2011
No one was more surprised than I was by all the criticism.
If ever there was a smart and snappy campaign, it was Smidley, Crump and Crump’s “Lennoxx: We’re More Than We Were; We’re More Than You Expect; And We’re More Than You Imagine.”
I ran into Abigail Starkfield-Crump of the New York, N.Y., advertising firm that’s at the helm of the new $90,000 ad effort at Bean There, Lenox’s upscale coffee shop. Waiting to grab a mocha-soy-double-decaf latte-to-go before the big meeting, she was confronted by some irate locals. She tried to reassure the doubters: “Please remember, the message is the message. Trust me, we’ve known that in New York for quite a while.”
Starkfield-Crump, ever-patient, offered an impromptu lesson in the fundamentals of contemporary ad campaigns. “Quite frankly, the fact that so many of you think it doesn’t work, is an indication of precisely how well it’s working. If insiders are upset, that hardly matters. We don’t need you. You’re already here. It’s the outsiders we care about. They’re there, not here. The more you complain, the more people want to know what you’re complaining about. And, Lennoxx, we’re quickly becoming the about!”
Ralph Spitster, owner of “Gazelles & More Gazelles,” the exclusive Church Street gallery, was concerned the new campaign might undercut the image he’s been cultivating. “Everything at Gazelles & More Gazelles is about what used to be,” he said. “Hand-carved, one of a kind gazelles. Something no one really needs today. Personally I’m bummed because your Lennoxx slogan is all about the new and the now.
“It might work for the guys at ‘Gizmos & Gadgets’ out on Route 7 but for those of us in town selling the past, we’re out of luck. Here, we have to sell classical music — good luck with that — and that Edith ‘dead lady writer’ Wharton, and those cobblestone streets that are hell on high heels. Lucky for me, I’ve got a trust fund, because there’s not much chance I’ll be selling gazelles.”
But not all Lenoxians are upset with Smidley, Crump and Crump. Town Manager Hartley Happ is behind the campaign one hundred and ten percent. Happ reminded those attending the Special Emergency Meeting of the Lenox Branding Sub-Committee: “We’re not talking about a simple slogan. This is about a sustained campaign to create a whole new state of mind. I know some folks were annoyed we didn’t hire local folks, and, in fact, my brother-in-law isn’t talking to me, but they do these kind of things in New York, New York on a regular basis. They’re in the state of mind business. Don’t forget, Smidley, Crump and Crump was behind the ‘I have fond feelings for Philmont’ campaign. Last summer alone, 14 additional visitors spent the night in Philmont.
“I know you have doubts, Ralph,” said Happ as he pointed to Ralph Spitster in the front row. “But we’re too close. We can’t see the big picture. We love Lenox. I know I haven’t been to ‘Gazelles and More Gazelles,” but I plan to stop in soon. The point is, we’ve got to put ourselves in the shoes of ‘them,’ the outsiders, and figure out what it’ll take to get them here. And that’s where the pros come in.”
Abigail Starkfield-Crump began with Smidley’s linchpin declaration: “Lennoxx: We’re More Than We Were; We’re More Than You Expect; And We’re More Than You Imagine.” Repeating it three times. She paused, and walked slowly past everyone in the front until she came to Ralph Spitster, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder:
“Everything we do at Smidley, Crump and Crump has meaning; everything we say has meaning. Sure there’s the extra ‘n’ and ‘x’ in Lennoxx. But more significantly, we’ve given you not one, not two, but three ‘mores.’ Today, it’s not about meeting expectations – one ‘more,’ maybe two. Nowadays, it’s all about exceeding expectations. Two ‘mores’ won’t cut it. We’re talking three.
“I need you to own this: ‘more than we were.’ The old Lenox might have been fine. But today they want, they need more than fine. ‘More than you expect.’ Feel it! Imagine it! Inhabit it! He’s young, hip, and from there. He could go anywhere. He’s expecting a lot: some country peace, a snazzy, but modest gourmet meal, with the best imported Kobe beef and locally-grown greens, some city-like culture, some quality time with his girlfriend, his boyfriend, or maybe his wife. In Lennoxx, not only doesn’t it matter who he’s bringing, but here we’ve got what you want, and more. Get it. More than you can reasonably expect.
“And then boom! No contest! Whatever else you’re thinking, buster, we’ve got more than you imagine. Game over!”
I left the meeting to the sound of sustained applause, and drove with tears streaming down my cheeks to my-oh-so ordinary Great Barrington, wishing we had something special like a parade.
“Lennoxx: More & More & More” first appeared in The Berkshire Record, Thursday July 28, 2011 © Mickey Friedman