Miami has gotten off to a rough start in 2012 after being named the vainest city in America, and the worst-run city in the country shortly after that.
But if you ask city government, they have had enough of the bad press and are trying to turn the tide – saying all you have to do is believe.
“We want people to focus on the positive. There’s a lot of great things happening in the city of Miami,” Miami Commission Chairman Francis Suarez said at the unveiling of the City of Miami’s “Believe” campaign Thursday.
The campaign will soon roll out on billboards, bus benches and bumper stickers all over town, in English, Spanish and Creole, encouraging people to take pride in the city.
Its website, www.miamibelieve.com, is not working yet. On Thursday night, the site featured advertisements for GoDaddy.com, the Web domain hosting company.
Suarez and Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones are backing the campaign, confident that it will get the city back on the right track and be the city of positive thinking – in turn stimulating the economy. The campaign focuses on three simple words: inspire, empower and transform.
“There’s a psychology. We need to change the way we think and the way we feel about our community,” Suarez said. “And if we do that, that very, very simple thing that costs nothing can make a world of difference.”
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Along with a video posted Thursday on YouTube, the city describes its effort as “a community awareness and empowerment campaign that seeks to inspire residents and business owners to believe in themselves and the community” through programs, initiatives and city resources.
Sponsors have subsidized the entire campaign, Suarez said.
