Episode 31: Cleveland is the New Center of the World: Discussing the Future of the City with Mayor Bibb

00:33
Ashtyn Morris
Welcome to another episode of Marketing Moves. I am your host, Ashtyn Morris, senior account executive at Vividfront. On today's episode, we're talking all things Cleveland with none other than our very own mayor, Justin Bibb. As an agency located downtown with an office full of passionate Clevelanders, we take great pride in our city and mayor. On this episode, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to discuss with Mayor Bibb his journey to becoming our city's 58th mayor and his goals for Cleveland. We'll dive into how marketing and politics intersect and more specifically, how his position as mayor plays a key role in the marketing of Cleveland to potential residents and investors. Mayor Bibb, welcome to marketing moves.

01:13
Mayor Bibb
Happy to be here.

01:14
Ashtyn Morris
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to come in today. For our listeners who may not know your story, can you give us a little brief overview of your background and experience? You always worked in politics?

01:24
Mayor Bibb
No, I'm actually a newcomer to politics. Being elected mayor nearly three years ago was my first time in elected office. And prior to becoming mayor, I spent nearly two decades working in the private sector, banking, consulting in the nonprofit world as well, too. But I love this city. I was born and raised in the southeast side. I had a very early look at what public service was all about from my parents. My dad was the first black firefighter and one of the first black cops in Cleveland Heights. And my mom is a social worker. And on both sides of my parents, both of my sets of grandparents were activists in the civil rights movement. And so public service has really been in my DNA for a long time.

02:18
Mayor Bibb
And when Covid happened, when George Floyd was murdered in 2020, I just felt a groundswell for change happening across the country and really in Cleveland. And I left my job at KeyBank and cashed in the little money that I had, put it all in the campaign, and I came out of nowhere and shocked the world. And now I'm the mayor.

02:41
Ashtyn Morris
Wow, that's an amazing story. What made you set your sights on becoming mayor rather than maybe having since your first introduction to politics, maybe a little more than mayor?

02:50
Mayor Bibb
You just for sure, you gotta dream big. You gotta dream big. No. When you look at the role of the mayor, especially coming out of the pandemic, what we saw during Covid-19 and after our nation was going through this major racial reckoning, probably the greatest racial reckoning we've seen since the civil rights movement. When Doctor King was assassinated, was your mayor mattered. We weren't getting the right information from the federal government at the time during the pandemic, when the pandemic started. And so residents from all across the country were looking to their mayor on how to get tested for Covid-19 how to get resources. Would schools be open? Would businesses be open? Would restaurants be open?

03:40
Mayor Bibb
And so I think as we saw the role of the mayor during Covid-19 and now as we have emerged out of the pandemic, we're seeing the power and the promise of what local government is all about. And that's what really attracted me to the role.

03:57
Ashtyn Morris
Wow. That's a perfect segue into my next question, because arguably, I think you'll agree with this. As mayor, you are essentially acting as the face of Cleveland. If someone searches for Cleveland mayor, your name, an image appears. And to put this into marketing terms, you are equivalent to being the face of a brand. So within this context, how does your role as mayor factor into the marketing of Cleveland specifically?

04:20
Mayor Bibb
It plays a major role. I often say that I have to be the chief salesman for the city. And that's important because for really, a long time, were absent from the national conversation, and weren't really taking a lot of proactive steps to really brand and market and sell our city across the country and across the world. And so when I think about the brand of Cleveland, I often alluded to this idea of that very attractive person in high school who maybe had braces like me in glasses, still got glasses.

05:04
Ashtyn Morris
Nothing wrong with glasses.

05:04
Mayor Bibb
Nothing wrong with glasses. But no one really paid attention to. And now, as they've matured and gone and elevated, now all of a sudden, everyone's looking at them, oh, wow, where's that person? Right? And I think Cleveland deserves that second look. You know, we have been a city that's been through so much, from our river catching on fire in 1969 to the loss of major manufacturing jobs when we saw the advent of globalization. And as we have emerged out of the pandemic and you see more companies building things in America again, more talent leaving the coast. They don't want to be in LA or Oakland anymore or San Francisco or New York. They want to be in a city like Cleveland or Detroit or Nashville or Pittsburgh or Tulsa.

05:56
Mayor Bibb
These mid sized american cities are now getting, in my opinion, the second look that they deserve. And so we have, I believe, a once in a generation moment right now to really be a leading american city once again. And that's what I wake up fighting for every single day as mayor of this great city.

06:15
Ashtyn Morris
Wow. Well, that was perfectly said. I feel a lot of the same sentiments in terms of I'm from a small town out to the Youngstown area, so I'm smack dab between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. And I feel like Cleveland in particular is one of the best kept secrets.

06:30
Mayor Bibb
Hopefully you're still a Browns fan.

06:31
Ashtyn Morris
Oh, I am a Browns fan.

06:32
Mayor Bibb
Okay, good.

06:33
Ashtyn Morris
Don't worry. We had the Brown social media manager on. We've had the destination Cleveland social media manager, so very much Cleveland. I mean, I went to school bw.

06:41
Mayor Bibb
So for you go yellowjackets.

06:43
Ashtyn Morris
Thank you.

06:43
Mayor Bibb
There we go.

06:44
Ashtyn Morris
Love that. It seems like you are heavily involved in the marketing strategy of Cleveland, but can you talk a little bit more about your role, really, from a marketing perspective? Are you involved in those meetings? You contribute ideas, or is it more so, assuming that figure on a daily basis?

07:00
Mayor Bibb
It's a little bit of both. We have a great team at city hall who has revamped a lot of our major social media channels since I took office. We also work very closely with Destination Cleveland. I served in that board for many years before becoming mayor. We work with organizations like the sports Commission to attract and retain best in class sporting events and events at large to our city with destination Cleveland. And so I believe my job is to be not only the face, one of the faces, but also a quarterback to assist folks and make sure that the city is at the table when making these big decisions.

07:39
Ashtyn Morris
Absolutely. Like I said, I'm a clevelander and I've really felt and experience what seems to be a bit of that high we've been having since for a couple years now, but especially in 2023 and 2024, to name a few. The Forbes 30 under 30 conference, the solar eclipse, which obviously we didn't necessarily plan but love.

07:56
Mayor Bibb
I'll take credit for it.

07:57
Ashtyn Morris
We'll take credit. Being in the total path of totality. And the NCAA's women's final four tournament have been some huge events and opportunities for us. And like we've touched on, we're really center stage on a national and global level with all eyes on Cleveland. How, in your opinion, have we capitalized on the momentum of the opportunities?

08:17
Mayor Bibb
Well, I think we've done a really good job of attracting and bringing these large scale events to our city, even going back from when we got the RNC in 2016. And I credit a lot of that work to destination Cleveland. They've done a fantastic job of really promoting Cleveland as a destination and attracting these large scale events and conventions to our city. I think the other thing I say we've done a really good job of is maximizing the moment. For example, you talked about the solar eclipse. I was able to host the administrator of NASA in Cleveland at the Great Lake Science center to watch a total solar eclipse. And we had NASA TV in Cleveland to watch a total solar eclipse. And that same week, we hosted the women's final Four.

09:10
Mayor Bibb
And the Wall Street Journal put us on the front page that Saturday of the weekend of the NCAA women's Final Four tournament and say Cleveland was the center of the world. Right? So we've done a really good job of leveraging all these events and telling a more cohesive story about our value proposition as a city and the great strengths we have. And I think, Ashton, in this moment now, it's really about how do we build on these assets. That's why I'm really focused and excited about the work we're doing to advance development on our waterfronts. From the banks of the Cuyahoga river to the banks of Lake Erie.

09:49
Mayor Bibb
We have the opportunity to better than Chicago and other cities one day in terms of being the two waterfront city, or the fact that we take care of the sickest people in the world from the Cleveland clinic and metro health, not many cities can say that. And so it's all about telling that story going. Going on the offensive, and just being thoughtful about how we're talking about our strengths in a very cohesive way.

10:18
Ashtyn Morris
Absolutely. I have a lot of friends from college who maybe they moved away, wanted something new, and they're always like, ashton, why are you not looking elsewhere? And I said, listen, I love Cleveland for a multitude of reasons, but touching on your point, we have amazing healthcare. That is not something a lot of cities can say. So I think touching on that is really key to help position us on that global scale, because whether or not you really know Cleveland, I'm sure you know the Cleveland clinic or, so it's a lot of great, press we have along that vein, can you talk a little bit more about some of the plans your administration has for building up the waterfronts and really, some of the other initiatives you have going right now?

10:57
Mayor Bibb
Yeah. So when you think about waterfront development. You know, this has been something that probably every mayor since Tom Johnson in the early 19, hundreds had a plan for. And not many cities can say that they sit on two bodies of water. We have the Cuyahoga river, which was a channel of industry at the height of the American industrial Revolution, when the world's first billionaire, Johnny Rockefeller, got his start right here with Standard Oil in Cleveland, Ohio. And then you look at Lake Erie, which we sit on 20% of the world's fresh water. It generates over $4 billion of economic impact throughout our region. And so we're able to execute our plans we have with bedrock and Dan Gilbert on the riverfront to the work we have planned with a rock hollow expansion, great Lake Science center, and other key stakeholders.

11:57
Mayor Bibb
It'll go a long way for us to truly be that two waterfront city. I know. I imagine a world where folks can kayak during the afternoon on the Cuyahoga river, have lunch at a brand new restaurant in the core of downtown, and see the sunset on the banks of Lake Erie with the brand new pedestrian bridge that looks like the high line. That's my dream. And so we have a lot more work to do, but we really laid a strong foundation to get there.

12:26
Ashtyn Morris
Absolutely. What would you say are some of the biggest challenges we face as a city when it comes to attracting and retaining people and new industries to Cleveland?

12:35
Mayor Bibb
Well, one, you know, we've talked a lot about this in our conversation here today, but we have to do a better job of telling the Cleveland story and finding alternative platforms like this platform to tell that story. Not everyone's looking at the news, and a lot of folks, especially in our generation, we're looking at Instagram, TikTok X for our news. So we need to find a way to find different platforms to tell the Cleveland story in a very proactive way, I think. Secondly, we have to ensure that we're always investing in the least among us in our city. We still have a lot of challenges in terms of healthcare disparities, in terms of the racial wealth gap that exists between black and white residents. And it's important that we also focused on issues like safety.

13:34
Mayor Bibb
You know, those are issues that are fundamental for us to be a competitive city. And these are issues that I wake up fighting to address every single day. And the last thing I would say would be ensuring that we're a welcoming city. You know, we just kicked off Pride month this month. I was at the Pride parade on Saturday, and to see that level of culture and diversity gives me a lot of hope, because cities that are thriving, not just in Cleveland, not just in the country, rather, but around the world, are cities that are welcoming, inclusive and diverse. You know, I've lived in New York, I've lived in DC, I've lived in London, and it's those intangible things that really make a city special.

14:25
Ashtyn Morris
Well, this is a perfect transition to really just talking about political marketing and some advertising, because, like you've touched on, a lot of people consume their media and gather their information on different types of platforms. And marketing is critical in getting your campaign message out to potential voters. There's also a significant amount of money being funneled into marketing for candidates. According to eMarketer, around 12 billion. Yes. I said billion dollars is expected to be spent on political ads in 2024. Can you talk a little bit about the process involved in formulating a marketing plan around your candidacy? In particular, how large is your marketing team?

15:04
Mayor Bibb
Well, now I'm thinking about the early days of my campaign.

15:08
Ashtyn Morris
I know we're gonna take you back a little bit.

15:10
Mayor Bibb
So, as a first time candidate, I didn't have a big team. You know, I had a team of seasoned folks, but also young people who had never worked on a major political campaign before. And I told my team that not only did I want to run a professional campaign, I wanted to run a campaign that was different, that had never been seen before in local politics in Cleveland. And it actually started with my logo. So I reached out to a dear friend of mine who I went to high school with, Andre Sisko, who is the business manager for machine gun Kelly.

15:48
Ashtyn Morris
Oh, wow.

15:49
Mayor Bibb
And so machine Gun Kelly's team actually designed, helped me design my logo when I ran for mayor. So that was the start of it. And if you notice, our logo doesn't have the traditional red, white and blue.

16:03
Ashtyn Morris
I love your website.

16:04
Mayor Bibb
It's very different, engaging and very unique. And so we wanted to build our campaign like a professional media organization. Right. High tech, but also high touch. So we had very active engagement on all of our major social media channels. Not TikTok yet. Maybe I'll do that for the reelection campaign next year. But we also did a lot of community events, and this was before the pandemic ended. So were doing Zoom meet and greets online, building that early narrative, building our early voice as a campaign on Zoom. And from those Zoom conversations, from knocking on doors early, we got all the brand feedback we needed to help build our campaign, which I think allowed us to have a very compelling message, which propelled our victory, because our campaign theme in 2021 was Cleveland can't wait.

17:04
Mayor Bibb
And so that really, that message of urgency with this bold brand, I think, really allowed us to have a competitive advantage in the campaign.

17:12
Ashtyn Morris
Wow. I love that for a multitude of reasons, especially doing something different and knowing it's still staying true to yourself. I think, especially during COVID trying to build those communities in whatever way you can to get your message out. I mean, I can just see right now you are a very compelling speaker. And people being able to actually talk to you and listen, they're heard, and that means a lot to people, because you can have the best smarking campaign out there in terms of perfect ad targeting, perfect creative, whatever it may be, but having the voice behind it and people being able to actually hear you talk about your vision for Cleveland, I can imagine, really move the needle in a lot of ways.

17:54
Mayor Bibb
Absolutely. It certainly did.

17:56
Ashtyn Morris
Over the years, has there been a marketing campaign or ad that you felt like was particularly impactful for your campaign? I feel like you already touched on it a little bit.

18:05
Mayor Bibb
Man, that's a great question. I would say not one campaign in general, but someone I look up to in the brand marketing space is Steve Stout. So Steve Stout, before he got his start in marketing, was in the music business, and he was the first marketer to help combine hip hop, the NBA, and kind of larger black culture. And one of his ads that I always think about is the first ad he did with Jeezy and Allen Iverson, when Allen Iverson launched his new shoe with Reebok. And to me, that was the first ad that really combined the culture, especially black culture, with hip hop and the NBA. And the rest is history. He has this great book called translation nation. If you haven't read it, a fantastic book. And essentially, what the book says is marketing is a byproduct of the culture. Right.

19:18
Mayor Bibb
Brands that win in today's world have, in essence, understand how to tap into and move the culture. And I think one of the things that we must do better, a better job of in politics, is finding a way to have an authentic brand voice that can help move the culture in a way that can help create more positive change. And it's hard right now because you see a lack of trust in government, especially among young people. You see a lot of disinformation in our politics. So it's hard to find reason amongst the noise. And so that's something I think about often, is how do you break through the noise? How do you move people? And by moving people, you move the culture. And to me, that's gonna be the next wave of how we think about politics.

20:17
Ashtyn Morris
I think you also have a career in marketing.

20:19
Mayor Bibb
I don't know.

20:21
Ashtyn Morris
You have great marketing.

20:22
Mayor Bibb
I got enough of my play right now.

20:23
Ashtyn Morris
Yes. With a city so diverse as Cleveland is in terms of race, ethnicity, age, gender, and economic status, how does the messaging and your tactics change to reach your different voter constituencies?

20:37
Mayor Bibb
It has to be broad based. It's a challenge because a lot of my time in terms of communication and the platforms that we communicate on are really focused on traditional media. So, you know, newspaper, print news, tv news, just your standard marketing channels. But as people change their information diets, local government, and just government in general has to be more creative and really adapt better to the times. That's why I'm excited about the work we're doing with tv 20 at city hall to really revamp that for the 21st century. I would also say nothing beats old school communication. Knocking on doors, showing them to events, and just talking to people. To me, that's where I get my best feedback, whether it's somebody yelling at me about the Browns when I'm in, Heinen's trying to buy dinner for the night.

21:43
Mayor Bibb
Or I was at a church last Sunday and a resident needed help with getting a grant to rehab her home. Right. That's where I get the best feedback on what's working, what's not working, and how we can be doing a better job as city leaders. And I think in this country right now, we're missing that old school, turn down the noise, common sense, porch conversations that I want to find a way for us to get back there.

22:16
Ashtyn Morris
I love that, especially in terms of, I think for local government, especially in the role of mayor, having that accessibility and being out in your community means a lot to people that maybe didn't even vote for you. Just knowing that you care enough that you want to be out, you're always willing to, you know, lend an ear to whatever it may be. I think that speaks volumes to really how much you care about the city.

22:39
Mayor Bibb
Thank you.

22:40
Ashtyn Morris
As someone who moved to Cleveland for college, I immediately fell in love with the city, and I knew I wanted to live and work here post college, despite people saying, oh, move out, and I said, nope, I'm staying. What would you say to people who may be considering to build a life here? What is your elevator pitch?

22:57
Mayor Bibb
Well, the pitch is pretty simple. You have all the world class amenities that you can get in New York City, LA, or Chicago at half the cost. But also, Cleveland has the big city feel with the midwestern sensibility. I remember living in New York, and no one would ever smile at me unless they wanted. Yeah, unless they wanted to steal something from you. And, you know, it's like that old saying from cheers. Everybody knows your name. You know, it feels like home. And I think that's what makes our city unique. I would also say you can really drive systemic change in a city like Cleveland far faster than you probably could in a city like New York or LA or DC. That's what also makes our city pretty unique for new folks who want to come here.

23:58
Ashtyn Morris
Absolutely. My last question before our speed round of questions is, what are your top goals for Cleveland during the remainder of your term?

24:07
Mayor Bibb
Well, number one, continuing to make strides on all things public safety is my number one priority for me. One person losing their life to gun violence breaks my heart. That's why I'm so focused on continuing to invest in police, continuing to invest in making Cleveland a safer city. It's a big part of my plan and a part of my vision as mayor. Secondly, landing the plains that we've teed up around all things waterfront development. I truly believe that we can see cranes in the sky on the riverfront and on the shores of Lake Erie. It'll truly change our city for the next 5100 years. And then thirdly, I would say, just telling the story, we have made so much progress over the last two and a half years since I took office, from the fact that we finally have smart parking meters.

25:05
Ashtyn Morris
Oh, I'm so happy about that.

25:06
Mayor Bibb
In our city to the fact that we have a brand new city website. We're making strides on investing in the east side, like our southeast side, promise, initiative, all those things we've gotten done in just two and a half years. And so, as the saying goes, the best is yet to come. More work is needed to be done. But I'm excited about the strong foundation we've built over the last two and a half years.

25:32
Ashtyn Morris
Well, I'm excited to see these initiatives continue to take shape. So I'm gonna ask you these questions. Are you ready?

25:39
Mayor Bibb
I'm ready.

25:41
Ashtyn Morris
Who is a politician that you've always looked up to?

25:45
Mayor Bibb
I would say Shirley Chisholm. She was the first black woman to run for president. And a famous Clevelander. Arnold Pinckney was a key part of her campaign. So Shirley Chisholms on that list?

26:03
Ashtyn Morris
Amazing. What's something people may not know about you?

26:08
Mayor Bibb
That I'm quietly trying to learn how to become a dj.

26:13
Ashtyn Morris
All right. I love that.

26:15
Mayor Bibb
Yes.

26:15
Ashtyn Morris
I would attend I have complete faith in yourself.

26:18
Mayor Bibb
I'm pretty good at making a solid playlist.

26:21
Ashtyn Morris
What is your favorite thing about Cleveland?

26:23
Mayor Bibb
The people.

26:24
Ashtyn Morris
Great answer. Favorite Cleveland sports team.

26:28
Mayor Bibb
All of them.

26:29
Ashtyn Morris
That is a push and take. A good one.

26:32
Mayor Bibb
But I'm a big basketball junkie, so.

26:34
Ashtyn Morris
Didn't you play in the celebrity all star game? How did you do?

26:38
Mayor Bibb
I did solid. A lot of ball hogs on my team.

26:40
Ashtyn Morris
That's fair.

26:41
Mayor Bibb
I didn't get enough shots.

26:42
Ashtyn Morris
Maybe we'll have. They'll come back to Cleveland again. You'll get your time to shine. Hope so. Go to restaurant in Cleveland.

26:48
Mayor Bibb
I have a few.

26:49
Ashtyn Morris
Okay.

26:50
Mayor Bibb
So I'm gonna take some Meryl privilege and name a few. My favorite barbecue spot, obviously, Mount Pleasant barbecue in the southeast side. There's a brand new luxury restaurant that just opened up in Lee Harvard called Docs on Harvard. Go check it out. Also love Amba in Ohio City, too.

27:09
Ashtyn Morris
So good.

27:09
Mayor Bibb
Yeah.

27:10
Ashtyn Morris
Yeah, he's great. Favorite coffee shop. You can take your privilege.

27:14
Mayor Bibb
Yeah, I got a couple. So Lekko and I also love Etta. And then Phoenix. Also pretty good, too.

27:26
Ashtyn Morris
Those are all solid. Yeah, this one's going to be hard. But east side or west side?

27:32
Mayor Bibb
I love all of Cleveland.

27:33
Ashtyn Morris
I love that. Very efficient, straight to the point. Mayor Bibb, thank you so much for taking the time to come in today. Whether our listeners are from Cleveland or not, I'm sure they have gained a new perspective on you and your office. Where can listeners find you if they want to connect or learn more about your platform?

27:51
Mayor Bibb
Check us out on all things social media. We're on X, formally known as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. And go check out the city's brand new website as well. Too.

28:01
Ashtyn Morris
Amazing. Well, thank you so much.

28:02
Mayor Bibb
Thank you.

28:06
We hope you enjoyed this episode. Now it's time to start making moves. Head to vividfront.com marketing moves for exclusive marketing materials. Every episode, we add more of our greatest insider secrets to help you move towards success. See you next time. We hope you enjoyed this episode. Now it's time to start making moves. Head to vividfront.com marketing moves for exclusive marketing materials. Every episode, we add more of our greatest insider secrets to help you move towards success. See you next time.