Poll Data Provide Support for Name Change

Today's Fresno Bee Article has the results of a survey conducted by the Fresno Convention and Visitors Bureau. 88% Believe that Fresno has a negative image. 75% believe that Fresno can overcome the negative image. Translation: those who live here know that there is significant disconnect between the brand connotation and the reality of our community.

Change the Game. Scuttle Our Name.

Often, the most effective way to affect positive change is through patient effort, incremental improvements and working with existing parts. However, sometimes a problem is so intractable that it requires bold thinking and leaving the comfort zone. In short, it requires a “Game Changer.” Fresno has just such a problem. The name of Fresno—our “Brand”—is simply too far gone. It has too much negative baggage to ever be salvaged. The time has come for Fresno to scrap its name and start fresh with a clean vessel.

There is nothing sacred about the name Fresno. In fact, it is surprisingly random. It’s not a memorial to an early public figure or a proud moment in our history; it is simply the Spanish word for “ash tree”. Not a vineyard, grapes or even tree fruit. It brings nothing descriptive or even remotely connected to our identity. Nor does it allude to the utopian or serene. In short, the name itself has no positive brand value and no historical meaning or roots that should inspire our loyalty.

On the other hand, when it comes to conjuring up negative stereotypes, the Fresno brand is loaded! In no particular order: hick, hwy99, bad air, insecure, ugly, boring, backward, corrupt, uneducated, and generally undesirable. Like every City, Fresno has problems. However, unlike most cities, the negative connotation of our name is disproportionate to the magnitude of our challenges. That will never change. Our name holds us back. Be honest: If Fresno is ultimately successful at conquering unemployment, healing downtown and improving education, will Fresno become any less of a target for one- liners from late night comedians, disrespect from Hollywood, or inclusion in various “worst of” lists by magazines? The fruit hangs too low.

Fresno has become a cliché. It became so before many of us were born and for reasons generally out of our control. The cliché sparked into life through a bizarre confluence of two forces in post World War II California: 1) an awkward phase in the development of our city with 2) the emergence of our two rapidly growing yet insecure hot shot older brothers (Bay Area and SoCal) who needed a skinny kid with pimples to pick on. We’ve grown up a lot since then and so have they. But the cliché remains. Does anyone have an example where a cliché was successfully deconstructed once it gained traction in the popular mind?

Marketing campaigns like World Class, FresYes or Smile When You Say That are certainly well-intentioned but they are counter-productive. As recent events have shown, these efforts only provide fresh fodder to the peanut gallery and force us to keep doubling down on our negative brand. Those making jabs are not trying to engage in a rational public discussion, they are trying to get a cheap laugh. It will continue as long as the Fresno name is available to them as an easy punch line. In a world of increasing political correctness, dumping on a city with bad stereotypes is fair game and an easy target.

As a local entrepreneur and real estate developer, I have been involved in economic development efforts in both Fresno and Clovis. In doing so, it has been fascinating to witness the distinct advantage that Clovis has in these matters purely because it is unburdened by preconceptions associated with its name.

Companies change names all the time when a brand doesn’t work. BackRub.com changed its name to Google. Yahoo was Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web. Phil Knight started off with Blue Ribbon Sports before changing it to Nike. Pepsi Cola was simply Brad’s Drink. Safe to say all of these were smart changes.

When Soviet communism fell in 1991, dozens of cities in Russia and Eastern Europe changed names that tied them to a negative past. Leningrad and Stalingrad were out. St. Petersburg and Volgagrad were in. Over 40 modern countries have changed their name in the last 75 years including Cambodia, Ghana, Belize, Iran, Thailand and Bangladesh.

Examples of American cities changing their names are also plentiful; especially when the name conjures up negative stereotypes. Sing Sing, New York changed its name to Ossining in order to distance itself from the local “Sing Sing” state prison when the negative association simply overwhelmed every other characteristic of the City. After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the town of Surratsville, Maryland changed its name to Robeysville in order to distance itself from the infamy of Mary and John Surrat who were alleged conspirators in the assassination plot. Lincoln, Nebraska; Cleveland, Ohio and hundreds of other cities have changed their names—usually because of perception problems.

By changing our name, we would take the easy stereotype card off the table and force the outside world to deal with the actual characteristics and substance of our City. Under any name, we would still be the 5^th largest city in California, still be strategically nestled between the world’s greatest national parks and recreation opportunities, still be a uniquely authentic middle class place to live and raise a family in America’s greatest State. We would still have our challenges also but those challenges would stand on their own and be out from under the thumb of our negative brand.

I imagine that some might resist this idea out of some misplaced sense of loyalty and an instinctive need to keep fighting the good fight. But why? Loyalty to our community demands a commitment to make our future better than our past even if that requires unconventional solutions. Loyalty to the Fresno name alone is superficial.

One of the appealing aspects of the name change solution is that it is focused and achievable. To start, all that would need to change is 1) the official name of the City itself; and 2) the name of the Airport. The change would not have to affect any other organizations. Businesses, non-profits and other public entities like CSU Fresno or the County could keep the Fresno handle. The Fresno name would continue to have a rightful place in our culture and history.

Put on your vision goggles for a minute. What if we lived in the Great Valley, California and welcomed visitors to the Yosemite International Airport? Alta, Kearney and Portal Sierra are other random possibilities. Far-fetched? Why? Government would still operate and the earth would still spin. But in one fell stroke we would take our City out of the punch line business and sever our connection with old stereotypes.