Over the last ten years Kansas City has experienced quite the revitalization. Among the addition of restaurants and entertainment districts, several industries began to really take root in KC, including advertising and marketing agencies. The growing community of creatives in our growing city there is not only the opportunity to tell clients’ stories, but also our own. Our individual stories are curated largely online, and out of each of those narratives a larger picture takes shape, that of Kansas City. For December’s SMCKC Breakfast a team from Barkley presented on how they’re sharing the stories that make up Kansas City with their #KCLoves campaign.

Barkley opened their discussion of the #KCLoves campaign with a simple, but powerful quote “a City is a story with thousands of voices and no end. It’s constantly evolving and always in production.” As marketers we have the unique opportunity to not only share these stories across broad channels we are also about to create platforms for conversations. As marketers we also know the stories we tell aren’t about us, they’re about our clients. In this case there wasn’t a client per se, there are thousands. Kansas City means something different to each resident, how do you craft a campaign that is authentic but also something that is representative of these differing viewpoints? A few key tactics the team took into account:

• It’s not about us, it’s about them. In this case the residents of Kansas City.
• Tell the stories people don’t know, that’s where new dialogue occurs. Spark curiosity.
• Be a part of it* but don’t mess it up.

The * in this case is the Kansas City skyline. Barkley’s location gives them access to a very large visual opportunity, the side of a brick building. And, as marketers…it would be a waste to not leverage that iconic space. For several months the wall was occupied by a large #KCLoves mural. The space is a physical representation of what most businesses have the opportunity to do in a community, enhance it from the space they occupy.

Barkley continued to build their #KCLoves conversation by following a few guidelines:

• Realize you aren’t the story
• Share what people might not know, it’s the little pieces of information that really create
• Define your filters, know what type of information you will share and how it fits into your bigger strategy
• Define your voice. Maximize your content. Spread the word.

Independent grocers have a similar opportunity to create a platform for conversation. How people feed their families is just as formative as our hometowns. By shifting the conversation to stories, social becomes less about price and promotion and more about building relationships the people in the community.