To paraphrase Billy Shakespeare, that great writer of some repute: All the world’s a stage and we are merely players.
We get such “culture” this Friday upon reading (in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star) a reprint of a recent essay by Tim Derdenger, an associate professor of marketing and strategy at Carnegie Mellon University’s school of business.
In true marketing fashion, he reminds that hosting the NFL Draft in a few weeks “is less about weekend beer sales and more about long-term brand value.”
Indeed, he shares our well-placed skepticism about the oft-touted “short-term, direct economic impact numbers,” big digits supposedly fueled by public and private pump-priming subsidies that now approach $20 million (per another report, this one in Public Source):
“The reality is that local residents often stay home to avoid the chaos of mega-events,” he writes. “Economists have long understood the ‘displacement effect’ that happens when an influx of fans crowd out regular tourism and local spending, essentially replacing existing economic activity rather than adding to it.
“If Pittsburgh measures NFL draft success strictly by hotel bookings” – which, by the way, are lagging, per a KDKA Radio report – “and weekend beer sales, it has missed the point.
“Because the draft moves from city to city each year, the true return on investment isn’t found in a temporary spike in local revenues. It is found in brand equity – the long-term increase in a city’s ‘market value’ and reputation,” Derdenger says.
Ah, we see we are harkening back, loosely, to then U.S. Steel Chairman Tom Usher defense of publicly funded new professional baseball fields and football stadiums 30 years ago because of all the “intangibles” they bring to the table.
“By selecting Pittsburgh, the NFL broadcasts a signal that the city is a premier destination capable of managing a global stage,” the CMU prof continues. “This presents a critical rebranding opportunity.
“Despite its decades-long transformation into a thriving hub for robotics, health care and higher education, Pittsburgh continually battles to shake off its 20th-century Rust Belt reputation in the national consciousness,” Derdenger says.
But it sounds more like the usual exercise in lifting the rug, grabbing the broom and attempting to sweep Pittsburgh’s many warts under it.
Think long-term stagnant population and jobs growth (despite all its “thriving” robotics, health care and higher education); a lousy city public education system; a public transit system with wholly out-of-whack costs; roughshod (and blindly accepted) organized labor control; woefully underfunded city and county public pension systems; a long-time and unconstitutional property assessment system and one-party political rule.
We could go on and on but you get the point. Pittsburgh keeps building facades to “progress” – taxpayer-funded sports and convention facilities, yet another new airport (or parts thereof), heavily taxpayer-subsidized skyscrapers for two wealthy banks, etc. – but there’s little to no real progress in reversing those economic metrics that matter most.
And Pittsburgh has been Potemkin Villaging at its absolute worst going on 70 years.
In a simply bizarre twist, Derdenger implies that Pittsburgh’s population will shoot up after the NFL Draft (citing the supposed and arguably questionable Detroit experience) and that local and regional college football athletes will be able to secure more lucrative Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) contracts because the draft will signal that the Pittsburgh region is a prime market because it hosted the draft.
Grab the taffy and start stretching, folks.
“Of course, hosting a mega-event comes with inherent risks,” the CMU professor/researcher is forced to admit. “If logistics fail, traffic becomes unmanageable or the fan experience is poor, this high-profile endorsement backfires. The brand signal rapidly flips from ‘premier destination’ to ‘not ready for prime time.’
“In landing the NFL Draft, Pittsburgh essentially scored a three-day commercial that will be viewed by tens of millions of Americans across the country.
“Now, it just has to make sure the set looks good,” Derdenger concludes.
And what a damning final statement that is.
Back to Mr. Shakespeare, again, to paraphrase: Pittsburgh will be turned into a Potemkin stage and Pittsburghers are merely suckers.
Played by the NCL – the National Chimera League.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
