Positively Oakland
On my second full day in office, I convened a meeting of executive directors from the city’s cultural institutions and the best and brightest of public relations and marketing professionals to strategize on how to create a more positive image for Oakland.
This was one of the top priorities among the thousands of residents that I had spoken with during the campaign. Those of us who live here relish the beauty, history, central location and diversity (ethnic, economic, opinions and cuisine) of Oakland. Unfortunately, that is not the picture that others have of our city.
The group of 30 extended their one-hour discussion to two hours, and brainstormed ways we could leverage our collective resources to promote a more balanced view of Oakland. Most of the ideas do not take a lot of additional dollars; it was more a matter of sharing our good news with each other and our circle of constituents on each group’s respective Facebook, Twitter, and newsletter accounts.
And we left with a name for the group—Positively Oakland.
This was one of the top priorities among the thousands of residents that I had spoken with during the campaign. Those of us who live here relish the beauty, history, central location and diversity (ethnic, economic, opinions and cuisine) of Oakland. Unfortunately, that is not the picture that others have of our city.
The group of 30 extended their one-hour discussion to two hours, and brainstormed ways we could leverage our collective resources to promote a more balanced view of Oakland. Most of the ideas do not take a lot of additional dollars; it was more a matter of sharing our good news with each other and our circle of constituents on each group’s respective Facebook, Twitter, and newsletter accounts.
And we left with a name for the group—Positively Oakland.
