What would happen if "Tampa Bay" was trying to pitch itself as a compelling partner on Match.com? What would stand out? How could this place sell itself competitively when compared to the better-known and presumably more exciting Orlando, the tourism king, or Miami, the unofficial northern capital of Latin America?
What are Tampa Bay's drivers?
This is the crux of a recent conversation I had with Ryan Severino, senior economist and research director of Reis, a 35-year provider of commercial real estate information and analysis that monitors office vacancy trends across the country.
Tampa Bay's office vacancy rate stood at 20.5 percent in this year's second quarter, ranking this metro area 66th among 79 U.S. metro markets. The good news is that 20.5 percent is the lowest office vacancy rate Tampa Bay has enjoyed in at least the past five years. The bad news is Tampa Bay's office vacancy rate has hovered in a narrow band, as high as 22.2 percent in mid 2013, and trails 65 other metro areas with lower office vacancy rates — including Miami and Orlando — with some as low as the single digits.
I asked Severino: How does Tampa Bay boost demand for office space? The bay area needs a compelling story to tell, he says. It needs some pizzazz — just as Orlando gets from everyone knowing it for its popular theme parks or Miami enjoys as the Latin capital of the United States.
"It needs drivers," says Severino. Tampa is hardly alone in that respect, the researcher adds. The bulk of U.S. metro areas suffer from a case of Bland Brand.
"What are the drivers for those markets? I have no idea," Severino says.
Now this is a well-traveled discussion. Many Tampa Bay business leaders have tried valiantly over the years to find legitimate ways to break this metro area out of its Anonymity Zone. Here's are some highlights in frustration:
• In 2003, the Tampa Bay Partnership, a regional marketing group, dabbled with the idea of extending the "I am Tampa Bay" brand (whatever that meant) as far north, south and east as possible to test its staying power. The publisher at the time of the Lakeland Ledger said "Tampa Bay" was an irrelevant term and held no sway to Lakeland locals, while Sarasota considered itself a separate city but at least more in tune with the greater Tampa Bay area on economic development matters.
• In 2012, an informal group of business executives led by prominent Tampa lawyer Rhea Law met in brainstorming sessions to figure out what brand or message this metro area wanted to convey before and during the rare gathering of leaders here for the Republican National Convention. The group threw out plenty of ideas but essentially defaulted to a former branding campaign called "Tampa Bay Shines," which portrayed the bay area as a broad buffet of positive images but lacking any singular focus.
• In 2013, the Visit Tampa Bay tourism agency for Tampa and Hillsborough paid for extensive research to find a tourism brand that would help break through the broader perception of blandness surrounding Tampa Bay's image. They ultimately picked "Unlock Tampa Bay: Treasure Awaits," which is a clever marketing phrase but arguably fails the branding test because it does not tell potential visitor what that treasure actually is.
• In 2014 and 2015, area business leaders on multiple occasions have met with outside experts to explore a regional branding focus. Can Tampa Bay become a hot defense brand thanks to U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base? What about an emerging technology hub brand, as the Tampa Bay Technology Forum hopes to fashion? These are experiments still under way and should be encouraged. But neither one seems able to sustain a broader Tampa Bay theme.
Back to my conversation with REIS research chief Severino. He suggests Tampa Bay must land more significant companies —businesses with national and international name reputations — and the ripple effects from the higher salaries and job skills that accompany them before the metro area can achieve higher recognition.
A few metro areas have successfully broken through the bland barrier, so it is possible, he says, and gives two examples. Pittsburgh, once a mighty industrial town, chucked that 19th century image by refocusing its image and workforce around high-quality universities such as Carnegie Mellon and the health care industry. And Dallas, Severino says with admiration, has managed to become a major magnet for a wide spectrum of business by combining a pro-business image with low taxes, less regulation and a strong workforce.
"So one city had to reinvent itself and the other has just continued to grow with a talent for recruiting other businesses from afar," he says.
Severino volunteered Johnson & Johnson as one high-profile company he knows is considering at least a shared services expansion in the Tampa Bay market.
I asked him if he knew of the efforts, unveiled seven months ago, by Tampa Bay Lightning owner and former stock market whiz kid Jeff Vinik to create a billion-dollar, 40-acre "work, live and play" district in the greater Channelside area south of downtown Tampa. High on Vinik's to-do list is to recruit a notable corporate headquarters to help anchor a project that already will include a relocated University of South Florida medical school.
It rang a dim bell with Severino, but was hardly a front-burner project for somebody who tracks office trends across dozens upon dozens of metro areas.
But he likes the idea. "Building something bright, shiny and new on that scale near the water, backed by an influential guy? That's the kind of thing that can help Tampa Bay," he says.
Add one more candidate to become Tampa Bay's driver.
Contact Robert Trigaux at rtrigaux@tampabay.com. Follow @venturetampabay.