The Memphis Brand Initiative (MBI) wants up to $300,000 from city taxpayers to help it continue to tell the city’s story, including ways to “combat” “negative headlines” from local media coverage.
MBI president David French told Memphis City Council members Tuesday morning his organization is on track for a $300,000 funding gap this year in the face of economic headwinds. To narrow the gap, French said the group has already reduced media partnerships, cut marketing nearly in half, reduced media trips, and moved out of its office space.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s communication budget already includes $100,000 for the nonprofit, French said, which began work here in 2016. French asked for another $100,000 from the city council budget Tuesday but proposed a total $300,000 package from city coffers to help the group “return to some of the activities that…have been impacted by our budget cuts.”
French said the group’s operating budget is nearly $1.5 million each year. In 2019, it had more than $1.9 million in revenue and more than $2.1 million in expenses for a loss of $137,255, according to its latest tax documents. Though, it ended 2019 with a positive fund balance of $982,447.
That year French’s salary was $249,277. Total annual employee salaries and benefits were $511,276, the group’s biggest line item. The next largest was $480,887 for conferences, conventions, and meetings.
In Memphis, MBI is responsible for the billboards proclaiming “We Are Memphis” and “Soul.” It also hosts the We Are Memphis website with information about Memphis neighborhoods, restaurants, live music, the city’s economy, and more.
Outside Memphis, the group tests perceptions of the city, pushes positive stories in national news outlets, and hosts a “Why Memphis?” campaign on billboards and through digital marketing in markets like New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and San Francisco.
Since 2016, French said the group is responsible for 350 news stories from Memphis, creating about 4.2 billion positive public relations impressions, all of it worth about $61 million in advertising value. Thanks to MBI, French said Memphis has been seen positively in The Washington Post, NBC, The New York Times, Forbes, Essence, The Associated Press, and more.
The group’s work has yielded $61 million in advertising value for Memphis since 2016.
Memphis Brand Initiative president David French
MBI’s goal is to “elevate Memphis,” French said, “pushing the boundaries forward on what Memphis is known for and what Memphis can be.” This can help drive job creation, investment, tourism, and civic pride.
“We like to call that soul,” French said. “Soul to us is more than just food or music. It’s heart. It’s compassion. It’s giving back.”
The city’s positive perception has risen since the group began keeping tabs on it in 2016, according to charts shared with council members. However, those figures took deep dives in the wake of the 2022 kidnapping and murder of Eliza Fletcher and the shooting spree of Ezekiel Kelly.
The city’s profile was raised again after the January police killing of Tyre Nichols, MBI’s data show. The incident generated 600 news stories and broadcasts. It also generated 31 billion public relations impressions, dwarfing the 9 billion combined impressions from the Fletcher and Kelly stories.
“I have to say that right now with the current situation we have with our crime and our murder rate and everything else going on, we need you guys more than ever,” council member Dr. Jeff Warren told French.
Warren said he’s heard many locals saying that if the situation does not improve here, they’ll leave, and “we don’t need that.”
Council chairman Martavius Jones said, “Memphis has always been…a city that needs to be sold.“
”We need to tell our story,” Jones said. “We’ve let negativity sell our story more than we’ve let positivity sell our story.”
“Memphis has always been…a city that needs to be sold.“
Memphis City Council chairman Martavius Jones
In a discussion about local media’s role in telling that story, French noted that “negative news coverage is dramatically on the rise.”
“The trajectory of negative headlines and the emotional impact it is having is not a Memphis problem; it is happening across our country,” he said. “So, we have to combat that in a way.”
To this, council member Rhonda Logan agreed, saying “absolutely.”
“The trajectory of negative headlines and the emotional impact it is having is not a Memphis problem; it is happening across our country.”
MBI president David French
To do this French said, “we really love to go around [broadcast media].” Younger generations consume media “and it is not through TV,” he said. They’re more tuned in to social content and “we tend to focus more in that direction, knowing we can do a bit of an end around [broadcast media].” However, he said his team stays in touch with local producers and often shares good-news stories with them.
Warren and council member Edmund Ford Sr. advised French to also ask the Shelby County Commission for funding.