Isn't "branding" one of the biggest scams in the world? Consultants make millions convincing communities they can sell the sizzle instead of delivering the steak. The latest suckers in Indiana are in the northwest part of the state:
The Indiana Dunes in Porter County is perhaps the eighth wonder of the world.
That's one of the statements from a working tourism poster that county tourism leaders fashioned with national tourism experts.
After more than a year of planning, Roger Brooks and his team from Seattle-based Destination Development, unveiled logos and taglines for local communities to build on as they embark on a branding effort to draw more visitors and tourism dollars.
[. . .]
Communities ought to highlight their local assets to draw visitors from the dunes, as the primary lure, Brooks said. For example, Valparaiso can capitalize on its downtown and night-life while Kouts embraces a "country living" theme, the experts said. The towns and cities of Porter, Pines, Valparaiso, Portage, Chesterton, Hebron, Kouts and Burns Harbor took part in the assessment.
The Indiana Dunes need no branding, because, well, they're the dunes. Sand and lake and blue sky -- what's not to like? But I'm sure thousands of people, having rested and relaxed at the dunes for a few days, would be restless and bored enough to seek out the awesome "nightlife" of exciting downtown Valparaiso if only they were told it was there. Then, of course, they'd have to recover from that by spending a little time sampling the "country living" of Kouts.
You know what's fun when you go someplace like the dunes? Exploring all the little communities around it, just driving and stopping when you se
