San Diego Becomes gets Exposure as “Smart” City in National Geographic Documentary

San Diego is being filmed as one of the “World’s Smart Cities” creating international buzz for innovation, craft beers, coastline, parks, and management. The program will be aired internationally on the National Geographic Channel and raises public awareness of the benefits to live, work and invest in San Diego. 

Modern cities are known for their local industries and lifestyles. For example Seattle and coffee, Detroit and cars, and Cancun and vacation are tied together in consumer minds. Once these associations become embedded they will influence consumer impressions in a way that leads to choices and in turn greater economic activity. 

Documentaries not only help solidify those images but also raise awareness of other local industries. San Diego may have great beaches but it also has a budding bio-technology industry that would benefit from greater international exposure. That exposure can lead to greater awareness of local investment opportunities.

San Diego draws mental associations of beaches, military bases, and palm trees but it has much more to offer.  A documentary on the advanced scientific industries in the area, craft beers, and parks adds to that image and creates new information for people to recall when they think about the city.

Consider a person in Europe watching the program that knows little about San Diego but is planning on adding a new investment to their portfolio. After watching documentary on the city and learning about the rapidly growing scientific community they decide to explore promising investment opportunities. 

The same can be said for viewers in Brazil who may be planning their next family vacation. After seeing the images of parks, beaches, craft beers, and restaurants they may just opt make San Diego their next vacation destination. A single thought or feeling stemming from the images leads to purchasing behavior.

Documentaries such as this are only the tip of the iceberg. Once viewing the program people will search out information related to their interests. Typing “San Diego” into Google recalls pages on travel, city government, parks, and hotels. A similar search on “San Diego Investment Opportunities” draws a Hodge Podge of real estate unrelated websites leaving potential investors confused.

Capitalizing on new exposure opportunities requires the ability of people to find the information they need to make decisions that are beneficial to the city. Encouraging greater search engine ranking of San Diego opportunities will rely on public conversation in the form of video, text, websites, music, etc… that draw more visitors and rank higher in search engine rankings. 

As public awareness about the city grows it takes on a form of marketing that can lead not only to additional tourism but also to more investment capital. This all spells growth for the city as that money makes its way into the local hotels, restaurants, start-up businesses, and existing industry clusters. Promoting San Diego promotes our economic opportunities. Getting in the conversation can make all the difference.

Documentary: The Worlds Smart Cities. 8PM, April 25^th, May 2^nd, National Geographic Channel