Let’s face it. Iowa/Des Moines is not New York, San Francisco or Denver. We don’t have the Broadway theater district, Fisherman’s Wharf or the mountains. And yet, for years we’ve felt compelled to market our state (and our capital city) as though we could or would want to compete with these hot spots.

All of those efforts have fallen flat. Why? Because we were promising something we couldn’t deliver. And even worse, we didn’t celebrate what we could deliver. We’re so worried about luring back those who are opting to leave that we’d forgotten that lots of people have made the conscious choice to move their business and/or family here.

For every customer whom a product, service or, in this case, state is not a good fit for, there are others who find it fits just perfectly. One of the keys to smart marketing is to stop trying to be what you’re not. None of us can be the perfect solution for everyone.

I was delighted to see the Iowa Department of Economic Development’s Iowa Life Changing campaign in magazines like Fast Company. Finally we have a “come to Iowa” marketing effort that actually gets it. The campaign doesn’t spotlight our nightlife or how hip we are. Those efforts just make us look like wannabes.

Instead the Iowa Life Changing campaign talks about the perks of life balance, affordable housing and how safe it is to live here. Bravo! Real values that our state can deliver on a consistent basis. A tip of the hat to everyone over at IDED and their agency, The Integer Group, for this on-target effort.

We can all take a lesson from it. Do you know what you’re not?