Jeff Eben has something to say to Leno and Conan
In the aftermath of the “Be World Class. Be Fresno” fiasco, Jeff Eben, head of Fresno’s Convention and Visitors Bureau has taken to YouTube, to respond to most recent Fresno disser Jay Leno and past Fresno disser Conan O’Brien.
It’s also worth noting that Eben was on KGO in San Francisco yesterday talking about the rebirth of Fresno. Is this how Fresno should be handling this? Your thoughts?
ELSEWHERE
The Fresno blogosphere/Internet community is still bubbling with talk on this topic. Here are a few links worth checking out:
- Barry Falke says: Fresno’s Identity (Brand) Is Worth Believing In.
- The Daily Dues chimes in with Fresno: The Running Joke.
- James Collier compares city branding with schoolyard bullying.
- The Fresnan gives the whole ordeal the Bloggiest Moment of the Year, then starts a new feature called World Class Fresnans.
- The recent negative Fresno talk has motivated one Fresnan to start a 31 Days of Fresno campaign on Facebook aimed at celebrating Fresno.
- Fresno Famous says the whole is a waste of time and energy.
Responses to "Jeff Eben has something to say to Leno and Conan"
As one of the more outspoken critics of CVB’s and the City’s responses to this whole thing, I was adamant last week that something *like* this (not necessarily this, though) should be posted.
But that was last week.
The thing with the internet is, people turn their attention elsewhere after a day or two. The rest of the world no longer cares – if they do, it’s because now we’re back in the news for the water crisis.
The void and need for attention is inside the city walls, and I still haven’t seen “official” response to any of the posts you’ve listed above, or any different perspective in the news. As for the videos themselves, I’m not sure they scream, “Hey Jay, I’d be a fun guest!”
My guess: the ‘bookers’ of both shows will race to see who gets him first.
Good job, Jeff.
It took him this long to respond to this? I wonder if the only reason Fresno keeps getting picked on is because it bothers us so much and like the proverbial bully in grade school people keep picking on us because they love the response that we give them. Just ignore it and try to improve yourself Fresno instead of QQ’ing over every little thing.
Agreed.
Note to Jeff: It’s time to let this one go. Let them all go. Jay Leno made a joke about Fresno and Barstow was the punchline. Let’s move on, spend some time doing something productive.
Which brings up point two: No offense, but if someone is going to go on to Jay Leno or Conan and talk about Fresno I’d rather it be someone else. Send Travis. Or Mike Oz. Heck, send ‘em Fashawn if you want to show them world class.
I think it’s worth noting that earlier this year when Bernice Gallego, the old lady with the baseball card, was on Leno, Fresno was spoke of very nicely.
Which is to say this: With late-night TV, it’s all about the content, nothing is ever personal.
Yet, I do find it interesting that everybody loses their mind when something negative is said, but is generally ho-hum when we get good attention.
my favorite part is the background
Not everybody. Mostly the people who already hate Fresno and are looking for yet another opportunity to express how much they think it sucks here.
True.
It’s just a funny little cycle — the lovers and the haters and the way their spring to action.
When Eben was running for mayor, he actually stopped by my in-laws house while at a gathering. My In-laws were heavily involved with the Meux Home at that time, one of Fresno’s “Treasures”. Eben was asked who owned the Meux home, whether the city or historical society or what. He had not a clue, so he may not be the person to be speaking on the culture or rebirth of Fresno.
barry falke and i traded several tweets yesterday after Eben’s weak interview on the radio. Barry was asking several of us if Fresnans needed to love/believe/deal with our internal image problem so we could deal with our external image problem.
in short, i, along with at least one other person, basically said that it’s a yes and no. sure, we need people here to enjoy fresno and stop bashing it at every chance. but really, when we promote fresno it should be clear, and about what fresno offers. i like the brand platform that was developed, but it seems to be a hidden agenda. use it. be clear about it. promote the people, places, things of fresno that truly represent us.
these video responses are weak and even more embarrassing, to me, than the hasty cleveland tourism video.
Maybe if they work real fast, the CVB can make some new videos and just claim these were a joke. Hahaha.. Haha… Ha… …
Or they could realize they were late to the party and STFU.
My point as Ed referred to above is an important piece of the puzzle in my opinion. How do we authentically sell Fresno unless more people in Fresno believe it is worth selling? I am not saying that we should stop all efforts to market Fresno, just arguing that there is a greater challenge we have face and one that may be a much tougher sell.
I love this town. We should celebrate and embrace what makes us so great. We just need many more Fresno apologists to make it their mission to educate and encourage other Fresnans to appreciate what we have.
In relation to the videos, Jeff Eben has become a friend of mine and I know his heart is in the right place. Unfortunately there was little that was world-class about videos. Our area has amazing artistic talent and that should have been considered.
Understand, this was just a request to be invited on the show. Once that is arranged, help him out.
Hell, get Fashawn, H-Mac, Oz, Bubba, Ryan Mathews, Edna Garabedian, Swearengin, Daniel Chavez and Travis to join him on stage.
Oh yeah, and whoever’s playing at Audie’s.
Yes. Please.
~Rell.
Jeff is a doucher, not my rep
This Eban dude’s Fresno is showing. Wow. Really nice sweater, homes. You make all that money and you can’t even afford a cheap suit from the Men’s Wearhouse. Way to represent, ESE!
Don’t get me wrong, I love Fresno.
But, I think it’s that slogan “Be world-class. Be Fresno.” that everyone from Jay Leno to myself is having an issue with.
Do great cities (NYC, Paris, London) call themselves “world-class,” or does the world call these cities “classy.” I’m thinkin’ it work’s the 2nd way.
Merely calling ourselves “world-class” is just too much hyperbole for me.
1. “Be world-class. Be Fresno.” is NOT the slogan for Fresno’s new brand campaign. It is an internal mission statement; a mindset, a “way of doing business”, if you will.
The slogan is, “Fresno…California’s year-round playgound.” Read the official Brand Platform. It’s right there in black & white.
2. People who have jumped all over Jeff Eben should be glad we have individuals with long distance vision working for the city. Would you rather he use, “Let’s just do enough to get by” as an internal mission statement?
3. If those of you who have criticized the world-class slogan (which, again, is NOT the slogan) really love Fresno the way you say you do, then support its leaders, regardless of whether or not you think they have created the world’s most compelling brand. Don’t attack them for trying to do a good job. Jeez!!!
Dominic, good point, ask the City of Fresno who is Van Ness Auto Repair. They probably wouldn’t know lets oblige, the historic Russ Clements service station, oldest in California, second oldest in the nation. You would think our great city would be more then willing to let Fresno’s history survive. How many more historic sights are we willing to lose? Business friendly, what a joke. What a well deserved black eye we’re about to receive by Leno and the rest!!!!!!
Nice work James. Now send the link to your boss, Jeff Eban, for a pat on the head. Oh, and get him some glasses for his “long distance vision.” And a tie would be nice, too.
That is all.
Love,
Lattlay