WHEN IT COMES to marketing, the governor has done much to promote Kansas. Her administration came up with a new slogan for the state — “Kansas: As big as you think” — and held a contest to encourage people to visit different attractions in the state. They have run video ads in New York’s Times Square and they have run print ads in national magazines.
One of the best marketing tools the governor has at her disposal is the license plate. Every day, cars and trucks from Kansas crisscross the country and their license plates are mini billboards.
We are wondering, given the governor’s marketing savvy, why she would allow the new Kansas license plate to be put on the backs of about 2.5 million cars and trucks.
The new plates are a drab blue with a faint white Kansas seal. The plates are not very appealing and lack any sort of imagination or “wow factor.”
Some states, like Florida, have realized the marketing opportunity provided by license plates and have come up with a colorful showpieces that also list Florida’s Web address.
Kansas struggles with its image and this new plate does nothing to promote Kansas as a great place to live, work, play or visit.
We hope the governor will put her marketing hat back on and recall the Kansas license plate.
Let’s put a Kansas license plate on the road that will wow motorists from coast to coast.
Christopher White Walker
Editor & Publisher