For over two decades, Jack Joyce has been on a quest to brand this region as The Supershore. The region that I am referring to is a similar region to Richard Florida’s Mega-Region – TorBuffChesterTon Falls. The region that Joyce is promoting is inspired by the illuminated “S’ that can be seen from miles about the earth. “I have developed a transnational marketing scheme for the littoral home to Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Erie, PA based on the illuminated “S” that their night lights project into the heavens,” Joyce once wrote to various politicians. “The Supershore is the brand, with Toronto the Queen, Hamilton the Strength, Niagara Falls the Wonder, Buffalo the Heart, and Erie the Jewel. As each of these communities are sited next to the most accessible source of fresh water, it is obvious that they have a great deal in common. Locally each side of the border is locked in a death match to outdraw the other in tourist trade and within each national enclave, municipalities and counties fight among themselves for the same elusive prize. My thought is to market the whole bi-national region. With the interest generated by our nearly 8,000,000 conglomerated people, we can develop a much larger pie for divvying up among the stake holders. I envision this cooperative marketing as a first step toward ever greater cooperation between cities.”
Joyce first came up with the idea for the Supershore when he heard County Executive Gorski’s call for promotional ideas in advance of the World University Games at UB North in 1993. It was then (much earlier than Richard Florida) that he began to develop the notion that cities such as Buffalo could advance their agendas much easier if they were to market as larger branded regions (much the way European cities position themselves, according to Florida). “We do live on an extremely desirable slice of the earth along with the neighboring communities that create the illumination that just happens to describe a giant letter “S”, Joyce pointed out to me. “Today, because of the internet the marketplace is global. To make enough noise, to stand out in the crowd we can do so by selling The Supershore brand.
Joyce went on to say:
“Recently the state set out a $300,000 carrot for a marketing plan for the eight WNY counties that would tie them in promotionally with Buffalo/Niagara. In a brochure from B/N that I picked up at the library I found that after the glitzy, colorful stuff about the big attractions there was a 20 page section devoted to other attractions in WNY which listed more than 450, yes 450 attractions crammed onto 20 pages, which are to be the beneficiaries of the plan. I say that the 450 attractions will be better served, as will all of the greater region envisioned, by sharing a bigger pie than the one now being served. It turns out that the twelve Niagara Municipalities are going through the same exercise by trying to get under the Falls umbrella. It also turns out that we both are scrapping for the visitors from each other and Ohio and Pennsylvania.”
For years advocates have been attempting to come up with ways to create a plan to combine regional assets. Strength in numbers can be applied when looking at business climate and marketing potential. Jack Joyce has thrown his hat in the ring with the Supershore idea. Richard Florida suggested his version of the MegaRegion. There are others who are looking at the Golden Horseshoe (primarily Canadian and would exclude Buffalo). It will be interesting to see if any of the blanket regional directives gain any attraction, or whether respective cites will continue to go it alone. If Joyce has his way, he envisions a region of light rather than simply a city of light.