As a resident of California, but of recent vintage (less than half-decade), I’m quite intrigued by the state of the ‘California’ brand. Of late the California brand equity has been volatile to say the least. To a U.S. citizen outsider (resides in another state), it’s safe to say the brand ‘California’ is viewed considerably different than by the Golden State citizenry. [some perceptions of CA don’t mesh with reality but that’s another blog]

Whether your wallet/purse ID says California or not, the brand has dipped from the height it once attained. A survey of 40 million Californians or 290 million non-Californians would agree on that much, the brand today doesn’t carry the same panache as the brand of yesterday.

There are subsets (of the 40 million, of the 290 million) that haven’t downgraded the brand, but they’re the outliers. When all the subsets are added together, refer back to the preceding paragraph and trust me.

Why is the brand ‘California’ important and why should everyone calling CA home today give a hoot about this issue/topic? Holding other variables steady, like mobility, it’s the brand that’ll determine the ingress/egress to and from California as it relates to the other 49. If the Leaving minus Coming sum is large, like 2020, over time the financial burden on those left will grow. Simple math. Truth is some of my neighbors don’t care, taking a less is more attitude (more room on roads, more water, etc.). Short-sighted thinking.

The CA brand is fixable but, before that, enough people in power need to concur it needs fixing. I hope those in Sacramento, our state capital, have a marketing background or marketing sense, to address this. Yes more immigrants (inter-country) and higher birth rates (intra-state) might cover-up the inter-state decline in population. Don’t be arrogant fellow Californians, our brand equity is important. Pretty sure those promoting state Tourism would agree.