As the country gets ready for this weekend’s Super Bowl, we’re bound to see some heated debates around the ol’ water cooler. Manning or Brees? The Colts’ legacy or The Saints’ destiny? Bourbon Street or… uh… well, that one’s not much of a debate.
But, for those who prefer to look for the common ground, may we suggest that the unifying force between Indianapolis and New Orleans is none other than Lady GaGa?
At least, that’s according to Michael Schieben’s My City vs Your City project. (Thanks to PSFK for the tip!) His site uses Last FM data to analyze the musical compatibility between hundreds of cities around the world. And, as you can see from the results to the right, Lady GaGa is top of the pops for both cities (and then some).
While the site makes for some entertaining comparisons, it also provides an interesting application of Hometown’s Hero (trend #3 from our 10 Trends for 2010). By harnessing the massive amounts of data on the web, outside observers have more opportunities than ever to get a snapshot of cultural distinctions at the local level. With 72% overlap, the aforementioned Indy-N’awlins music debate might not be very striking, but it’s quite eye-opening to see that Chicago and Detroit have only a 39% overlap thanks to a hipster-vs-hip-hop gulf. That’s a pretty relevant piece of information when formulating a regional marketing plan, and it’s just the beginning. Just last week, Twitter enabled users to start tracking trending topics in their own region, and we already told you that Google sees the value of tapping the local zeitgeist.
As regional marketing becomes increasingly important, brands have more tools than ever at their disposal. It’s up to you to use them.
