I enthusiastically urge everyone to go to http://www.helpriga.lv, register and then vote for Riga to be included in the new city-based global Monopoly game. You will find all the details on the homepage. Once you register you can vote once every day. Vote early and often! (Unlike in Chicago, where this phrase was made famous, this is totally legal and proper in this contest.)

Only the top 20 vote-getting cities will get into the new game. In the last week, since the news has spread in Latvia, and voters have been mobilized, Riga has jumped from 46th to 30th place on the world list. We can do even better!

For more details, go to the web page or check the Latvian press.

You can find out more about the new global Monopoly game at http://www.hasbro.com. There you will find this text:

“Have your say in the world’s first global Monopoly!
I’m creating the world’s first global Monopoly so I want to know what your favourite cities are!
I’ve pre-selected 68 great cities for you to choose from but you can nominate any other city you want – these are known as Wildcard cities.
Vote for your top 10 cities… and keep voting every day!
The 20 pre-selected cities with the highest worldwide votes on February 29 2008 will make it onto the board. Plus, you will have from March 1 to March 9 2008 to vote on the most nominated Wildcard cities. Only the top two will make it on the board.”

Riga has now moved up to 29. Start voting! Keep voting!

Riga is now in 9th place!

Keep voting!

Who said patriotism is dead?

Interesting to find the two largest Francophone cities at the top of the chart. But fear not, I also voted for Riga. Now the question is where will Riga appear on the board - where Park Place is?  :-)

Pierre

As long as Riga makes it into the top 20, positioning on the game board may not be that relevant. Overall recognition will rise simply because it is there. Ironically, ‘Baltic Ave’ has always been a part of the traditional game.

Equally interesting is the sociological phenomenon behind the voting. I doubt if anyone would have picked Riga, Belgrade, Kiev and Queenstown, NZ to be in the top 20, and yet there seems to be a civic patriotism in and about these towns (among Monopoly players) that doesn’t exist in other world cities. Only one US city, New York, and yet three Canadian cities. Barcelona is beating out Madrid and Capetown, South Africa is at the top.

If Riga does make it into the final top 20 and thus the global version of the game, Simon Anholt’s Competitive Identity Strategy for Latvia will seem even wiser. (’Use Riga’s popularity to promote Latvia’s interests.’)

As of this morning, Riga is now 8th.

Keep voting.

“As of this morning, Riga is now 8th.”

Hey, did I do that? :-)

I believe the original version has a “Baltic Place”, one of the two cheapest properties. I would hope Riga might fare better, but as you say, Ojar, any place on the board is prime real estate for international visibility.

Pierre

Riga is now 4th!

By the way, I found this article written a week ago in the Chicago Sun Times. He makes a great argument, but apparently didn’t inspire many in the Windy City. Chicago is far down the list.

Boardwalk of world cities? Vote Chicago
February 3, 2008
BY PAIGE WISER Sun-Times Columnist
This is big. Really big. Bigger than blue M&Ms;, say, or naming a crayon “Asparagus.”
With the news that Monopoly is introducing a new World Edition, Mayor Daley is presumably behind closed doors with his closest advisers, plotting strategies on how
Just 20 cities will rate spaces on the new board, with the top vote-getter taking over the square formerly known as Boardwalk. Chicago has already survived the first round. Now, we have to get out the vote—by any means necessary—against 67 other world destinations.
We’re up against New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Barcelona, Hong Kong and many other places that are known here strictly as pit stops on “The Amazing Race.” (I’m looking at you, Helsinki.)
Rockford, Naperville, Minooka: Sorry to tell you, but you’ve been eliminated.
Olympics: small potatoes
If you thought bidding for the Olympics has been intense, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Yes, the Chicago Olympics would make for some considerably collectible fanny packs. But the stakes for Monopoly are much higher. Soon, the international trash-talking will begin, the pandering to Parker Brothers.
Maybe this seems like nothing more than a worldwide popularity contest. If so, you underestimate the power of the board game. Cult leaders and dictators know the first rule of domination: Get ‘em while they’re young. There is brainwashing potential here, targeting impressionable children, that could be a tourism bonanza for generations to come.
Parent company Hasbro claims Monopoly is the most-played commercial board game in the world. And, without question, it looms large in the memories of rainy childhood days, when siblings would get in slapping fights over who got to be the Scottie dog, well before settling down to actual game play.
Despite the uprise of flashy video games, people are still passionate about Monopoly. There are established records for the longest game in a tree house (286 hours), underground (100 hours), in a bathtub (99 hours) and upside-down (36 hours). And Monopoly is an education in itself. In many ways, the game can be an introduction to math, negotiating, finance, real estate, gambling—and, of course, cheating.
We might not know our state capital, but we know to build on Park Place.
Forget Michael Jordan
I’m not saying it’s right for games to have such an impact on youth. But there it is. As luck would have it, I grew up playing the war game Risk, and it has profoundly affected my geography skills to this day. Try keeping up on current events when your main point of reference is the military strength of Irkutsk.
This Monopoly business, then, is not to be underestimated. With one feel-good publicity stunt, we will be establishing the global hierarchy, once and for all. If Chicago can get on the board, there will be no doubt: We are world-class.
No longer will we be stereotyped as the home of Michael Jordan, Jerry Springer and miscellaneous mobsters. Now, we will be stereotyped as Chicago! Fourteenth-most desirable property in the world!
So vote early in this Monopoly contest, and vote often. This is win-win, people.

Riga is currently battling Capetown for #3

Since this is my very first LatviansOnline.com post, I’d like to add some information gathered since becoming immersed in this worldwide contest on February 6th, when Riga was (only) at #35. What a difference 12 days make.

My original shock on that fateful Wednesday was that Riga was even included at all. What a pleasant surprise. Then it was a faraway dream that we would make it into the Top 20 – and therefore be “on the board.” I’d like to thank Ojars for being the unofficial Point Man in marshalling this forum to propel Riga to #3 – where we have been battling Capetown, South Africa all weekend for the coveted green Pennsylvania Avenue ($350) space.

Other Top 20 locations have had interesting press in their respective countries:

Slumping Queenstown, New Zealand, currently #24 was voted as high as #17. “Their” LatviansOnline recognizes the importance of this contest to their tourism industry: Queenstown tackles the world to win a place in global Monopoly

“…the challenge now is to ensure Queenstown makes the cut to become one of the 20, particularly as the resort is not as famous as others on the list. We’re a tiny village in a far flung location compared to every other contender on the list. To get on that board, we need to make a special effort to motivate New Zealand and our international friends to get behind our bid and vote.”

And Montreal, #1 since at least last week has this analysis by an educational tour company in Go, Canada! and mentions a tale of two cities – perhaps on the opposite but converging poles of worldwide fame – Paris and Riga. “…Montreal has surged ahead of Paris for the top spot on the new Monopoly board. Montreal (4.8 percent) is easily outpacing Paris (3.5 percent), which may have to settle for the Park Place spot.

But it’s Canada that is monopolizing the Monopoly voting, thanks to coordinated online efforts like this.”
(This is the equivalent of our HelpRiga.lv).
And finally “There could be some other surprises on the board, including Riga, Latvia (11th) and Belgrade, Serbia (12th).”

Finally Capetown understands the importance of blending “Top travel destination” and “Civic pride” in Have you voted for Cape Town?

Top travel destination: “I am confident that with the support of the media, Capetonians, the tourism industry and friends of Cape Town globally, we can feature on the board game. It will definitely contribute to Cape Town’s destination ranking and create further international awareness of Cape Town’s appeal as a hot travel and business destination… It is an opportunity not to be missed and Cape Town Tourism appeals to the public and members of the tourism industry to go on-line and vote for Cape Town.

Civic pride: “…it would be a great honour for Cape Town to be listed as one of the 22 international cities. It will build civic pride and confidence in our destination, locally and internationally.”

Please visit HelpRiga.lv and vote daily (once per unique e-mail address!). Persuade your friends to do likewise.

I wonder what is behind this rapid rise of Riga in the rating / its outperforming much bigger competitors :)

For those of you eager to help Riga make the top 20, it will be essential to step up our activity in the next week.

I just spoke with Ojars Sture, one of the organizers of the Riga Monopoly campaign. He said that several of the top rated cities are now beginning major media campaigns. Apparently, during the last week of the voting, the results will no longer be published, so that no one will know where their city stands.

SWH Radio has been promoting this heavily every day. DIENA has been giving it coverage. TV3 is ready to run some free ads in the last week to encourage more voting within Latvia.  As Janis reported above, other city media have already begun reporting about Riga’s remarkable position in this contest. The competition will get hotter and heavier.

Remember - you can register at http://www.helpriga.lv.  You can vote once from the same email address every day. Tell your friends, relatives, colleagues, passersby, casual acquaintances, clients, partners, and anyone else who has a PC and an email address.

LAI RIGA DIMD!

The cynic paranoid in me can’t help but suspect that once the votes are “counted” after that secretive final week we will find the cities on the board will be the usual suspects closely mirroring potential major markets rather than any grassroots campaigns. Still as long as it generates ink its a great publicity tool for both Riga and the game.

Andrejs

What would the Director of Marketing for Riga, Latvia do?

I’d like to respond to the insightful comments of Norlander, Ojars and Andrejs with the question: “If you were the newly hired Director of Marketing for Riga, Latvia – what would you do over the next 4 days and the subsequent 7?”

Is there enough time to stay in the Top 5?
What about Top 3?
I believe there is.

The 4 days/7 days timeframe is detailed at MonopolyWorldVote’s Voting on the site:

“…voting on the top 20 pre-selected cities (is) open from January 22, 2008 through February 28, 2008. …The leader board for the top 20 pre-selected cities will be available until February 21, 2008.”

An obvious and easy to implement solution is to contact as many Latvians around the world as possible and let them know that
“We can make a difference.” I was surprised that many who I contacted were completely unaware of this contest.
You might share a similar experience.

Are there existing effective marketing tools that can be quickly and powerfully utilized?

Again, I believe so. Inc. Magazine has an article Word of Mouse.

“What Is Word of Mouse? Word of mouse is good old-fashioned word of mouth, but with the ability to spread much faster because of the Internet. Another way to look at it is as advertising you don’t pay for.”

Particularly pertinent is Myth 3: Marketing Equals Advertising Dollars. Our “campaign” is not going to cost a lot of money. Regardless of any potential revenue generated from increased tourism - Latvian pride, patriotism and “bragging rights” have already benefited. IMHO.

Finally, I share Andrejs’ concern for global “business as usual.” Over the past 807 years, “How many times has this happened to Riga before?” By my count there are 128 days between the “end” of the Monopoly contest and the “beginning” of the much more important Latvian Nationwide Song and Dance Celebration in Riga, July 5-12, 2008!

Over the next 135 days, keeping with traditional Latvian frugality, why not get the services of a world class marketing coach for free?

Seth Godin, bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change – could help Riga.
And fast. His contribution is the “IdeaVirus.” He asks: “What’s the difference between word of mouth and an ideavirus?
Two differences. First, word of mouth tends to spread slower, be more analog. If you like a book, you might tell a friend or two. And then your friends are unlikely to tell someone else until they read it for themselves.

Second, word of mouth dies off. Because the numbers are smaller, it doesn’t take many people who don’t participate in the word of mouth for each generation to be smaller than the one before it.

With an ideavirus, both principles no longer apply. Ideaviruses spread fast and they spread far. With word of mouse (word of mouth augmented by the power of online communication), you can tell 100 friends, or a thousand friends. Because the numbers are larger and faster, the virus grows instead of slows.”

Here is where you can Download the FREE Unleashing the IdeaVirus eBook
Here is where you can read it online.

Andrejs et al.,

“The cynic paranoid in me can’t help but suspect that once the votes are “counted” after that secretive final week we will find the cities on the board will be the usual suspects closely mirroring potential major markets rather than any grassroots campaigns. Still as long as it generates ink its a great publicity tool for both Riga and the game. “

As I see it, the 20 citties will be mentioned, but the importance{desirability} of the cities will be choosen by the promoters.  I think Riga has a good chance to become the equivalent of Baltic Avenue of the present game”.

Visu labu,

PS. I see you lost the sun glasses.  Did you get a nose job?  Sorry, I could not resist it.

Look again. The sunglasses are still there. All that was lost was many years. Not sure about the nose, but I would think that the blond hair would be a dead giveaway.

Andrejs, circa 1966

Andrejs et al.,

It is not a clear picture.  It looks like the picture of the invisible man, with face wrapped, from a black and white movie.

Visu labu,

The Law of Attraction continues to work overtime in Riga, Latvia.

One Hollywood adage goes, “I don’t care what they say about me, as long as they spell my name correctly.” That’s publicity. Publicity is any type of mention in the public eye. It may be neutral, good or bad.

So far, so good. As you’ll read, they spelled R-I-G-A correctly.
Here is the bad. Perhaps it’s just envy.

Honolulu left out of world Monopoly vote

“…Parker Bros. apparently don’t think anyone would want to own Honolulu.

Why Kiev, Ukraine—chiefly known for its exports of horse chestnuts (and not the good kind)—is on the list of potential Monopoly cities, not Honolulu, is curious. I mean, would you rather own a city with sun, surf, babes and beaches, or one that hosts the annual Vulcanized Rubber and Goat Fertilizer Festival?

If Honolulu were included in the new worldwide game, it would clearly be located among the snazzy, high-end Boardwalk and Park Place spaces, while Kiev, Bogota and Riga would be along the slums of Baltic and Mediterranean avenues. (Appropriate because Riga, the capital of Latvia, actually has a Baltic Avenue. Riga, by the way, makes Kiev look like Monaco.)
OK, I’m a little bitter…”

Aloha.

Jerusalem on the table Monopoly board

“…Late is one thing, complacent is quite another. I urge you not to be complacent about this, it’s more important than it may seem at first glance. Our enemies may not be able to take votes away from Jerusalem, but they can vote en masse for other cities. Did you ever see a political poll after Ron Paul fans got wind of it?”

If you’re a Ron Paul fan, you should be insulted by this – you know what to do.
If you’re not a Ron Paul fan, you should be insulted by this even more – just vote for Riga again. Win-win.

“Consider the top ten cities as of this writing—with 10 days, 9 hours and 52 minutes to go.” (As of 2008-02-19 7:00am PT)
4. Riga, Latvia 3.5%
5. Jerusalem, Israel 3.4%
…
8. Paris, France 3.3%
9. New York, USA 3.2%

”Riga Latvia is a more popular world city than New York or Paris? I don’t think so.”

I respectfully disagree with Boker Tov.

Shalom.

Here is the good. Thank God.

Simon Anholt’s Placeblog - Monopoly and Patriotism

“A friend in Latvia has alerted me to the Monopoly World Edition website, where you can vote for the cities that will be featured in the new, ‘global’, edition of the game. Apparently Riga - which I mentioned in an earlier post (Latvia and the legacy of Communism) as one of my favourite European cities - has risen from 46th to 9th position since a newspaper article mentioned the contest. Naturally, thousands of the good citizens of Riga got voting, and succeeded in pushing their city up the rankings.”

Thank you, Simon. Despite one (or 5) bad apples, the British are among the finest people in the world.

And finally, Latvians.com

Please tell your friends, for some you might have to spell the website’s name.
that’s L-A-T-V-I-A-N-S dot com

Silvija and Peters Vecrumba have assembled, or should I say handcrafted one of the most elegant and comprehensive personal chronicles of the The Exile Experience. Past, present and (soon to be) future. Professional quality photographs – everything from Aglona to the Zoo. Exhibits from the Latvian Exiles’ Calendar 1947 to a classic Pirag recipe. (Peters Married Silvija For Her Infinite Fine Qualities, But Especially, Her Piragi).

Did I forget to mention – please vote for Riga! Unless Hasbro comes to their senses and/or popular demand forces them to continue to display the Leader board, the results will no longer be posted after Thursday 5pm (that’s 17:00 in Riga).