Net pioneer wants to put city on map

In the absence of an iconic tower like the Shard or Eiffel, a city must have a strong brand identity.

The problem with Leeds is that it has neither, according to a prominent entrepreneur.

Ajaz Ahmed called on marketing chiefs to step up their efforts ahead of 2013, a crunch year for Leeds.

He said: “Leeds has not got enough tall buildings. That’s what people remember about cities – the architecture.”

Mr Ahmed founded the first mass-market internet service provider, Freeserve, in Leeds in the 1990s.

He said: “I’m proud of the fact it was based in Leeds. I’m proud the infrastructure is in Leeds. Leeds became quite a hub for technology.”

Mr Ahmed has since founded Legal365, an online legal services provider, served on the board of the former regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and this year joined the board of Noddle.co.uk, the free consumer credit report service.

He said Leeds has succeeded as a city in spite of itself and the millions of pounds of public money spent on marketing.

“I don’t think anybody has done anything to market Leeds. Leeds has just got to where it’s got to because of the businesses that are based in Leeds. I can’t really see any intervention by any of the marketing organisations.

“I haven’t seen the equivalent of Welcome to Yorkshire having a positive effect on Leeds. I don’t think anybody can identify a recognisable brand for Leeds and that’s what’s missing.

“So far, I couldn’t identify a branding statement for Leeds. I can’t identify a brand position for Leeds.

“I couldn’t even tell you what the web address is for Leeds. Until last week I didn’t even know that Leeds and Partners existed. I think there’s been a lack of coordination and I’m not seeing anything to motivate me.

“I think Leeds has done well because of the great businesses that exist in Leeds. That’s a void that we need to fill very, very quickly because we have got some great cities out there, like Manchester, like Birmingham, that are not standing still.

“Manchester is doing very, very well at the moment with things like Media City. If we are not careful we are going to fall behind.”

He said those responsible for marketing the city have to start treating it like a business and create a brand identity for Leeds.

Mr Ahmed said: “If we look closer to home there’s a classic example, which is Welcome to Yorkshire.

“A few years ago, Yorkshire didn’t have a brand. Today, if you ask most business people to identify the Welcome to Yorkshire brand they would be able to tell you straight away what it looks like – it’s the Y.”

Next, he said the city has to identify what it stands for.

“I don’t see that on the website today,” he added. “I don’t know how big Leeds is, I don’t know how many people work here, I don’t know what resources are available, I don’t know what industries are here; I need to find that in simple plain English.”

Next, he said the city should look to successful places like Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore and successful brands like motor cars and cereal “and just copy it”.

Former London Development Agency chief executive Lurene Joseph took responsibility for the city’s marketing push in April when she was appointed chief executive of Marketing Leeds.

The publicly-funded organisation subsequently changed its name to Leeds and Partners. Asda president Andy Clarke is chairman.

Mr Ahmed, who lives in Huddersfield, said: “So far I have not seen much output. I just hope that they haven’t got a public sector mentality because it requires a private sector mentality to get this right.

“The language on the website doesn’t inspire me with much confidence. Also, why is it called Leeds and Partners? Is that the best name we could come up with?”

He said creative agencies could donate resources to help develop the city’s brand.