By NOEL MURPHY
MAYOR Darryn Lyons has drawn $52 million in media attention to Geelong, according to figures in a new report outlining his first year in office.
The Vision Passion Change One Year On report said his @Geelong_Mayor Twitter account drew 1.29 billion impressions, with 848 million receiving tweets.
The account garnered 109,000 followers, while his personal Twitter following climbed from 900,000 to 1.2 million.
The mayoral Facebook account had 8.4 million unique browsers for a total reach of 30.2 million, with an average 838 likes per post.
The 24-page report valued the media draw at $18.8 million online, $19.6 million on TV and $13.1 million in print.
“When has anyone outside of Geelong (or indeed, in Geelong!) known who the Mayor is?!” Cr Lyons wrote in the document.
“They do now. People are sitting up and taking notice of our wonderful city and that can only be a good thing.
“It means when you turn up on their doorstep and say you are from Geelong, chances are you will have a foot in the door and that they will welcome you and want to hear what you have to say.
“All because they have seen me on the television, internet, newspapers or magazines, or heard me on the radio. That is the power of a strong brand.”
Despite the strong figures, councillors this week refused to back Cr Lyons’ call for Bruce Harwood to be reinstated as deputy mayor, backing Michelle Heagney instead.
Cr Rod Macdonald’s emailed councillors with an 11th-hour pitch but withdrew soon after. He did not return the Indendent’s requests for comment but a councillor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said “someone got at him”.
Marketing guru Michael Nelthorpe said the Vision report’s figures required closer inspection.
“Tony Abbott recently had 850,000 likes but the city where the likes were most concentrated was near Delhi. You’ve got to work out whether they’re useful,” Mr Nelthorpe said.
In contrast, footballer Buddy Franklin started a fashion label, “paid for 90,000 likes and was an overnight sensation”.
Mr Nelthorp described the 1.2 billion figure as “quite extraordinary” but said Geelong should highlight information such as population, skills sets and financial backing to attract investors.
