The Steelers are back.
Now, local officials want a national audience to form the same impression about Pittsburgh, and they plan to use the Steelers' appearance in the NFL playoffs as a way to drive home that message.
"This just sort of dawned on us a few weeks ago," said Bill Flanagan, a former KDKA-TV reporter who now handles public relations for several Pittsburgh economic development agencies. "I was not expecting the Steelers to make a run for the Super Bowl this year."
Few, if any, experts predicted the Steelers would win the AFC Central Division crown, which the team clinched Sunday night in Baltimore. They could be hosting their first playoff game the weekend of Jan. 19-20. With that in mind, Flanagan and several other economic development officials spent part of yesterday discussing how to capitalize on the Steelers' national exposure.
One of the goals that weekend will be to encourage national reporters to write positive stories about Pittsburgh and its transformation from smoky steel town to diversified economy. Another will be to help broadcasters work positive Pittsburgh references into their on-air conversations, by providing them with "talking points."
Flanagan, who oversees communications for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and three other agencies, also hopes to buy a block of tickets and issue them to travel writers, economics reporters and business prospects.
A reception could be held before the game, and "unbeknownst to you, we will give you a sales pitch while you are here," Flanagan said.
The tentative tagline for the campaign is "New Steelers, new stadium, new Pittsburgh." The underlying message, Flanagan said, will be that Pittsburgh is not only a different place than it was during the 1970s, when the Steelers won four Super Bowls, but it also is different than it was in 1996, when the Steelers had a chance to win their fifth trophy.
Five years ago, "there was no FreeMarkets," said Flanagan, referring to the online auctioneer based Downtown. "There was no new stadium, no new convention center, no new Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel and no park on the Allegheny River."
As part of the playoff marketing campaign, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership also is planning a Jan. 18 pep rally in Market Square, Downtown.
The goal is to "build up enthusiasm from people in the city so when the national media comes through that weekend, they are going to see an energized, excited city that is filled with people who are really very excited about having Pittsburgh be recognized again as a great sports town and a great community to live in," said Wendy Maletta, director of marketing for the Downtown Partnership.
That same weekend, there also is talk of putting "new Pittsburgh" banners throughout Downtown, forming a Steelers logo on the side of USX Tower and sending "ambassadors" to Pittsburgh alumni clubs and Pittsburgh-themed bars around the country.
"We want to use this as an opportunity to let people who have been away from the region know it is time for them to come back, and it is also an opportunity for those who have never come here or visited here to consider it," Maletta said.
Among the groups involved in the Steelers marketing campaign are the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, the Allegheny Conference, the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Downtown Partnership and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. The group's first meeting was last Wednesday, where 21 people produced seven pages of ideas.
The Steelers' win over the Ravens made Flanagan's task more urgent. Assuming the Steelers have a good enough record to skip the first round of the playoffs, local economic development officials have about five weeks to pull their campaign together. With some big holidays approaching, "we really have three good working weeks," Flanagan said.
"A lot has to happen this week."
By Friday, Flanagan said, he expects to know more about the campaign, and how much it will cost.
Pittsburgh hoping to score big with Steelers' success 
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