After years of being sneered at by the New York Times, Houston finally got a chance (registration required, articles only free for a few days after publishing) to prove its worth last week when one of their travel writers made a special trip down to check out the recommendations he’d read on the Houston. It’s Worth It. website.

First, this response represents a powerful example how marketing can drive action by making itself useful. The Houston advertising establishment has mostly moaned and groaned about ttweak‘s back-handed campaign, but they have never been able to improve Houston’s image. By telling the truth and encouraging participation from the user community (people who use Houston as a place to live), they got a New Yorker to open his mind.

Second, as marketers the pressures only increase to maintain relevance by continuing to be useful. Don’t overlook the fact this writer is the "Frugal Traveler" columnist who was attracted by the comment that Houston is "cheap, cheap, cheap." We still have a long way to go!