Rise of the Q

If Albuquerque were a letter, what would it be? Apparently, ‘Q.’

The ABQ Q Journal is running a story on the Duke Q City’s latest brand: Q. This marketing gold came from Rick Johnson & Co. and the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau during the Destination Master Plan review at the National Hispanic Cultural Center last Friday, March 23.

Let’s see what Mayor Chavez has to say:

In the vein of “Sesame Street” sign-offs [Sesame Street---well played.], the letter Q was sponsored by the mayor: “I just started seeing it around town— at ABQ Uptown, the Albuquerque Studios, or the Q Studios, the Q Bar, you name it,” Mayor Martin Chávez told the Journal. “It’s a wonderful way to express modern-day Albuquerque. … I just like the heck out of it.”

Modern? Eh, it is simple—minimalist—one might say. Ok, fine, I’ll take modern. I think Q has ‘memorable’ potential, but ABQ and Duke City are damn good choices, too; the city and ACVB shouldn’t discourage the use of those brands.

Debbie Johnson, CEO, Rick Johnson & Co.:

We’re encouraging all of Albuquerque to be creative and have fun with the Q. We want it to represent a variety of organizations and features and characteristics of the city.

Creative. Good. But listen up, local businesses, I don’t want to see Q abused like Zia, University, or High Desert. Think long and hard before you go smacking Q’s all over your business cards. Creative. Cre-a-tive. And this goes for the ACVB, too. The three designs in the Journal are awful. Well, the green and blue deal might be acceptable in the context of rail transit—speaking of modern.

Commentary aside, the mayor is right, people seem to be emphasizing the Q a lot more lately. Will the Q continue to grab the imagination? We’ll just have to wait and see, but something tells me the days of Duke City and ABQ are far from being numbered.