One of the cardinal rules of communication is to know your audience, right? Well, as a St. Louis-based communications firm, more often than not, our audience is right in our hometown. So I thought it would be useful to take a look at the place TVG calls home.

First some facts:
• The city is named for King Louis IX of France.
• St. Louis is the second largest city in Missouri, but is the largest metro area in the state.
• St. Louis lies at the heart of Greater St. Louis, a sprawling region including both Missouri and Illinois.
• As St. Louis entered the 20th century, it was the 4th largest city in the United States.
• The Greater St. Louis area was the 16th largest metro area in the U.S. as of the July 2007 U.S. Census estimate, with 2,866,517 people.
• The city is built primarily on the western banks of the Mississippi River, just south of where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers meet.
• St. Louis region is home to over 20 Fortune 1000 companies. The region is also home to some of the country’s largest privately held corporations, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Graybar and Edward Jones.

But facts aren’t how you learn about your audience- you want to know what goes into their everyday life. I moved to St. Louis in August 2007, and before then had never visited the city in my life (I had never even been west of Illinois in the United States). Looking for a job in a new town and subsequently working at a communications company is one of the best ways to learn about a city. Here are some of the things I’ve learned over my first 20 months in the Gateway City.

It’s a great sports town. I moved here from New York City and I was really going to miss my Yankees, but St. Louis has some great teams and even better fans. The MLB Cardinals definitely rule the roost, but the NFL Rams, NHL Blues and Mizzou college sports keep St. Louis rooting year round.

It’s a college town. Although it doesn’t feel like a college town, St. Louis is filled with world-class universities. Schools that pull in a superior workforce, fuel science and research and keep the town young and thriving. Top schools include Washington University, St. Louis University, Webster University, University of Missouri-St. Louis and many more.

Beer isn’t the only leader in town. Anheuser-Busch (recently acquired by Belgium based InBev) is by far the most well known company in St. Louis, and is a revered icon to locals, but it is not the only major company to call St. Louis home. Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Energizer, Edward Jones, Express Scripts and Monsanto are some big names in STL. Other leading industries familiar to St. Louis residents include information technology and biotechnology, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and transportation.

Culture and tourism is St. Louis’ hidden gem. I knew St. Louis had the Gateway Arch, but that isn’t even in my top 10 favorite attractions in the region. In addition to the sports, they have a world-class zoo, botanical gardens, science center, art museum, Forest Park, theaters, casinos, Mardi Gras parades’ and the indescribable City Museum. St. Louis is a family-friendly town and offers a diverse yet relaxed and unique variety of activities.

A mix of big city and small town communications. Before moving to St. Louis, I had not experienced the PR world outside of New York City, so I had a lot to learn about media outlets in my new town. The St. Louis region is large enough that PR often has a big city feel, but at the same time, audiences maintain a smaller community perspective. Neighborhoods, local leaders, high schools and families are all leading priorities to audiences.

I could write a book about all the things I’ve learned about St. Louis over the last 18 months, but instead I’ll leave it up to some of my fellow TVGers, and long-time St. Louis residents to share their thoughts.

“It’s a bigger town with smaller town feel, a great place for families, and the food’s not bad, either!” –Donna Vandiver, President & CEO

“St. Louis is a family friendly, community- based city. The joke is everyone asks the question “Where did you go to high school?” and it is completely true. I think it has to do with trying to find connections and breaking the ice through that question. People want to find out more about others and that is our most popular way to do so.” – Shelley Lester, Team Member

“A food item largely unique to St. Louis is toasted ravioli. Best I can tell it is virtually unavailable anywhere but St. Louis restaurants and stores. (I find this really odd, in that most any Italian restaurant has ravioli and a deep fryer. So they could add it as a menu item without purchasing new ingredients or hardware.)” –Rich McEwen, Senior Associate

“I have to give a shout out to the greatest baseball team of all time (in my humble opinion) The STL Cardinals. I feel like fans here truly value the game and appreciate all of its history. And, fans are loyal to say the least. I’ve been to games at several other stadiums across the country and am always amazed at the Cardinal red you can see throughout the crowd.” –Cassie McCloud, Team Leader

“I think one thing that makes STL unique and locals are proud of is we have a free Zoo. I’d like to say we have great sports teams but our teams haven’t done so well, but we have great fans.” -Cathy Femmer, Office Coordinator

“St. Louis truly has a small-town feel. No matter where we go, we always run into someone we know. And on the flip side…we are lucky to have all of the amenities of a big city – Zoo, Symphony, Science Center, Botanical Gardens, great restaurants and interesting neighborhoods such as the Hill and Dogtown.” –Patty Olsen, Account Coordinator

“Here’s what I love most about St. Louis, what makes it unique, and what locals love (and hate!) about it — in one sentence: It’s America’s biggest Small Town.” - Sara Howard, Senior Team Leader