Kaohsiung has been through from an "Ocean Capital" to a "changing city" and then a "friendly city." In the future, it will be transformed into a "healthy & exercise-friendly city." The city government has successfully marketed Kaohsiung with explicit development goals and transformed Kaohsiung gradually.
"Marketing is 70% of inner strength and 30% of outer packaging." The Director-general of the Information Office, Lin Yao-wen, put the true meaning of Kaohsiung marketing into a nutshell. Like many young people, Lin has a very brisk and straightforward way of doing things. However, he is more pragmatic than other young people because he has followed and learned from Mayor Hsieh for years.
Although Lin has only taken over the office of the Information Office for a little more than one year, he has been working for Mayor Hsieh for as long as six or seven years and witnessed the metamorphosis of Kaohsiung. Lin noted the city's evolvement from a "changing city" to a "changed and progressed city" and even a "friendly city" has earned an enthusiastic response nationwide.
Lin mentioned that Kaohsiung has a world famous container port; however the residents used to know a little about the port due to the previous management. Therefore, the city government broke down the enclosing walls and established seaside recreational areas. The government also dredged the past "notoriously stinky" Love and Cianjhen River and beautified nearby landscape, which makes the residents proud of Love River. One can now enjoy different delights by the river, such as drinking coffee, watching movies, and sailing. What's more, the Urban Spotlight has become a must for tourists when traveling in Kaohsiung.
These achievements are not obtained merely by marketing. Lin illustrates his point with the results of public opinion polls. During the five years of being in office, support for Mayor Hsieh has run at from 30% to almost 80%. The municipal government team also gained a record 70% support rate. If marketing was all about packaging, and the Information Office was just a "stylist" of the mayor or the government team as traditionally supposed, the support rate could have skyrocketed to more than 80% at the very beginning with all the packaging. Instead, the accumulation of municipal construction achievements have impressed the residents and therefore gained their recognition and support.
Lin said only by improving the living environment, beautifying city scenes, and establishing recreational areas will the residents be willing to open up their minds and embrace the public space again. In Kaohsiung, people can find a way to appreciate this city either having coffee at the Urban Spotlight or on the Love River bank, observing ships sailing in and out at the harbor, or even just taking a walk at the Art Mall around the Culture Center. In light of this, Lin believes that every resident is a great marketing power for Kaohsiung.
After winning over the right to host the eighth World Games in 2009, Kaohsiung is about to step forward into another new phase-"healthy and exercise-friendly city." Lin continues to elaborate Mayor Hsieh's idea: after the building of many recreational areas and the realization of the policy of "student's path" and "one model street in each district," the residents will have much more space to walk and exercise. This will encourage people to exercise more so as to welcome the World Games at all levels.
從「海洋首都」、「一個正在改變的城市」、到「友善城市」，未來則將營造高雄市為「健康運動城市」，不同階段的城市發展目標，不但明確的將高雄市定位，也成功的將高雄印象植入人心。
「行銷，是七分實力、三分化妝」，身為全國最年輕政務官、市政府新聞處長林耀文，果然有年輕人活潑明快的作風，一語道破高雄市都市行銷的真義，這也是長期跟隨市長謝長廷，從中學習、讓他較一般年輕人更務實之處。
林耀文接任新聞處長雖然只有一年多，但跟隨市長謝長廷卻已經長達六、七年，見證了高雄的蛻變﹔他說，高雄已經從「一個正在改變的城市」，變成「已經改變、進步的城市」，甚至「友善城市」，都獲得市民甚至外縣市民眾迴響。
林耀文說，高雄有山有海有河，有國際聞名的貨櫃港，過去的高雄人卻因為港口管制而對港陌生，所以打通港區圍牆、開闢海邊休閒空間﹔高雄的愛河、前鎮河也曾經「臭名在外」，所以整治河川、景觀，讓愛河變成市民最驕傲的河，喝咖啡、看電影、行船各有不同趣味﹔還有城市光廊的空間改造，連外縣市民眾到高雄都必須到此一遊才不虛此行。
這不是光靠行銷就可以達成的，他更以民調為例，謝長廷市長從上任至今，五年來的民調一路從三成到直逼八成，連市府團隊都破其他縣市紀錄的獲得將近七成市民的肯定，如果行銷只靠「化妝」，而新聞處只是傳統說法中是市長或市政的「化妝師」，一開始就應該把市長、市政「化妝」到八十分以上，而不是透過一點一滴市政建設成果的累積，讓市民看見、支持進而認同。
他說，只有點點滴滴的建設從市民息息相關的生活環境開始改變，市容景觀變乾淨、漂亮，休閒遊憩空間被打造出來，市民願意走出家門、開放心胸，重新走進這個原本就屬於大家的空間（城市）﹔無論是在城市光廊或愛河畔喝咖啡，或是在高雄港旁看著大船進出，或只是隨性的走在市民藝術大道、河堤公園，不必多餘的行銷語言，相信每個走過的市民都是這個都市的行銷員。
而在高雄市爭取到第八屆、2009年世界運動會主辦權後，高雄市又將邁入另一個新階段、「健康運動城市」，林耀文進一步詮釋市長的理念，在休憩空間一一開發的基礎下，透過通學步道、「一區一街」的策略，提供市民更多走路、運動的空間，帶動運動風氣，全民一起迎接世運。