WEDA: Comprehensive
Economic Development
Marketing & Attraction
Agenda
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About Atlas
A few formative ideas about ED marketing
How research can inform your marketing decisions
What the customers (Site Selectors) say
How marketing should differ by organizational size and type
– Ohio BDC
– Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities
– Webster City, IA
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What should your community be doing in 2011?
Interesting findings on social media, online marketing and new media
View and share the slides
Q+A
About Atlas
Atlas Advertising helps economic developers reach national and international prospect and
site selection audiences. We deliver branding, website development, GIS mapping,
research, social media, and creative services professionally and with a staff experienced in
economic development. Unlike firms with little or no economic development experience,
Atlas Advertising uses a proven mix of economic development marketing tactics that
generate interest from site selection audiences.
Atlas Advertising is led by a former economic development practitioner and has worked
with 70+ different economic development clients in nearly 40+ US states. Our approach
and experience means that our campaigns generate an average of three to ten times the
response of other campaigns.
Featured clients:
– State of Ohio
– Indy Partnership
– City of San Francisco
– Greater Phoenix Economic Council
– Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership
– Webster City, Iowa
Download the slides, join the
community, continue the dialogue
• Continue the Conversation:
– Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AtlasAd
– Tweet questions using hashtag #AskAtlas
• Join the community of innovative economic
development marketers
– Join our Next Gen Economic Development Marketers
LinkedIn Group
• View and share the slides with your colleagues
(available now):
http://bit.ly/fQB6hC
Are you a State, Region, or
Individual City/County?
Is Your Marketing Budget
Growing, Staying the
Same, or Shrinking?
A Few Formative Ideas
About ED Marketing
Whether or not you market, your
community and its brand already exists.
It is up to you to shape, not create, the
brand and story of your community. If
you don’t, you will leave that up to
others who may have different interests.
When considering your marketing
efforts, set quantitative goals. If you
can’t measure it, you shouldn’t buy it.
States are different from regions and
different from individual cities and
counties. The area you represent and
how you are funded means you should
market differently.
Economic developers should respond to
those who are already looking before
speaking to those who aren’t.
Businesses may do one major relocation
in their management’s entire time there.
Our job as economic developers is to
educate, coach, and be relevant to them.
If we don’t, we will be cut out.
How research can inform
your marketing decisions
Some examples of standard
benchmarks for quantitative goals
Goal
Deals/Jobs in the pipeline
RFI requests per month
Incoming email and phone
inquiries per month
Property searches on my
website per month
Website visits per month
Social media followers/
connections
City or County
Region
State
Benchmark Benchmark Benchmark
Varies
Varies
Varies
Varies
Varies
Varies
15
50
200
500
2,500
5,000
1,500
5,000
20,000
200
500
1,000
How to focus your marketing at the
correct “moment” for the prospect
[Atlas Site Selector Survey Results] Please
rate the following in terms of their
importance as a source of information:
Information Source
Site visits (familiarization tours)
Existing relationships with ED officials
Community websites
Third party national data sources
Past experience with other deals
Word of mouth from peers
Calls from local officials
Existing relationships with local real estate
community
National conferences
Trade magazines
Social Media/Social Networks
% Important, % Important,
2011
2006
100%
95%
90%
90%
81%
57%
48%
100%
88%
63%
n/a
71%
43%
29%
38%
29%
29%
29%
24%
0%
14%
n/a
2011 Results: Access to Customers, Incentives,
Proximity to Univ., Access to Workforce Lead
the “Fastest Growing” Factors List
Access to customers (large markets)
Financial incentives from communities
Proximity to a research university
Access to technical/scientific workers
Quality or fit of specific real estate
Access to transportation infrastructure
Pro-business tax-regulatory climate
Access to senior management talent
Quality of life for employees
Ability to recruit workforce
A rapidly growing region
Access to cultural amenities
Access to outdoor recreation
Climate (weather)
2011
2006
% difference
95%
95%
67%
90%
90%
90%
95%
76%
62%
95%
57%
43%
10%
29%
69%
69%
43%
70%
75%
76%
83%
64%
60%
96%
60%
49%
38%
58%
26%
26%
24%
20%
15%
14%
12%
12%
2%
-1%
-3%
-6%
-28%
-29%
What the Customers (Site
Selectors) Say
Tracey Hyatt Bosman
1. Based in Chicago, IL
2. Former economic developer
3. Specializes in renewable energy and
data centers
Director of Grubb & Ellis
Strategic Consulting Group
Tracey.Bosman@Grubb-Ellis.com
What Tracey needs and doesn’t
need
What We Need
What We Don’t
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• General labor statistics
• Secondary source wage
information
• Real estate listings
• Rankings
• Distance to other major
cities
Contact information
Incentive programs
Tax rates
Recent announcements
Industry-targeted info
Map of your territory
Largest employers
Area colleges and
universities
How marketing should differ by
organizational size and funding type
Types of ED Organizations
• Geographic coverage
– States
– Regions
– Individual Cities/Counties
• Funding
– Predominantly publicly funded
– Public/Private funding
Case Study 1:
State of Ohio
Size: State
Funding: Public
Ohio’s Goals
• Mission
– Develop a brand and messages to aggressively sell Ohio as a profitable
location for business investment
– Develop the sales tools and collateral information
– Market the state in coordination with other state agencies and
local/regional development organizations
– Conduct business recruitment and attraction activities
– Generate and coordinate lead generation and intake process for the
State of Ohio; coordinate the response to these leads with appropriate
state, regional and local organizations and officials
• Objectives
– Retain and expand companies already doing business in Ohio
– Attract new companies to Ohio
• Funding
– Predominantly publicly funded
Ohio’s Target Audience
• Targeted industries
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Advanced Energy & Environmental Technologies
Aerospace and Aviation
Agriculture and Food Processing
Bioscience and Bioproducts
Corporate and Professional Services
Distribution and Logistics
Instruments, Controls and Electronics
Manufacturing
Motor Vehicle and Parts Manufacturing
Polymers and Advanced Materials
• Targeted geographies
– US
– Western Europe
Ohio’s Challenges
• Marketing multiple, diverse large regions plus rural areas
• Combating a rust belt, pro-union image
• Coordinating hundreds of state stakeholders in the lead
generation, management, and submission process
Ohio’s Tactics
• Partnership with the State initiative Jobs Ohio
• Large scale media in the US to change hearts and minds
• Direct lead generation using multiple lead gen vendors, in
various geographies
• A leading website that gets 30,000 visits per month
• A world class GIS system, integrated into their website, that
manages all properties, all leads, all prospect companies and
prospect submissions
• Distributed business development professionals throughout
the state
• Trade shows
• Website: www.ohiomeansbusiness.com
Ohio’s Results
• Awarded 4 straight Governor’s Cups from 2006-2009 for
most deals
• In 2009 alone, Ohio announced 381 expansion or
relocation projects
• Ranked in the top 10 Pro-business states
Case Study 2:
Tucson Regional
Economic
Opportunities
Size: Region
Funding: Public (35%)/Private
(65%)
Tucson’s Goals
• TREO's Values
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Nurture Competitive Economic Growth
Build Strategic Partnerships
Promote Regionalism
Be an Economic "One Stop"
Maintain a Customer Focus
• TREO JobOne
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Acceleration of regional and national marketing
Local company assistance
Enhanced tools to spur job creation
Creating a strong and unified voice
Leveraging the federal stimulus
Tucson’s Challenges
• In the shadow of Phoenix
• Seen as more of a tourism destination
• In an economically troubled state, and public funding cut
dramatically as a result
• In the storm of political infighting around immigration,
incentives, etc.
Tucson’s Target Audience
• Targeted industries
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Aerospace and Defense
Bioscience
Solar
Transportation & Logistics
• Targeted geographies
– Southwestern US
– California
– Western Europe
Tucson’s Tactics
• Partnership with Phoenix and Nogales, Mexico to form a
“super-region”
• Industry targeted media trips with local CEOs
• A leading website that gets 5,000 + visits per month
• Industry content, online and in proposals
• Strong legislative presence in favor of incentives
• Large scale local event (800 + attendees)
• Website: www.treoaz.org
Tucson’s Results
• From 2005 to 2010:
– 37 relocations
– 9,200 jobs
– $1.4 billion in new investment
Case Study 3: City of
Webster City, IA
Size: Individual City/County
Funding: Public
Webster City’s Goals
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Increase awareness of the City as a destination for business
To recruit/add 500 jobs from 2010-2012
Maximize the reuse of the Electrolux facilities
A clearly articulated image for the City and its economic
future
– Build a brand
– Establish an internal marketing program toward residents
– Launch communications to site selectors, allies, and targeted
industries
– Launch targeted industry marketing
• Inspire a generation of local entrepreneurs to forge ahead
Webster City’s Target
Audience
• External Audiences:
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Midwest based site selection consultants
Companies in targeted industries
Commercial real estate brokers in large Iowa cities
Buyers and/or suppliers to companies in and around the Webster
City area.
Internal Audiences:
– Residents of Webster City
– Existing employers
– Economic development allies at the local, regional, and state levels
Webster City’s Challenges
• Small market in a rural part of a rural state
• Not a well known, household name
• No established, centralized economic development entity
Webster City’s Tactics
• Build a clear product brand that differentiates Webster City
as a business location
• Feature rich website, with a virtual familiarization tour
• Prospect communications – standard PPT presentation
• Limited advertising campaign, focused on Midwest site
selectors
• Direct communications with site selectors and targeted
industry list
• Limited Trade show participation, focused on targeted
industry shows
• LinkedIn for prospecting
• Website: www.buildwebstercity.com
Webster City’s Results, 2011
• Since launch of new website 3 new prospects have visited Webster City. Two
have yet to make decisions (Campaign launched January 2011)
• The City receives increased calls direct from prospects. Site selectors or realtors
mention they have already looked at Webster City’s website for preliminary
information.
• Other contacts have come from recent press, the ED blog, social media, print
advertisements and the city's direct mail program – all which direct traffic to
the website.
• Website traffic has grown fourfold and is receiving more traffic from ED
specific keywords, as well as certain key phrases that relate to economic
development interests.
• The City is now receiving emails from other entities ranging from prospects to
ED groups asking “How they are doing this?”
“Our
marketing efforts have resulted in leads from our own community and inquiries from existing business looking to
expand in the future.”
What should your community be
doing in 2011?
The Corporate Location Process
Atlas Top Tactics for States
1.
States can and should play at the top of the funnel, gaining visibility
using the following tactics:
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2.
3.
4.
5.
Familiarization tours/virtual familiarization tours
Prospect trips/trade shows
Outbound direct communications
International outreach
States should also work hard to develop a brand that is business
friendly: See Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina.
States should have comprehensive websites, including detailed
incentives information as well as information on key industries. States
should also be delivering a robust GIS system to enable the evaluation
of properties and the identification of clusters.
States should actively drive traffic to their websites, using search engine
marketing, email, and more.
States and their Business Development teams should develop a
dedicated approach to using LinkedIn for prospecting.
Atlas Top Tactics for Regions
1.
Depending on budget, regions can also play at the top of the funnel,
though less so than States.
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2.
3.
4.
5.
Virtual familiarization tours
Outbound direct lead generation, working with States
International outreach, working with states
Regional brand should differentiate within the state
Regions should have comprehensive websites, including detailed
incentives information as well as information on key industries. Sites
should also be delivering a robust GIS system to enable the evaluation
of properties and the identification of clusters.
Regions should actively drive traffic to their websites, using search
engine marketing, email, and more.
Though regions may have smaller BD teams, they should engage in
Linkedin prospecting.
Atlas Top Tactics for Cities and
Counties
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Small Cities and counties must rely on regions and States to generate
awareness for them.
Where budget allows, a City/County brand can differentiate within the
region
Cities and Counties can also should have comprehensive websites,
including local incentives information. Sites should also be delivering a
robust GIS system, often provided by the State or region, to enable the
evaluation of properties
Cities can use search engine optimization to drive traffic
Cities should maintain a Linkedin presence so that their contact
information is available.
Interesting Findings on Online,
Social Media, and New Media
Top 10 pages used
nationally on ED websites
1. About Us (about the organization)
2. Programs (that the organization offers)
3. Data Center
4. News
5. Relocate and Expand
6. Find Property
7. Site Selection Services
8. Workforce data and Information
9. Database of Companies or Largest Employers
10.Maps of the Area
What new media advancements have
you seen that you think are valuable
to the site selection profession?
What percentage of site selectors use social
media at least weekly?
The Frequency Site Selectors are using Social
Media is rising – 86% use weekly or more,
compared to 71% in late 2009
Early 2011
31%
35%
30%
31%
25%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
Late 2009
0%
Daily
Two or three times
a week
Weekly
What Social Media/Networks Site
Selectors are Using
LinkedIn
Facebook
RSS Feeds
Twitter
Blogs
Foursquare or other location based
social media
61%
21%
21%
18%
14%
0%
For more information on specific
marketing topics
http://atlas-advertising.com/community-marketing-presentations.aspx
Download the slides, join the
community, continue the dialogue
• Continue the Conversation:
– Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AtlasAd
– Tweet questions using hashtag #AskAtlas
• Join the community of innovative economic
development marketers
– Join our Next Gen Economic Development Marketers
LinkedIn Group
• View and share the slides with your colleagues
(available now):
http://bit.ly/fQB6hC
Contact Atlas
Contact information:
2601 Blake Street, Suite 301
Denver, CO 80205
Contact: Guillermo Mazier
t: 303.292.3300 x 232
guillermom@Atlas-Advertising.com
www.Atlas-Advertising.com
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