Smart Conference:

Comprehensive Economic

Development Marketing &

Attraction

Agenda

• Bragging Rights (and some good toffee) • Introductions• 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– Webster City, IA

• What should your community be doing in 2011?• Special Announcement• Next Atlas Advertising webinar• Q+A

Bragging Rights (and some really good toffee)Answer this question right:

What percentage of U.S. Site Selectors use Social Media/Social Networks each week?

The Answer:

What percentage of U.S. Site Selectors use Social Media/Social Networks each week?

86%

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 60+ different economic development clients in 35+ 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

About Webster City Economic Development Through the end of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 the largest employer in Webster City closed it’s doors leaving 800+ unemployed. For a community of roughly 8,000 that is nearly 10% of the population. A proactive approach was taken by the City and in late 2010 began work with Atlas Advertising to establish a new direction that would assist in the recruitment of jobs, establish a brand and build awareness.

Co-presenting with Atlas Advertising is David Toyer from Webster City Economic Development. The City brought in David who has an extensive background in working with both public and private entities to help reshape the economic development program in Webster City. The office exists to support the growth of business in Webster City.

Leading Employers:

―Van Diest Medical Center

―Vantec, Inc.

―Murray McMurray Hatchery

―Seneca Foundry, Inc.

Join the community, continue the conversation

• 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

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

Examples of standard benchmarks for quantitative goals

Goal City or County

Benchmark

Region Benchm

ark

State Benchm

arkDeals/Jobs in the pipeline Varies Varies Varies

RFI requests per month Varies Varies VariesWebsite visits per month 1,500 5,000 20,000

Incoming email and phone inquiries per month

15 50 200

Property searches on my website per month 500 2,500 5,000

Social media followers/ connections 200 500 1,000

How to focus your marketing at the correct “moment” for the prospect

Please rate the following in terms of their importance as a source of information:

Information Source %

Important, 2011

% Important,

2006 Site visits (familiarization tours) 100% 100%Existing relationships with ED officials 95%  88%

Community websites 90% 63%Third party national data sources 90% n/a

Past experience with other deals 81% 71%Word of mouth from peers 57% 43%Calls from local officials 48% 29%Existing relationships with local real estate community

38% 29%

National conferences 29% 0%Trade magazines 29% 14%Social Media/Social Networks 24% n/a

2011: Access to Customers, Incentives, Proximity to Univ., and Access to Workforce Lead the “Fastest Growing” Factors List

2011 2006%

differenceAccess to customers (large markets) 95% 69% 26%

Financial incentives from communities 95% 69% 26%

Proximity to a research university 67% 43% 24%

Access to technical/scientific workers 90% 70% 20%

Quality or fit of specific real estate 90% 75% 15%

Access to transportation infrastructure 90% 76% 14%

Pro-business tax-regulatory climate 95% 83% 12%

Access to senior management talent 76% 64% 12%

Quality of life for employees 62% 60% 2%

Ability to recruit workforce 95% 96% -1%

A rapidly growing region 57% 60% -3%

Access to cultural amenities 43% 49% -6%

Access to outdoor recreation 10% 38% -28%

Climate (weather) 29% 58% -29%

Top 10 pages used nationally on ED websites1. 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 the Customers (Site Selectors) Say

For more, visit our website and views “How Site Selectors are Using your ED Website and how they Aren’t” http://bit.ly/fQB6hC

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 needWhat We Need• Contact information• Incentive programs• Tax rates• Recent

announcements• Industry-targeted

info• Map of your territory• Largest employers• Area colleges and

universities

What We Don’t

• General labor statistics

• Secondary source wage information

• Real estate listings

• Rankings

• Distance to other major cities

How marketing should differ by

organizational size and funding

type

Types of ED Organizations• Geographic coverage

– States – Large Regions (1,000,000 people plus)– Small Regions (between 100,000 and 1,000,000 in

population)– Individual Cities/Counties under 100,000

• 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

– 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 Department of

Development • 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: City of

Webster City, IA

Size: Individual City/County (7,500

population, 200,000 in labor shed)

Funding: Public

Webster City’s Goals

• 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:

– Midwest based site selection consultants– Foreign counsels in Minneapolis and Chicago – Companies in targeted industries, including – 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 business documents including PPT, letterhead, templates for proposals etc.

• 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 • Campaign launched January 2011• Quantitative results

– Two new prospects that have already visited and are in proposal/decision stage

– The City has been getting calls direct from prospects, including in response to recent press, the city's direct mail and online marketing Website traffic has grown, and time on site has increased

– Website is receiving more traffic from ED specific keywords

• Qualitative results– The City’s profile and visibility for ED efforts have

grown, as has their network of connections across the region/nation.

– The City is now receiving emails from all sorts of entities ranging from prospects to other ED groups asking “How they are doing this?”

What should your community be doing in

2011?

Atlas Top Tactics for States1. States can and should play at the top of the funnel,

gaining visibility using the following tactics:– Familiarization tours/virtual familiarization tours – Prospect trips/trade shows– Outbound direct communications– International outreach

2. States should also work hard to develop a brand that is business friendly: See Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina.

3. 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.

4. States should actively drive traffic to their websites, using search engine marketing, email, and more.

5. 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. – Virtual familiarization tours – Outbound direct lead generation, working with States– International outreach, working with states

2. Regional brand should differentiate within the state3. 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.

4. Regions should actively drive traffic to their websites, using search engine marketing, email, and more.

5. Though regions may have smaller BD teams, they should engage in Linkedin prospecting.

Atlas Top Tactics for Cities and Counties under 100,000 in population

1. Small Cities and counties must rely on regions and States to generate awareness for them.

2. Where budget allows, a City/County brand can differentiate within the region

3. 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

4. Cities can use search engine optimization to drive traffic

5. Cities should maintain a Linkedin presence so that their contact information is available.

Announcing Atlas InSite, the Fastest Growing GIS System for ED in the United States, now for any budget

Features: • Property Database• Business Database• Data Maps• Communities Maps• Demographic

reports

Pricing Configurations:

• States and Large Regions with existing websites

• Smart Region/Smart City Websites

• Small Cities and Counties

Latest Feature: Incentives Deals Mapped

Offer to PDI and MAEDC Attendees:

Get a free comprehensive marketing assessment from Atlas. This assessment will include:

• Review your current tactics based on this presentation

• Recommended metrics and benchmarks• Suggestions for improvements• Suggestions for adding or removing programs

Get the Slides, Continue the Conversation!

• To get this presentation or sign up for a comprehensive marketing assessment, drop your card with myself or Keeley Sullivan.

• To Continue the Conversation: – Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AtlasAd– Tweet questions using hashtag #AskAtlas– Join a community of innovative economic

development marketers across many continents:• Next Gen Economic Development

Marketers LinkedIn Group

Next Atlas Webinar

“How site selectors are using GIS to shorten the location evaluation process to hours from months.”

• Date/Time: Thursday May 12, 11:00 EST

• Registrants from this conference will be admitted as an Atlas Guest.

Sign up now

Contact Atlas

Contact information:

2601 Blake Street, Suite 301

Denver, CO 80205

Contact: Ben Wright

t: 303.292.3300 x 210

benw@Atlas-Advertising.com

www.Atlas-Advertising.com

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