11

Comprehensive Economic

Development Marketing –

Case Studies

22

Agenda

• 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• Case studies

– Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities– Webster City, IA

• Calculating and valuing the impact of your activities on your community

• Q+A

33

Join the community, continue the dialogue

• Join 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

44

A Few Formative Ideas About ED Marketing

55

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.

66

When considering your marketing efforts, set quantitative goals. If you can’t measure it, you shouldn’t buy it.

77

States are different from regions and different from individual cities and counties. The area you represent, your organizational goals, and how you are funded each should drive the tactics you use.

88

Economic developers should respond to those who are already looking before speaking to those who aren’t.

99

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.

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How research can inform your marketing decisions

1111

The regions that consistently make the cut in the West

1212

Some 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

1313

How to focus your Marketing at the correct “moment” for the company

1414

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

1515

2011: Access to Customers, Incentives, Proximity to Univ., 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%

1616

Interesting Findings on Online, GIS, and Social Media for Economic Development

1717

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

1818

What new media advancements have you seen that you think are valuable to the site selection profession?

1919

What the Customers (Site Selectors) Say

2020

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

2121

What Tracey needs and doesn’t need

What 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

2222

Douglas van den Berghe

1. Based in Amsterdam, Netherlands

2. Specializes in international corporate location

Douglas van den Berghe

Managing Director

Investment Consulting Associates

douglas@ic-associates.com

2323

Douglas van den Berghe

What is a cluster?

2424

Ed McCallum

1. Based in South Carolina

2. Partners with Mark Sweeney, a former economic

developer

3. Specializes in large industrial projects

McCallum – Sweeney Consulting

info@mccallumsweeney.com

2525

A Site Selector’s rationale for regional economic development

1. Regions have larger, more diverse set of assets for companies

2. Regions can support more effective marketing

3. Regions are better aligned with site selection decisions

a) Labor markets

b) Infrastructure

2626

How marketing should differ by organizational

objective, size and funding type

2727

Economic development organizational objectives

Deal focused Infrastructure/ Policy

focused

Retention/

Entrepreneurship

focused

Mission Jobs and wealth from outside

Awareness, Inquiry

Jobs and wealth from inside

Improve the business environment

Key audience

Site selectors, prospective companies

Site selectors, prospective companies

Local companies and entrepreneurs

Local elected officials, government

Metrics Deals closed, deals in pipeline

Awareness, inquiries/mo.

Meetings, issues solved, policy

Projects built, legislation passed

Staffing ½ business developers, ½ marketers

2/3 marketers and information producers

½ business developers, ½ , service providers

½ lobbyists, ½ policy/infrastructure

Core Skills Service, person to person communication, sales.

Content creation, digital communications

Service, consulting

Lobbying, public affairs

Promotion focused

2828

Size and funding 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

2929

Case Study 1: Tucson

Regional Economic

Opportunities

Objective: Promotion

Size: Large Region (1,000,000)

Funding: Public (35%)/Private (65%)

3030

Economic development organizational objectives

Deal focused Infrastructure/ Policy

focused

Retention/

Entrepreneurship

focused

Mission Jobs and wealth from outside

Awareness, Inquiry

Jobs and wealth from inside

Business environment

Key audience

Site selectors, prospective companies

Site selectors, prospective companies

Local companies and entrepreneurs

Local elected officials, government

Metrics Deals closed, deals in pipeline

Awareness, inquiries/mo.

Meetings, issues solved, policy

Projects built, legislation passed

Staffing ½ business developers, ½ marketers

2/3 marketers and information producers

½ business developers, ½ , service providers

½ lobbyists, ½ policy/infrastructure

Core Skills Service, person to person communication, sales.

Content creation, digital communications

Service, consulting

Lobbying, public affairs

Promotion focused

3131

Tucson’s Goals

• TREO's Values– Nurture Competitive Economic Growth– Build Strategic Partnerships– Promote Regionalism– Be an Economic "One Stop"– Maintain a Customer Focus

• TREO JobOne– 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

3232

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.

3333

Tucson’s Target Audience

•Targeted industries–

Aerospace and Defense

–Bioscience

–Solar

–Transportation & Logistics

•Targeted geographies–

Southwestern US

–California

–Western Europe

3434

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

3535

Tucson’s Results

• From 2005 to 2011:– 37 relocations– 9,200 jobs– $1.4 billion in new investment

3636

Case Study 2: City of Webster

City, IA

Objective: Recruitment

Size: Individual City/County (7,500

population, 200,000 in labor shed)

Funding: Public

3737

Economic development organizational objectives

Deal focused Infrastructure/ Policy

focused

Retention/

Entrepreneurship

focused

Mission Jobs and wealth from outside

Awareness, Inquiry

Jobs and wealth from inside

Business environment

Key audience

Site selectors, prospective companies

Site selectors, prospective companies

Local companies and entrepreneurs

Local elected officials, government

Metrics Deals closed, deals in pipeline

Awareness, inquiries/mo.

Meetings, issues solved, policy

Projects built, legislation passed

Staffing ½ business developers, ½ marketers

2/3 marketers and information producers

½ business developers, ½ , service providers

½ lobbyists, ½ policy/infrastructure

Core Skills Service, person to person communication, sales.

Content creation, digital communications

Service, consulting

Lobbying, public affairs

Promotion focused

3838

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

3939

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

4040

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

4141

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

4242

Webster City’s Results • Campaign launched January 2011• Quantitative results

– Electric car company opened operations in former Electrolux facility in Q1 2011

– Two other prospects that have already visited and are in proposal/decision stage, plus one other that the community lost

– 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?”

4343

Calculating and valuing the impact of your activities on your community

4444

How to value an economic development promotion activities

Generating

Awareness

Generating InquiryGenerating Jobs

and Investment

Knowledge of the

Organization

Visits to website

Phone/email inquiries

Prospect meetings

Prospect pipeline

Number of jobs

Capital investment

4545

Example Economic Developers that have shared their information

4646

The value of various organizations’ impact on their communities in context

AWARENESS INQUIRY JOBS AND INVESTMENT

ORGANIZATIONSOCIAL MEDIA TOTAL

MONTHLY GOOGLE

SEARCHES

WEB VISITS

LAST 12 MONTHS

INQUIRIES PAST 12 MONTHS

JOBS IN PIPELINE

JOBS WON

LAST 12 MONTHS

CAPITAL INVESTMENT WON LAST 12 MONTHS

Sub - Region 443 140 21,257 109 2,681 3,531 $ 293,878,000

Large Region 2631 390 37,880 195 46,531 4,048 $ 906,160,000

Medim sized region 24 110 8,428 68 4,803 2,285 $ 399,371,908

Medium Sized Region

371 635 43,618 169 5,878 4,171 $ 875,700,000

Medium Sized Region

486 480 25,572 107 9,635 2,329 $ 424,082,780

4747

Summary of Value

Large Region

Medium Sized Region

Sub-region with Large

Region

Medium Sized Region

Southeast Business

Partnership

$1,131,835,705

$980,924,278

$632,667,138 $621,058,567

$394,691,425

Medium Sized

Region

4848

Would you like to join a national community to benchmark the impact you have?

• Fill out the survey at the link on the sheet at your table

• We will send you a report about how your community ranks

4949

5050

Hear more from Keith Gendreau of Cushman & Wakefield:

Attend the Atlas webinar March 14:

How Site Selectors are Using GIS to Evaluate Locations and "Short-List" Communities

http://www.atlas-advertising.com/How-Corporate-Real-Estate-GIS.aspx

5151

5252

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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