Marketing Specific Features
A
coalition may choose to market itself to potential investors by
focusing on a specific attribute of either its region or the
partnership itself. The Colorado Springs Regional Economic Development
Corporation (CSREDC) represents two counties with a combined population
of about 600,000. The corporation has had success in marketing to
California companies that are looking to relocate or expand. "Our
climates are similar. Our target sectors - aerospace, bioscience, and
renewable energy - are common industries in California. And doing
business in Colorado Springs costs a lot less than doing business in
California," says Michael J. Kazmierski, CSREDC's president and CEO.
The
Industrial Development Authority (IDA) of Cuba, Missouri, markets the
Cuba Enterprise Zone, an area in which qualified businesses can receive
substantial tax credits and abatements from local, regional, and state
government agencies. The IDA recently formed an alliance with the
nearby towns of Steelville, Bourbon, and Leasburg when the state
expanded the enterprise zone to include those areas. The four towns
will now work together to market the region the newly expanded zone.
The
Economic Development Coalition (EDC) of Southwest Indiana represents
four Indiana counties with a combined population of approximately
350,000, with Evansville being the largest community (116,253
residents). In March 2009, the coalition activated a geographic
information system (GIS)-based database on its website. The GIS
component matches sites and buildings located within the EDC's target
area with accompanying demographic and business data, giving site
selectors the opportunity to research availability in a more detailed
manner than before.
Technology is also playing a part for
Roanoke Regional Development, where the partnership uses online search
engine optimization (SEO) and social networking as key elements in its
marketing plans. "We were one of the first economic development
organizations in the United States to have a Facebook page, a YouTube
channel, and a Wikipedia strategy," says Doughty. "Now we use Twitter
as well."
Strength in Numbers
For
smaller towns and counties, collaboration can be the key to
successfully recruiting business and, in some cases, to securing
government grants and other benefits. When Wisconsin's Thrive formed,
one of its first accomplishments was helping secure a $5 million grant
from the Wisconsin Department of Labor to develop a sustainable program
for work force training. Thrive is also working with the five-county
Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to develop and
submit regional submissions appropriate for federal stimulus dollars.
"By acting collaboratively, we believe that we can make a stronger case
for funding levels that will help to create much-needed employment
opportunities throughout our region," says Mark Masters, the commission
chair. "This larger regional collaborative effort should hopefully help
each individual county receive more immediate attention to their
funding requests."
Colorado Springs' Kazmierski attributes
much of his organization's success to the partnering process. "The
ability to focus on the unique needs of each prospect, and then work to
find them the best fit in the region, has resulted in a 70 percent
success rate for prospects that have selected our area once they have
visited us," he says. "Additionally, in these tough economic times,
working together as a region maximizes the limited resources we have to
give our region the most bang for its buck."
Working as a
coalition had a very specific payoff for EDC of Southwest Indiana,
which this past March announced a new $150 million project in
Evansville that will create almost 400 new jobs. President and CEO Greg
Wathen says two of the coalition's four counties were under serious
consideration for the project. "We represented both communities in
negotiations with the company," he says, "as well as worked with team
members from each county to ensure impartiality, fairness, and
confidentiality in those discussions."
In the end, says
Wathen, the numbers tell the story: "There's nothing that puts a region
or community on the radar screen of site selectors and company
decision-makers more than economic activity."
