Why Site Selectors Hate Your Marketing

Guillermo MazierVice President, Strategic Accounts, Atlas AdvertisingEconomists, strategists, and digital marketing evangelists working together to create vital community brands that generate results. We believe that our work has a direct and indirect ROI for all of the communities with whom we work.Will CoxSenior Manager, Biggins Lacy Shapiro & CoSupporting companies with location and incentives strategies, and helping jurisdictions design and implement economic development incentives programs

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BacktoBasics–TheSiteSelectorApproach}  SiteSelectorsbringanaly0caltoolsto

comparesiteopportuni0es.}  Decisionmodelsincorporateclient-

specificcriteriaandweigh0ngtoproducedata-drivenloca0onrankings.

}  ReportscapturedinC-suitereadyreportsthathelpdocumentadecisionprocessandbuildconsensus.

}  Thereisno“bestsite”foraprojectthereareonlysitesthatfitthecriteria…

CostFactors

Wages

U0lityPricing

TaxRegimes

Incen0vePrograms

LaborMarketIndicators

Talent

Availability

Compe00on

BusinessEnviron-mentFactors

RegulatoryPolicies

Infrastructure

DisasterRisk

Accessibility

QualityofLifeMeasures

CostofLiving

NeighborhoodQuality

PublicSchoolAchievement

CrimeRates

ExamplesofLoca8onalVariables

5

}  Aproject’sdrivers,andthusitschoiceofdes0na0on,willvarybybusinessneeds.

• Reduce costs • Achieve operational efficiencies • Access raw materials

Manufacturing

• Access pre-commercial research • Attract top-level science talent • Tap funding sources

R&D

•  Acquire marketing & financial talent •  Network with industry leaders •  Link with global community

Office

• Lower cost labor • Minimal disaster risk • Excellent telecomm/power

Mission Critical

ThereIsNo“Best”Loca8on

6

}  Nowmorethanever–aprocessofelimina0on

§ DefineObjec0ves&DesignApproach

§ Eliminate“PoorestPerformers”§  Don’tmeetthesitecriteria

§  Didnotprovidethenecessarydata

§ SelecttheBestfromtheRest

§ DiveIntoMarket

§ Nego0ate

§ Choose7

}  QualityData=ConfidentDecisions

}  DataAccessandPartnerships◦  StateBook�  OnlineMarketplaceforsiteselec0onandEDOdatasharing◦  PewCharitableTrustsEconomicDevelopmentIni8a8ve�  Suppor0ngincen0vetransparencyandaccountabilitytocommuni0esandtaxpayers

◦  SelectUSA◦  Easyaccessibilityandpromo8onofavailabledata�  Usetheresourcesyouhavetopresenttheposi0veandshowchangepercep0oninthenega0ve�  BureauofLaborandSta0s0cs,ERI,etc.

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}  Focusonwhatis“special”aboutthecommunity◦  Valueproposi0onsthataddresstheneedsofdecisionmakers

}  Defineyouraudience◦  Learnandgettoknowthestakeholderswhoaredoingprojectsorengagedinyourarea,regionorindustryfocus

}  Directcontactwithindividualcompaniesanddecisionmakers

}  AneyeandeartowardFDI

9

}  Directadver8singcampaigns◦  Industrypublica0onadver0sing◦  Television(EmpireStateDevelopmentandStartUPNY)◦  NontargetedEblastsL◦  Radio(FairfaxCounty)◦  …WhatisworkingSocialMedia(LinkedIn/Twi\er)

}  Notclearlydefiningthetargetaudience◦  High-levelandgenericmessage◦  Engagementwithendusersandsiteselectorsnotfocusedontheregionorthetargetedindustryarea

}  Familiariza8on(FAM)tours

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}  Microtarge8ngtoindustryandregionalsiteselectorsandstakeholders

}  Educa8onandpartnershipwithlocalstakeholdersincludingreal-estateprofessionalsandbusinesscommunity

}  Promo8onofneworchangingincen8veprograms

}  Debunkinggeographicpercep8ons

◦  Whatarethenega0veandorfalsepercep0onsofmycommunityandhowdoIchangethem?

}  Promotetoolsforexis8ngbusinessexpansioninmarket

}  ThoughSuland8melyresponsestoinforma8onrequests

◦  Informssiteselectorsonotherprojectopportuni0es

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Withthemajorityofexecu8vesandsiteselectorsvisi8nganEDO’swebsiteasthefirstpointofentry,effec8vemessagingismoreimportantthanever.}  Bestprac8cesinclude:

1.  ProvideComprehensiveContactInfo�  Includeallrelevantstakeholdersphone,emailandpicture(forthepersonaltouch)alongwithgeographicorindustryspecializa0onsor

designa0ons�  Contactformsandgeneralemailsareanonstarter

�  Knowledgeablerecep0ononmainphonelines

2.  KeepDemographicDataUp-to-Date�  Thisshouldinclude3rdpartydataandanyindependentmarketanalysistoshowcaseyourcommunity

3.  AccessibilitytoIncen0veInforma0on�  Comprehensiveoverviewofstateandlocalincen0vesincluding:programsummary,eligibility,andpoten0alvaluewherepossible

4.  HighlightKeyIndustries�  Whatdoestheregiondobestandwhatisthedirec0onforthefuture

�  Howdoyousetyourselfapartfromothercommuni0es

5.  ShowcaseLeadingEmployers�  Showwhatisalreadythrivinginthearea.Exis0ngindustryareyourbestcheerleaders…andprojectclosers

6.  GISforAvailableSites�  Informa0ononavailablesiteswithaGIScomponentsositeselectorscanvisualizeexactlywhereavailablepropertyfallsinanarea

7.  NewstobeProudAbout�  Framewhatisgoingonintheregionwithatleastapostamonthwithexternalnewsoutweighinginternalnews

8.  ResponsivenessonMobileDevises�  Amustformobilewebsitefunc0onality

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…notthePointofnoReturn

}  Comparisonstoestablishedcompe88vemarketsandloca8ons(e.g.costcomparisons)

}  Searchabledatabaseofavailablebuildingsandsites}  Demographicinforma8on(e.g.popula8on,income,agedistribu8on,educa8onala_ainment)

}  Majoremployerlist}  Educa8onalins8tu8oninforma8on(K-12andpost-secondary)}  Mapsofthecommunity}  Qualityoflifeinforma8on(e.g.costofliving,cultural/recrea8onalopportuni8es)

}  Tes8monialsfromlocalcompanies

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}  Websitebaseddataiscri8cal◦  Trend:EDOengagementmoving0llakerthescreeningphaseanddevelopmentofashortlistofcommuni0es

}  Loca8oninforma8onanddataaggrega8onthrough3rdpartyproviders

}  Moredetailedandcomplexcompara8vemodelingbetweenloca8onsandregions

}  Con8nuedtrendtowardoversight,postperformancebasedincen8vesandawayfromdiscre8onarygrants

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}  Targe8ngandpartnershipsbetweenEDOandsiteselec8onstakeholdersamongindustry

}  Be_eroverallcoordina8onandcollabora8onwiththerealestatecommunity

}  Importanceofspeedtomarketdrivingsitereadinessofavailableproper8es

15

Na8onalGovernorsAssocia8onTrendsinStateEconomicDevelopment

}  Focusontherela8onshipbetweenstatesandregions

}  Emphasizingjobcrea8onfromwithin

}  Strengtheningsupportforadvancedmanufacturing

}  Crea8ngpartnershipstomeetindustriesdemandsfortalent

}  Raisingexpecta8onsforuniversi8estobridgethegapbetweenresearchandcommercializa8on

}  Increasingbusinessexportini8a8ves

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Economicdevelopmentmarke0ngisconstantlyshiking,andEDOsaregelngsavvier.They’reembracingtheevolvinglandscape,andadop0ngdigitalstrategiesthatmovetheneedlefortheirorganiza0ons.

Economicdevelopmentmarke0ngcanbelooselycategorizedintofiveac0ons:1.  Definingtargetaudiences2.  Deployingmarke0ngcampaignsandini0a0ves3.  Gelngfoundonline4.  Conver0ngdigitaltrafficintoqualifiedprospects5.  Analyzingcampaignperformance

State of Economic Development Marketing

The Agency Perspective: What’s Working

Strategy #1Disseminating important community information and engaging with target audiences/community advocates/location decision makers via social media. Example: Brenham ED LinkedIn group

Examples: Amarillo Twitter feed, Henry County Facebook page

Example: Atlas blog article that provides value (offers five free tools for a specific audience)

Strategy #2Digital ads that differentiate, inspire, elicit action

Strategy #3

Print ads that:•  Do something

different/capture attention (some industry print publications can be a waste of money if generic or over promotional)•  Tell a story without

cumbersome content•  Drive digital

engagement (online conversions key in measuring campaign success)

Strategy #4Websites that:•  Are data driven•  Have dedicated

resources for site selectors (incentives)•  Provide a clear value

proposition that addresses the needs of decision makers•  Offer a searchable

database of available sites and buildings, and provide data visualization tools that tell your “by the numbers” story

Contentth

ataddress

es

aneed,sel

lsthecom

munity

EDOwebsitesarethepointofentry,somakethemyourbestdigitalasset

Searchable database of available sites and buildings and data visualization tools

Promotional Handouts: Location decision makers are bombarded with giveaways at tradeshows. Your logo and brand on a mug are the same as your competitor’s on a lanyard.

The Agency Perspective: What’s Not Working

Print ads “Anywhere USA”: These concepts have either been done a hundred times, or there are no distinct community attributes present.

If the design and messaging could be for any community, in any part of the country, the ad is likely ineffective.

1.  Decide on your audience

2.  Understand their drivers and needs

3.  Understand who your comparison communities are

4.  Do the research on yourself and the other communities

5.  Find out the one or two unique elements of your community

DIY: Founda,on for Posi,oning

1. 2.

3. 4. 5.

A business strategy is about deciding where to play and how to win.

-A.G Lafley, Former CEO Proctor and Gamble

The Future from an Agency Perspective

What makes ED marketing great is what is NOT on the ad, website, or creative piece

What is not Working

Whataretheques0onswecanask? Whatoffercanwe

usetoestablishcredibility?

Whatisyourposi0oning?

Whatservicesdoyouprovide?

Whatareyourchallenges?

Howdoyoupassleadson?

Whatareyourcommonques0ons?

Thoughts from a Site Selector

• You are a service organization first•  Know where you are in the site selection process•  Answer the questions asked•  Facilitate information flow•  Provide support as necessary

• You are a sales organization last•  Selling does no good if you are eliminated due to lack

of information

Why Do Site Selectors Hate Your Marketing?

1.  It’s not relevant2.  It’s not different3.  There is no substantive data4.  They’ve seen it before5.  It interrupts rather than invites

Thank You!

Guillermo MazierVice President, Strategic Accounts, Atlas Advertisingguillermom@atlas-advertising.com303-292-3300 x232

Will CoxSenior Manager, Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Cowcox@blsstrategies.com 609-613-4266