In the webinar "How to Build Great Community Brands," Atlas Advertising CEO Ben Wright shares insights gleaned from a decade of branding communities, as well as case studies from Tucson, AZ and San Francisco, CA

1. How to Build Great Community Brands

2. About Atlas Advertising Atlas Advertising helps economic developers reach national and international prospect and site selection audiences. We deliver branding, website development, GIS mapping, research, 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 50+ different economic development clients in 30+ 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

3. Table of contents The case for and against community branding How prospects and site selectors experience brands How to structure a successful branding process How to leverage a brand for the largest impact The Atlas approach

4. What is a brand? A trade name: a name given to a product or service A recognizable kind; "there's a new brand of hero in the movies now"; "what make of car is that?" An identification mark on skin, made by burning The sum of all the characteristics, tangible and intangible, that make something unique.

5. What is a place brand? The sum of all the characteristics, tangible and intangible, that make a development, city, state, or region unique.

6. Challenges in creating a single ED place brand The vast majority of “place branding” campaigns focus on marketing a community under one single banner. Political leaders and the private sector quickly embrace the concept of an overarching brand and in theory it makes a lot of sense. It doesn’t work for a simple reason: the needs of your different target audiences – potential visitors, corporate executives with site location responsibilities, individuals considering moving to your community – are completely different. In my experience, attempts to develop a single brand and market it under one banner yields mush. And mush doesn’t motivate anyone. Andy Levine, President, DCI

7. Why is branding important for economic development? Places leave the most lasting impressions, tangible or intangible, on human beings. And, human beings still make the decision where a company stays or relocates to. As the world becomes more competitive at a faster and faster rate, choices for companies get harder. As a result, for one site selector, a brand, or reputation, has become one of “Four Pillars of Community Competitiveness.” As companies work to locate where workforce is, how your brand attracts and retains workforce is that brand challenge of the next 25 years.

8. Why the debate is irrelevant Who owns “Educated workforce?”

9. Why the debate is irrelevant “Educated workforce” = Boston, San Francisco

10. Why the debate is irrelevant Who owns “Competitive Business Costs?”

11. Why the debate is irrelevant “Competitive Business Costs” = Alabama, Tennessee, Carolinas, Mumbai

12. Who owns “Business Friendly City?” Why the debate is irrelevant

13. Why the debate is irrelevant “Business Friendly City” = Charlotte, Nashville

14. How site selectors say they like to experience brands Familiarization tours Websites Direct relationships with ED Professionals Word of Mouth All supported with coordinated communications

15. Familiarization tours

16. Websites

17. Experience with ED Professionals

18. Word of Mouth

19. How to structure a successful branding effort Input from local stakeholders Interviews with national site selectors Positioning your community Creative concepting Execution Leveraging the brand

20. What challenges is your business facing? What are the key determinants your company used to locate here? How well does our city meet those criteria today? If I said that our city was [Insert message] how believable would that be? How appealing? When you describe the city to other businesses, what do you say? How well is our organization doing its job? Input from stakeholders

21. Test findings with site selectors What are the key attributes your clients are using to select a location? What cities do you think of when I mention a certain attribute? When you think of [insert city name] what comes to mind? If I said that our city was [Insert message] how believable would that be? How appealing? Have you ever considered [insert city name] as a location for any of your clients? When you have had a project that has considered [insert city name], what other cities did you also consider? How well is our organization doing its job?

22. Sample geographic coverage

23. Key things you will learn What attributes matter today? What cities/regions are my competition for owning that attribute nationally or globally? What are the perceptions of my city/region and my competition today? If I used certain messages, would it be appealing? Would it be believable? Is my city/region even on the list for consideration? What experience does the national market have with my organization?

24. Writing a positioning statement for ED For (target customers) Who need (primary need) Your city is a (known product category) That provides (key product attributes) Unlike (the alternative) Your city provides (key differentiators)

25. Three keys to outstanding positioning Relevant True Different

26. Concepting

27. Concepting

28. Concepting

29. Tucson, AZ positioning Cost effective, multilingual workforce Specific strengths in aerospace, optics, and light manufacturing Moderate taxes and business costs, Expedited permitting and incentive process through single economic development entity, with services of city, county, private sector, and incubator all under one roof.

30. Tucson concepting

31. Tucson concepting

32. Tucson concepting

33. Tucson web

34. Tucson email Monthly email newsletter to investors, prospects Track performance of those newsletters Post newsletters and news items to your website weekly or monthly

35. Tucson results Website visits up to 3.5 times the national average Prospecting activity up significantly Investment in the organization jumpstarted IEDC Award winning website

36. San Francisco positioning Companies here have access to world class talent Talent has unequaled access to university infrastructure, arts, dining, and other community amenities Companies have access to the largest pool of investment capital and support services in the world

37. San Francisco execution - print

38. San Francisco website

39. San Francisco email

40. San Francisco results Businesses can now articulate why they would brave the challenges of being in a center city Business now has a more visible “place to go” when talking with the city

41. Recap There should be no debate about ED branding – the brands exist and are being used every day. How to best execute the brand is then the issue Include your local stakeholders Learn what you don’t know from a national audience – they will change your campaign remarkably Concept across a wide swath – places are complex things Execute in ways that site selectors and prospects value – online and through events.

42. How to best leverage a brand Recruit for and conduct familiarization tours in a highly branded environment, from the invitation to the locations you select. Immerse site selectors in your positioning. Use a website to prove your positioning, with data, testimonials, sites and buildings, and video. Change the way you answer inquiries – Promise a response in a certain amount of time, personalize your responses, and use a consistent look, voice, and message in all of your communications. Create positive, consistent word of mouth by rolling out your message to your large business stakeholders. They will be your best salespeople.

43. The Atlas approach leverages opportunities in the site location process

44. Brand development services Brand research, local and nationally A local brand promise, and national message as well

45. Brand development (2) Industry specific website content Marketing collateral

46. Website design and development: Content, data centers, and more Flash to tell the story on the home page Links to social media such as blogs and twitter Outstanding media center and brochure generator

47. Search engine marketing programs Search engine marketing optimization that will draw traffic to the site Pay Per Click Campaigns that will extend the site to the most targeted audiences

48. Social media programs Social media strategies to engage locals and national audiences Blogging about policy wins, events, and new announcements Sharing relevant data now, every week, not monthly or less frequently

49. Email marketing programs Custom email marketing campaigns to opt in audiences, at least monthly Targeted lists of site location decision makers Targeted lists of engaged stakeholders that we need on the team

50. Atlas InSite (GIS) Property Database Business Database Data Maps Communities search Geospatial Report Generator Back end administration, integrated with content management

51. 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 LinkedIn Profile| LinkedIn Group | Twitter| Blog| Slidespace