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Economic development groups work to better market Iowa [The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa]
[October 29, 2014]

Economic development groups work to better market Iowa [The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa]


(Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 29--CEDAR RAPIDS -- Iowa has a bit of an identity crisis.

But it isn't that people who are unfamiliar with our state hold incorrect assumptions about it. It's that they hold no assumptions at all.

"We're absent in a lot of people's minds," admitted Tina Hoffman, the director of communications and marketing for the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA).

So state and local economic development organizations are working to the state's reputation a makeover -- launching marketing and social media campaigns as well as developing a plan to best showcase the state during the 2016 caucuses.



Promoting a business climate The Economic Development Authority has beefed up advertising in recent years to help bring Iowa more to the tops of business executives and site selectors' minds, Hoffman said.

That way, when it's time for a company to relocate or expand, company officials have accurate and up-to-date information.


"Site selectors, especially, are a small group that help lots of companies make decisions," Hoffman added. "They look at the numbers and find reasons to take you off the list. We don't want to be taken off the list." The IEDA has advertised on NPR, the Wall Street Journal and a host of niche publications that go out to decision-makers in targeted industry groups, including advanced manufacturing, bio sciences and information technology.

It also participates in direct marketing, sending out Magic 8 Ball toys with Iowa-specific answers and copies of Forbes Magazine with an Iowa-specific cover.

But Hoffman added that the state doesn't know how well these campaigns work because of the nature of the business.

"We're not selling widgets or something small," she said. "These are long-term decisions. It depends on a lot of things -- company timelines, market conditions. We need to build our perception." Gearing up for 2016 The IEDA also is partnering with the Travel Iowa, the state's tourism agency, the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Des Moines Partnership, an economic development agency, to better market Iowa and the Des Moines metropolitan area during the 2016 caucuses.

The groups started meeting about eight months ago to discuss plans and initiatives, said Tiffany Tauscheck, vice president of marketing and development for the convention and visitors bureau.

"We're still outlining our plan," she said, adding there will be a website to help direct media.

The idea to better show off Iowa came about after the 2012 caucuses, when the region played host to 1,500 members of the media, Tauscheck said.

"We knew this was a huge opportunity to showcase our city," she said. "We wanted the image to be accurate. Agriculture is certainly important to us, but there's so much more here." The convention and visitors bureau went through a rebranding several years ago, Tauscheck noted, and was able to use research from its rebranding to help shape the caucus campaign.

"Individuals who haven't been here don't have a strong view of us -- they see us as vanilla, boring, not vibrant," she said. "We want them to see us as hip, edgy, bold and fun. So we went through the process to help further that message." Bragging Rights Economic development groups also are leveraging third-party rankings, which have dubbed cities across the state as the best place to live, to start a family or to be a young professional.

That's one thing the Iowa City Area Development Group has done during its Iowa Brag campaign. The economic development group is posting tongue-and-cheek facts and rankings on social media sites such as Twitter and Tumblr.

"It's all about building or reshaping that reputation," said Eric Hanson, ICAD Group communications director.

Since its launch in January during the Outback Bowl, the initiative has gained more than 2,000 Twitter followers in 32 states and has made about 1.2 million impressions, a metric used to measure reach, Hanson said.

"Anything that has to do with famous people generally does pretty well," Hanson said. "Or things that show how smart we are, like graduation rates, and milestones -- apparently the Rice Krispie treat was invented in Ames." The campaign is important, Hanson said, because it helps with both work force retention and recruitment.

"It doesn't matter how many companies you get to come here if you don't have the right workers and can't keep them here," he said.

___ (c)2014 The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Visit The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) at thegazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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