The document discusses high performance economic development in Ohio, highlighting the need for effective strategies to encourage growth amidst tighter budgets. It presents data from over 230 communities, showcasing outcomes such as job growth and capital investment, while emphasizing the importance of direct engagement with companies. Strategies for implementing successful economic development practices are provided, including benchmarking, goal setting, and utilizing various marketing tactics.

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High Performance Economic
Development in Ohio

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We are Atlas
Advertising
And we do things like this…

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12. Screen shot of Jobs Ohio Promotion of Atlas developed GIS
mapping tool, easily view able on IPad devices

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That lead to things
like…

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All because…
we believe that done right,
economic development
makes a difference.

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Current Atlas Clients in Ohio

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Topics for Today
• Does economic development make a difference, to you?
• Defining High Performance Economic Development
• The results generated from 230+ communities
• Some simple conclusions
• Tactics from High Performing EDOs
• What does this mean for Ohio?
• Implementing High Performance Economic
Development in your community

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Feedback from you

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Defining High
Performance Economic
Development

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“Economic development organizations increasingly operate
under much tighter budgets at a time when the need for
economic development programming is becoming more crucial
to the continued vitality and competitiveness of a community.”
International Economic Development Council in “High Performing
Economic Development Organizations,” 2011

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What is “High Performance
Economic Development?”
• It is the first measurement of the
outcomes (Inquiries, jobs, capital
investment) that EDO’s create
on this scale.
• It proves the ways we make a
difference, and in some cases,
the ways we don’t.
• It can help drive your strategic
and marketing planning using
actual outcomes, instead of
activities, using national
benchmarks as your guide.

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The Framework:
Your Economic Development Brand

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What Do We Measure?

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The results, from 230 +
communities

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Highest Performers by
Market Size
Extra Large Market
EDO:
(Over 2,500,000
pop):
Large Market
EDO
(1,000,000 to
2,500,000 pop):
Large Mid- Market
EDO:
(250,000 to 1,000,000
pop):
Mid Market EDO:
(100,000 to 250,000
pop):
Small Region
(25,000 to 100,000
pop):
Small/Rural City or
County
(Under 25,000):

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Overall results by
community size
Population Yearly Web Visits
Conversations
Past 12 Months Jobs Last 12
Months
Capital
Investment Last
12 Months
Less than
25,000
5,974 37 214 $80,400,000
25,001 to
100,000
7,782 82 392 $76,810,000
100,001 to
250,000
16,339 99 790 $188,200,000
250,001 to
1,000,000
40,220 660 1,824 $312,380,000
1,000,000 to
2,500,000
76,619 316 3,665 $512,400,000
Over 2,500,000 50,631 129 6,579 $555,350,000
Average for
all Sizes
32,928 220 2,244 $287,590,000

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Results from communities with between
1 and 2.5 million in population
Location Yearly Web
Visits
Conversations
Past 12
Months
Jobs Last
12 Months
Capital
Investment Last
12 Months
Annual
Operating
Budget
Ohio Community 43,618
169 4,171 $875,700,000
Over
$2,500,000
Indiana
Community 25,572
107 2,329 $424,082,780
$500,000 to
$999,000
Tennessee
Community
338,388 400 14,415 $2,232,616,082
Over
$2,500,000
Virginia
Community
50,236 101 3134 $418,200,000
Over
$2,500,000
Florida
Community 67,440
621 4033 $43,600,000
Over
$2,500,000
Average for Above
Communities
105,051 280 5,616 $798,839,772

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Some simple conclusions
from our study thus far

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What worked 20 years ago is
not the same as what
works today.

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What hasn’t changed:
To make a difference, we have to serve
companies directly.
If we are not having conversations,
we are not making a difference.

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What has changed:
The ways we start conversations have
changed forever.

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There are lots of reasons not to
be successful. Communities that
are successful don’t let any of
those reasons slow them down.

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Tactics and Strategies
From One Top
Performer

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Nashville Challenges
• “Music City” brand
association with old-line
country music can paint
negative image for business
• Shortage of IT workforce
with 5+ years experience
limiting factor on tech-
company growth
• National attention to state
legislature and political
infighting around
immigration, incentives, etc.
damaging for state image

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Nashville Goals
• Annual dashboard of metrics include:
– Job growth – 12,500/year
– Per Capita Income growth – 1.6%
– Population growth – 1.5%/year
– Increase GDP – 2.3% /year
– Relocations & Expansions
• Number, Jobs, Cap Investment, Square Footage, Jobs
Retained
– Internal Metrics – prospect visits by industry sector; % ratio
of RFP’s to site visits, etc.
• Successful launch and implementation of IT recruitment project
including
– Number of tech jobs created, time to fill, etc.
• Legislative scorecard

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Nashville Tactics
• Get the tools
right..nashvilleareainfo.com;
RFP process and design;
slide decks
• Consistent marketing over a
period of years to target
audiences………site
selection consultants #1
– Music = Creativity is the
message
• Play to strengths rather than
weakness – e.g. health care
services versus biotech
• Policy work on state and
local level…

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Nashville Results
• Ranked number one for job
growth in Atlas Advertising 2012
survey of ED groups
• Top Ten Economic Development
Group in America, Site Selection
Magazine, 2011
• City named:
– #1 – Kiplinger’s “Future Job Creating Machines”,
2012
– #3 – “Future Boomtowns”, Forbes 2012
– #2 – Top Start Up Paradise, Young Entrepreneur
Council 2012
– #3 – Overall America’s Best Cities, Travel + Leisure
2012
– #2 – Most Cost-Attractive Business Location,
KPMG 2012
– Top 10 U.S. Culture Cities – Homes Dot Com, 2012

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The Corporate Relocation Story

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Nashville’s Learnings
• Embrace who you are
• Public-private sector
leadership is key
• Metrics matter
• Acknowledging weakness is
first step to tackling it
• People will fund what they
are passionate about
– Nashville Entrepreneur Center
Launch
– Tech Talent Campaign

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What does this mean for
Ohio?

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Perceptions of Communities in
Ohio and the Midwest

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Marketing as assisting
audiences compare
• In economic development,
we tend to stop at trying to
be relevant, and we forget
to be unique.
• What about your
community is truly
different from other
communities?

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Marketing is not just about attraction, it
is about creating a successful ecosystem.

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How Can You Implement High
Performing Marketing Programs in
Your Own Communities?

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Putting High Performance Into
Practice: The Steps
1. Benchmark your community – get a
baseline.
2. Cut through the clutter: Set goals and
Plan for Performance with your board
and stakeholders.
– Website visits
– Inquiries / Conversations
– Jobs Announced
– Capital Investment Announced
3. Implement the basics, plus additional
tactics that your organization can
support.
4. Adjust to improve your execution.
5. Report out and celebrate your results.

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Plan for Performance.
1. Get buy in from your leadership
and stakeholders on a few key goals.
Push hard to track the following:
a. Awareness: Website visits
b. Conversations / inquiry
c. Jobs Announced
d. Capital Investment Announced
2. Set a marketing plan that drives
those goals.

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Implement the basic tools to manage,
measure, and produce results.
1. Develop a business brand that is relevant, true, and differentiated
2. Economic development website, with a content management system to
enable you to make changes
3. A base of content about your area and your organization
4. A customer relationship management system (or Excel spreadsheet to
track inquiries and results)
5. Email marketing management tools, such as Exact Target, Constant
Contact
6. Social media management tools, such as HootSuite, Tweet Deck, etc.
7. Proposal templates and delivery systems (email, online)
8. PowerPoint template for community and company presentations

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Basics +1: Additional tactics that drive
awareness and traffic to your website.
Typical spending Total
conversations/
inquiries
Typical cost per
conversation
Slideshare promotion $2,000 25 $80
LinkedIn promotion $1,000 8 $125
Search engine
marketing
$6,000 35 $171
Display advertising $2,000 10 $200
Email marketing $5,000 25 $200
Facebook promotion $1,000 3 $388
Twitter promotion $2,000 3 $776
Direct mail $5,000 5 $970
YouTube promotion $10,000 5 $1,940
Print advertising $10,000 5 $1,940
Earned media/Media
placement
$20,000 10 $2,000
Total $64,000 134 $478

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Basics +2: Additional tactics that
convert website visits to conversations.
Typical spending Total
conversations/
inquiries
Typical cost per
conversation
GIS systems $5,000 97 $52
Blogs/community
generated content
$4,000 25 $160
Virtual
familiarization
tours
$10,000 12 $833
Total $19,000 134 $142

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Basics +3: Additional tactics that bypass
the website and go straight to conversations.
Typical spending Total
conversations/
inquiries
Typical cost per
conversation
Lead generation $20,000 10 $2,000
Trade missions $10,000 2 $4,850
Trade shows
/conferences
$10,000 2 $4,850
Cold calling $10,000 2 $4,850
State or Regional
Partnering
$5,000 1 $4,850
Familiarization
tours
$50,000 4 $12,500
Total $105,000 21 $4,949

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Celebrate your success!

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Get the report:
http://www.slideshare.net/wright040
5/atlas-high-performance-economic-
development-white-paper
Take the survey to
participate:
http://atlas-
advertising.com/Community-
Benchmarking-Study.aspx
Measure Something

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Questions

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Thank you!
Ben Wright
t: 303.292.3300 x 210
benw@atlas-advertising.com
Contact Information:
1128 Grant Street
Denver, CO 80203
www.Atlas-Advertising.com
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