Month: May 2024

While everyone can appreciate the advantages of generating positive press coverage for economic development successes and initiatives, we often are asked how small or medium-sized economic development organizations can leverage public relations.

First and foremost, it’s important to appreciate why economic development organizations of all kinds should seek out ways to increase visibility and credibility. Many community stakeholders don’t fully understand the range of services offered by EDOs. Many people don’t really understand what the term “economic development” means or what it looks like in practical ways. It’s critical for economic development professionals to convey the important work they do, whether it’s supporting local businesses, attracting new investment, or developing labor force programs to retain, attract, or reskill workers. This helps them achieve buy-in and cooperation from elected officials, business associations, municipal and county officials, as well as institutions like universities, arts centers or research consortiums that share similar goals.

Small or medium-sized economic development organizations don’t need to let their population size limit their online presence. Violet PR is one of a very small number of PR firms that specialize in economic development. The Violet PR team understands that small and midsized communities can find it daunting to effectively differentiate themselves from larger metros: it’s one of the reasons we consistently win PR industry awards for client work. A strategic communications plan is essential to help communicate objectives, programs, and successes along the way, and PR is an important and often overlooked part of this. With specialized and well-placed public relations support, these areas can spotlight new business attraction, workforce incentives, competitive real estate, or new attractions. Experienced PR professionals ensure communities can present their unique benefits to the world, encouraging even more growth.

The process begins with a customized consultation to help economic developers in these locations uncover news stories for different kinds of media outlets. Sometimes that means national and international press; other stories are a better fit for a regional or trade audience. All coverage can be leveraged as proof points about a region’s investment and talent attraction efforts and can help drive traffic to your website. Additionally, social media will amplify the reach and impact of press coverage among key stakeholders and business prospects.

Invest Buffalo Niagara

Violet PR was tasked with supporting Buffalo, New York’s resurgence through job and investment creation, growth and attraction. Using pitches and press releases, Violet PR leveraged Buffalo as a model for other cities looking to rejuvenate due to its revitalized downtown, innovative economy and strategic partnerships with local businesses. Though Buffalo is a mid-sized city and smaller market compared to New York City, our team secured coverage in news outlets including CNN, New York Times, Fast Company, Bond Buyer, American City & County and EcoWatch. This generated 237 million coverage views and 115.4 billion readership positioning Buffalo as a revitalized city and climate change refuge.

Greater Topeka Partnership

A state capital of less than 200,000 people, Topeka, Kansas tasked Violet PR with generating national media attention for their “Choose Topeka” program. This program was designed to attract professionals to the city, offering $15,000 for those who did so. The Violet PR team worked with our client to build a library of new photos and videos of Topeka and its lifestyle assets, including the Equality and Transgender Houses, Black Lives Matter murals, Topeka’s hip new restaurants, and luxury Cyrus Hotel. The campaign far exceeded our expectations: in its first year, we secured 73 media placements in outlets including Fast Company, Forbes, Travel + Leisure, Yahoo! News, Business Insider, SF Business Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, Bloomberg City Lab, CNN, Reuters, MarketWatch and dozens more. Over 4,500 people from 48 states and a dozen countries applied for the “Choose Topeka” program, and 40 professionals relocated – creating a $3.2M regional economic impact.

Newark Symphony Hall

Newark Symphony Hall (NSH) approached Violet PR as the organization felt it was being overlooked by the NJ media compared to other regional performing arts centers. Leveraging thought leadership and NSH’s deep history, the team developed language the position NSH as a strategic economic development tool in Newark. Violet PR secured over 300 news stories about NSH in outlets like Essence, Ebony, SiriusXM, American Songwriter, Newark Star Ledger, NJBIZ New Jersey Business, ROI-NJ and more. As a result of this media coverage, Governor Murphy included a $5 million budget for NSH, the first formally allocated state funds in more than two decades. Even as a small NJ arts center, NSH was able to make a splash state-wide and nation-wide to help improve their image and reputation.

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Violet PR is thrilled to share that we were three-time nominees at last week’s PRSA Anvil Awards! Our team secured the Silver Anvil for “Best Boutique Agency,” a Bronze Anvil for our media relations work with the Greater Topeka Partnership and a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation for our work with the Kansas City Area Development Council.

When you work in the field of economic development, it’s easy to forget that not everyone understands what you do. There are plenty of explanations floating around on Google – but they can be complicated and use terms that are confusing to the public.

At Violet PR, we’re experienced in taking big, complex concepts and turning them into stories everyone can appreciate. We decided to mark this year’s Economic Development Week (May 6-10) by inviting our team to explain commonly used terms in our field, using examples from our clients.

Economic Development

Economic development is all about strengthening a city, region or state’s economy by attracting businesses and jobs – as well as making improvements to a region’s amenities and transportation systems. New office or manufacturing projects create ripple effects by hiring workers who then spend money on local restaurants and shops. Economic development organizations work with governments, businesses, and other organizations to drive growth and improve regional economies.

In 2023, the Kansas City International Airport (MCI) underwent $1.5 billion in renovations that included several modern amenities and sustainable features. This massive airport renovation had to potential to establish Kansas City as a major travel and business destination if positioned correctly. The Violet PR team was able to build a three-month public relations strategy that earned coverage in top-tier media outlets like NBC News, Fast Company, Conde Nast Traveler, the Associated Press and more. Kansas City’s Airport overhaul is a prime example of the benefits of economic development public relations and how it can immensely boost an areas economy.

Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E)

Business Retention & Expansion is when local businesses are so successful they can expand their location or open up new stores, offices or factories. This means they can hire more people to serve more customers.

Business Attraction

Economic development organizations seek to attract national or international businesses looking to expand or relocate. Businesses grow and move for many reasons: some want to be closer to new markets or suppliers, others are looking for different kinds of skilled workers, and others might want to be closer to a port, rail line or major airport.

For example, Sugar Land is an up-and-coming city in Texas with particular benefits for those in the life science workforce. The Violet PR team worked to build press around the new businesses that are relocating to Sugar Land, as the life sciences work force is expected to grow by 33% by the year 2030. Emergency vehicle provider, Frazer, is expected to invest $4M to move to the Sugar Land area, and several buildings are being repurposed to make room for more life science businesses to relocate.

Foreign Direct Investment

Foreign Direct Investment, also known as FDI, is when companies move to a new country to expand or relocate their business. As with business attraction, they may have many reasons for choosing to make this move. Attracting investment from other countries is a key way to help our local and regional economies grow stronger.

Workforce Development

In order to convince businesses to either stay or move to an area, economic developers need to ensure they have the right mix of people there to fill new jobs. Workforce development programs focus on education, training, and reskilling programs with colleges, universities, trade and vocational schools to meet the developing needs of employers.

As the Georgia Department of Economic Development sought to establish itself as a hub for the EV manufacturing industry, Violet PR wanted to raise awareness around the immense business opportunity that existed in Georgia specifically. Our team specifically highlighted workforce training programs and innovation from academic institutions that was in place to directly support the EV industry in Georgia. Because of the specialized training and resources it’s advantageous for businesses in the EV industry to relocate to Georgia to maximize their success. Read more in our case study, “Building and Electric Vehicle Ecosystem.”

Talent Attraction

This sounds exactly like what it means – regions want to find workers with the right skills to fill open jobs. Regions and companies alike need a strategy to find the right people. As unemployment rates continue to remain at historic lows, many economic development organizations spend as many resources marketing to talent as they do to businesses.

Defining Incentives

Many U.S. regions use economic incentives to help attract businesses. Economic development incentives offer companies financial benefits in the form of tax breaks, tax credits, loans and development financing to attract or retain businesses. Many of these incentives are given out over a period of time to ensure companies meet certain hiring or building benchmarks.

With a need to attract more professionals to the capital city, the Greater Topeka Partnership started the “Choose Topeka” program which offered cash incentives to individuals willing to relocate to Topeka, Kansas. There was a particular focus on attracting professionals to help boost innovation and opportunity in the city. With support from the Violet PR team, “Choose Topeka” received 4,500 applications from over 48 states. This resulted in 40 professionals relocating, and a $3.2M regional economic impact.