Jan. 14, 2005: “Spotlight on Our
Economy” Monthly Column for The
Palladium-Times
By L. Michael Treadwell, CEcD, Executive Director of Operation
Oswego County
Marketing Supports Economic Development
An excellent quality of life, a productive
and experienced workforce, abundant energy production, an extensive
transportation infrastructure, and a thriving and diverse economy
is what makes Oswego County one of the premier places to live and
work and conduct business in New York State.
The primary goal of Operation Oswego County’s
(OOC) marketing program is to bring attention to these resources
and assets of our county that would offer value to a potential business
customer.
In order to remain visible to corporate real
estate decision makers to recruit new businesses and add new and
better job opportunities, OOC aggressively promotes Oswego County’s
economic development opportunities through various national, international
and regional trade publications, by participating in exhibitions
and industry-specific tradeshows, by directly targeting prospects
and by utilizing the Internet.
OOC promotes Oswego County on a global scale
via various ads in trade publications that are specifically targeted
to site selection decision makers and corporate real estate executives.
These include Business Facilities, Area Development, Site Selection,
Expansion Management and Corporate Real Estate Leader. Our ads promote
assets such as the Fulton and Oswego Empire Zones, the Lake Ontario
and Oswego County Industrial Parks, our county workforce and quality
of life in Oswego County. Direct e-mail links to OOC’s website
are also listed on the websites of these trade publications.
Last year, OOC launched its redesigned website
www.oswegocounty.org. Because of real time accessibility to comprehensive
information about economic assets and incentive programs, publications,
current news and contact information, we consider our website to
be one of our strongest and most effective marketing tools. The
site also offers a listing of available commercial property, demographic
information, community links and a printable map of Oswego County.
OOC also promotes existing available commercial
property throughout Oswego County by participating in several Internet
marketing programs.
FastFacility (www.fastfacility.com)
is an easy-to-use, website that features a database of thousands
of buildings and sites worldwide and allows prospects to quickly
and efficiently find a building or site that they need free of charge.
Last year, the site began an aggressive advertising campaign on
CNN and also employs a direct marketing program which targets more
than 150,000 corporate decision makers. If prospects want to obtain
further details and/or pricing on a specific building or site, they
are required to contact the economic developer named on that listing
via direct e-mail link.
NYSiteFinder (www.nylovesbiz.com/NY_SiteFinder/default.asp)
is a free database of available buildings and sites in New York
State developed by Empire State Development to facilitate the site
selection process. The site offers prospects the opportunity to
customize their search to receive comprehensive building or site
specification information such as square footage, acreage, infrastructure,
and transportation access.
BusinessFacilities.com
is the online version of Business Facilities magazine which targets
more than 40,000 corporate executives responsible for the expansion
or relocation of their companies. Advertising in the magazine entitles
OOC to list several available properties on the website’s
“available real estate” section. Immediate access to
OOC is provided through a direct e-mail link.
In partnership with Niagara Mohawk, OOC also
markets available property through its membership in National Association
of Manufacturers (NAM) Site Selection Network which provides NAM’s
15,000 members with a direct e-mail link to OOC to evaluate sites
and facilities that meet their immediate expansion needs.
Another essential component of OOC’s
marketing program is to directly solicit industry such as food processing,
plastics, machinery manufacturers, health care and other light manufacturing
operations by utilizing our subscription to Site Selector Database,
contact information for over 1,900 site selection consultants, and
by participating in exhibitions and industry-specific trade shows.
At the regional level, OOC promotes small
business development resources such as SBA and IDA financing, Micro-Enterprise
Program training and OOC’s small business incubator facilities
in Phoenix and Oswego through regional advertising, press releases,
business outreach and via OOC’s website.
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