A trailblazing campaign to bolster NC’s economic POWER

From the Desk of Mike Rusher, President of The Results Company 

—————————————————————————————————–

Welcome back this Saturday morning.

We all know about North Carolina’s economic development hot streak. But far less attention is paid to the multi-million dollar marketing initiative that’s been strategically targeting major employers around the country for the past several years.

The initiative is called “All in NC,” led by the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC).

This is the story of how it came to be.

***
In 2018, a small group of North Carolina business leaders gathered together for an annual conference.

By that time, the state legislature’s pro-business reforms were in full bloom. The tax code overhaul closed inefficient loopholes and reduced personal and corporate income tax rates, and the legislature had tightened the screws on agency regulatory actions. A strong case began to emerge for North Carolina’s ascent to the upper echelon of the country’s best states for business.

Even in 2018, though, North Carolina still suffered reputational fallout from the 2016 HB2 battle. Worse, despite the known reputational impact, some politicians developed a habit of dredging up the closed issue in order to score political points – (namely, our state’s CEO puzzlingly bashed the legislature in a recruitment effort for Amazon … shockingly, it didn’t work). 

The problem, as it existed at that time was the answer to the question, “what comes to mind when you think of doing business in North Carolina?” And the worthwhile quest to place our business assets at the forefront of the minds of employer and talent pools would bring new industries and new jobs to our state. 

Thinking through this, the gathered business leaders assessed the landscape – knowing that North Carolina’s attractive business environment, due to the hard work of policymakers, was second to none. They opined and explored how the state might better communicate its pro-business bona fides to escape the HB2 hangover. They emerged from the conference with a plan for a plan.

The leaders used their own resources to put together the skeleton of a branded national economic development marketing push. They knew, of course, that a properly executed campaign would require much more funding than that. Competitor states like Georgia, Texas, and Florida were spending tens of millions of dollars to bill themselves as top spots for employers. Though North Carolina was at least as attractive in terms of pro-business policies, the state wouldn’t bear the full fruit of its reforms without a concerted effort to tell business decision makers in other parts of the country about them.

Thanks to some forward thinking lawmakers, the idea and the initial plan was adopted and incorporated into a fairly new quasi-governmental organization, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. The public-private partnership nonprofit exists to support North Carolina’s statewide economic development efforts, so it seemed a natural fit.

From there, the business community rallied to secure the initial funding from the General Assembly to further develop the nationwide branding campaign. The EDPNC team was to return with a fully-baked plan to present to legislators, who would then make the final decision on whether to allocate state funding for the push. In developing that plan, researchers spoke to hundreds of stakeholders around the country, including corporate executives and site selection consultants, Business NC reported in 2021.

The marketing campaign and the rationale behind it were compelling. The state budget that became law in November of 2021 launched a fully funded three year program for a proper national branding effort. North Carolina had and has incredible business assets, and business leaders across the country were about to become educated.  

The result is “All in NC,” a full-scale marketing initiative that targets national employers. All in NC features “highly targeted, creative and memorable messaging that brings to life assets including the state’s natural beauty, high quality of life, mix of urban and rural settings, affordability, business-friendly tax climate, educational ecosystem, spirit of innovation, and more,” an EDPNC press release announced in 2021.

The campaign showcases the most convincing arguments for businesses to relocate to North Carolina, from its climate – business and natural – to its tax environment. The campaign’s landing page boasts in bold colors that North Carolina is

• No. 1 lowest corporate income tax in the United States;
• No. 1 state for workforce;
• Top 10 state for starting a new business; and
• Top 5 fastest-growing state in the country.

And now, the campaign features the state’s leading CEOs in interview style ads discussing why North Carolina is the place to be. 

Surely an advertising campaign on its own is not responsible for all of the state’s success. But casting for big fish in the ultra-competitive economic development market requires both a persuasive business case and a properly executed campaign to make that case.

State legislators provided the first with more than a decade of pro-business policies, and EDPNC’s All in NC campaign provides the second.

Beginning this spring, the legislature will have the opportunity to review the successful All in NC campaign and decide whether to continue it. We hope they will. That it all started with an informal conversation among civic-minded business leaders shows just how impactful a vision, paired with the drive to execute, can truly be.