2020 Economic Development Week is the brainchild of former Board Chair, Barry Matherly, International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Conceived in 2016, IEDC states the purpose of Economic Development Week is to “increase awareness of local programs that create jobs, advance career development opportunities and increase the quality of life in communities everywhere.” More than 450 campaigns have been created throughout the U.S. and Canada in the past four years, generating millions of impressions, hundreds of news stories, blog entries, videos, events and other marketing endeavors.
Economic Development Week is May 4-9, 2020. This year’s events happen to fall in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, quarantines, social distancing practices, and the Great Lockdown. So how have economic development organizations chosen to celebrate the importance of economic development this year? The ED Advisor takes a look at national, international, state, and regional activities from the Arizona perspective.
National / International
International Economic Development Council
IEDC is offering free webinars and salon discussions throughout the week (register at iedconline.org/EDW). Here is the lineup on their calendar:
May 4: “How to Fund Your Organization Through the Pandemic and Beyond” (Webinar)
May 4: “Partnerships on a Regional Level” (Salon Discussion)
May 5: “Reinforce Your Small Businesses and Commercial Districts” (Webinar)
May 5: “Economic Development on a State / Provincial Level (Salon Discussion)
May 6: “Rethinking BR&E in the COVID-19 Era” (Webinar)
May 6: “Workforce Engagement” (Salon Discussion)
May 7: “#EconDev Talks: Answers (I’m an Economic Developer, Ask Me Anything)
May 7: “Emerging Entities in Economic Development” (Salon Discussion)
Available for download is the 2020 Economic Development Week Toolkit that offers suggestions on how to build hype in community — letters to the editor of newspapers, press release templates, sample artwork and social media posts — among other ideas.
Arizona
Arizona Association for Economic Development
The Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED) has prepared their own 2020 Economic Development Week Toolkit, which includes mini-interviews, webinars, resources, and features Arizona communities on their social media channels and website. This year’s theme is “Resilient Arizona Communities.” First mini-interviews out of the chute feature Mignonne D. Hollis, Executive Director, Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation; and John Heiney, Head of Communications, Economic Development, and Tourism, City of Prescott. Other mini-interviews and a webinar are scheduled later in the week.
The Greater Phoenix In Business article “Join Economic Development Week, May 4-9” shares information about AAED’s 2020 Economic Development Week initiatives.
Metro Phoenix
Greater Phoenix Economic Council
The Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) kicked off Economic Development Week with a video on their Facebook page that features GPEC President, Chris Camacho. Other Facebook posts, such as “What is Economic Development?” helps readers learn more about economic development in Greater Phoenix. GPEC’s posts are linked to the #EconDevWeek, #EDW2020, #GreaterPHX, and #GreaterPHXTogether landing pages.
Competing Campaigns
There are plenty of opportunities for other state, regional and local economic development organizations in Arizona to leverage Economic Development Week promotions in future years. Now is the time to incorporate EDW activities in annual marketing strategies for FY 2020-2021. When formulating plans, be mindful of competing campaigns that are looking to share the public relations spotlight.
National Community Development Week
National Community Development Week is April 13-17, 2020. It precedes 2020 Economic Development Week by less than one month. Created in 1986, National Community Development Week provides an opportunity to highlight the impact of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships programs in a week long celebration with Congress, program partners, program participants, and the public. The National Community Development Association published the NCDW Toolkit to help communities with the planning and implementation of their National CD Week activities. When promoting community and economic development, it is important to recognize and understand the strategic relationship between these distinct but interrelated and interdependent roles.
National Travel and Tourism Week
National Travel and Tourism Week is May 3-9, 2020. It celebrates the contributions of the U.S. travel industry during Economic Development Week. Travel and tourism professionals publicize how their businesses create jobs, bring new money into the region, and diversify the local economic base. Like similar campaigns, the U.S. Travel Association provides a NTTW Tool Kit, social media graphics, LinkedIn cover photos, talking points and other resources.
Two years ago, Mayor Jenn Daniels proclaimed May 12-18, 2018, Economic Development and Travel and Tourism Week in Gilbert, Arizona. National Economic Development Week, hosted by IEDC, and National and Travel and Tourism Week, hosted by the U.S. Travel Association, were promoting separate campaigns that aimed to celebrate the value that each respective line of service adds to communities around the world. The Gilbert Office of Economic Development saw the value of combining forces and spoke to the ability of both service lines to enhance the quality of life for residents, create jobs and economic opportunity, and enhance wealth in their community. This is a prime example of how to merge the interests of economic development, travel and tourism stakeholders.
For creative marketing, competitive positioning is about how you’ll “differentiate” your campaign and create value for your constituents. At the same time, competing campaigns can serve as a dynamic benchmarking tool that allows your organization to shine, develop win-win partnerships, or at the very least, utilize reverse engineering tactics to improve your marketing strategy.
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