Moderators: Coyote, nebugeater, Brad, Omaha Cowboy, BRoss
The three Iowa counties in the Omaha metropolitan area are teaming up to market their region to new businesses.
The counties - Pottawattamie, Mills and Harrison - will market themselves as the Greater Council Bluffs Region and will use the slogan "Iowa's Leading Edge."
On an annual basis, the sales and marketing objectives are expected to result in 2,000 contacts or impressions with targeted business decision makers, 100 qualified business inquiries, 40 sales appointments and 30 qualified business leads. That is expected to generate 10 "active" business prospects, three or four fact-finding visits and one business locating or expanding in the area.
Another goal is for each of the four partners to have a "shovel-ready" development site in their area within three years.
. . . "Regionalism is something the state of Iowa is pushing," said Mark Norman of the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce. "Rather than each county or community trying to market themselves, the state encourages them to work together to market as a whole. It gives you more product to market to your consumer. Instead of just marketing one industrial park, for example, we can market five industrial parks. You can also market different environments. Some companies prefer urban environments and some prefer a rural environment."
A successful example of regionalism, according to Norman, is the new Menard's manufacturing plant near Shelby. . .
It takes work and money to seek out prospective companies to locate here, and the Greater Council Bluffs Regional Economic Development Partnership has just received more money to continue its work. Gov. Chet Culver has just announced $480,000 for 10 organizations across Iowa to promote collaborative community marketing efforts.
Of that amount, the Council Bluffs organization that represents Pottawattamie, Harrison and Mills counties received $50,000. . . .
The local group has promoted the area at trade shows aimed at manufacturers, bioprocessing, and warehouse distribution companies. Money has also gone toward promotional advertisements in trade magazines, along with direct mail pieces, Norman said. They have made trips on their own to cities like St. Louis and Kansas City to seek out new businesses, plus other trips with state officials, he added.
"It has generated leads for the three-county area," Norman said. "Several of those leads we continue to work on. The majority of leads from the state are regional leads." . . .