Document designed to encourage businesses to open up shop
locally
A colorful, 20-page brochure produced by the county’s Economic
Development Corporation is viewed as the centerpiece of a campaign
designed to attract more businesses and investment locally.
The $25,000 project, primarily funded by federal stimulus money,
promotes the county’s history, climate, recreational offerings and
opportunities for growth through large photos, statistics and
”
This is my county
”
quotes from local citizens.
Document designed to encourage businesses to open up shop locally
A colorful, 20-page brochure produced by the county’s Economic Development Corporation is viewed as the centerpiece of a campaign designed to attract more businesses and investment locally.
The $25,000 project, primarily funded by federal stimulus money, promotes the county’s history, climate, recreational offerings and opportunities for growth through large photos, statistics and “This is my county” quotes from local citizens.
“The EDC noticed that there was a marketing issue with people not understanding what our community is all about,” said its director, Nancy Martin. “People didn’t have an awareness of San Benito County. It is a function of economic development to market the county and its cities. We developed this as our first step.”
The plan is not to hand out the 10-and-a-half by 10-and-a-half-inch brochure to locals, Martin said, but to use it as an “outreach piece to bring businesses and industry into our county. City and county agencies, such as the Hollister Redevelopment Agency, will be given copies of the brochure.
“To my knowledge, it’s the first ever for this county,” she said, noting that she will bring copies of the brochure to conferences and “other types of summits that investors and businesses attend.”
The marketing effort also includes a three-minute video at www.sanbenitonow.com that Martin said “gives more depth and texture to the community.” The brochure also lists a website for the EDC – www.edcsanbenito.org – but as of earlier this week that page listed only the message “This Web site is coming soon.”
“Bottom line, we’re in the business of creating wealth, drawing in investment and providing resources that will benefit our residents and businesses alike to enhance the quality of life and access to opportunity,” she said.
It took approximately six months to produce the brochure, on which the EDC partnered with the county’s workforce investment board and the San Benito County One-Stop Career Center.
“We’re connecting the dots,” Martin said. “There are a lot of different aspects to our county and its communities. We need to highlight the depth and breadth of them.”
The brochure discusses the county’s cattle ranching and agricultural heritage while highlighting the county’s existing business parks that house bio-technology and research firms. Downtown Hollister, safety, recreation, culture and the opportunity for growth are also mentioned.
“We are portraying it as a safe and wonderful community in which to live, work and play,” Martin said. “We point out the great potential and many opportunities we have for growth.”
Having done research, photography and videography for the project, Martin said the EDC now plans to leverage that material to create more marketing pieces, both in print and online.
“We’d like to have the brochure last for a couple of years and in between that come out with marketing pieces that complement it and spin off of this so we can address certain opportunities and enhance our brand,” she said.
