Economic development print advertising case study for the state of Mississippi.
Overview
So you’re a Fortune 500 exec, looking to get your company in on the ground floor in the next great business boom. Hearkening back to that old real estate saw, you’re seeking your competitive advantage in “location, location, location.” And then it hits you: Mississippi.
As the Mississippi DECD can attest, we love a challenge. We were asked to convince the corporate jet set that Ole Miss was the place for any company that “needs it all” — communications and transportation infrastructure, relaxed regulatory requirements, affordable labor, low operating costs and cooperative public officers. Could they be sold on the notion that Mississippi was not only a cost-effective place to be, but that the DECD would do whatever it takes to make them happy?
Our Thinking
Frankly, selling Mississippi to America’s corporate elite was a tall order. And the only way to live up to it was to stare it straight in the face. So for inspiration, we looked to the very tallest orders our American vernacular could provide
Our Solution
Click on images to view larger Mississippi print ads
The Results
Our efforts also netted us: six of the 20 awards given by the AECD at their national show for Economic Development Advertising; won four “Best of Class” and one “Superior” Awards at the Southern Economic Development Council annual conference (more awards than any of 16 other states competing); and won “Best Read Ad” in the December 1998, year-end, double-issue investment guide of Fortune Magazine (Fortune’s biggest and best seller of the year), in which it was reported that 52% of those surveyed said they noticed the ad and 39% had read it in its entirety.
Read the featured news article covering our efforts.
Client: Mississippi Department of Economic and Community Development
Industry: Economic Development, Tourism
