City’s Department of Economic & Community Development Launches New Website, Video Series and Marketing Collateral

The City’s Department of Economic & Community Development (ECD) has launched a new website that includes a new video series and additional marketing materials. The new website, YesRichmondVA.com will continue to undergo additional development and beginning January 2013, will replace the current ECD website at RichmondGov.com.

“We are so pleased to roll out this new set of tools and marketing pieces that showcase the city’s many assets as well as the business and community leaders that support, promote and make Richmond a tier one city each and every day,” stated Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “The approach we are taking is designed to show the many strengths of the city and the diversity of opportunities that can be found here.”

In the fall of 2011, ECD began research and development on the marketing initiative, hiring economic development marketing firm Atlas Advertising and local creative professionals Terry Stroud from In Your Ear, Tim Dowdle from Dreams Factory and Daphne Reid from New Millennium Studios to spearhead the process. The team met with community members, interviewed national site selectors and business executives and based on the results from the interviews, developed a marketing plan for the City’s economic development program.

Lee Downey, Director of Economic & Community Development said, “Based on the research from across the country, we knew it was vitally important to differentiate ourselves, and name our strongest assets in just a few words. Being the capital of one of the best states in the country to do business is a significant fact. Adapting that statement to describe Richmond as creative, vibrant, or any of the other words that aptly describe the city was critical. So our website, videos and marketing pieces do that with the tagline, Richmond: Virginia’s ___ Capital, filling in that blank with the word that drives the story we want to tell.”

The City also worked with additional creative firms; The Branching, Studio 108, videographer Jason Parks and photographer Henry Stern to capture Richmond in action. Tim Dowdle of Dreams Factory stated, “A picture – and in this era – a video – is worth a thousand words.” Terry Stroud adds, “In four minutes or less, each of these five videos makes the case for why businesses should locate in the city of Richmond.”

The City partnered with Dominion to shoot interviews with local community and business leaders. Project Manager Justine Roberts noted, “Interviewing members of the Richmond community and hearing the unscripted excitement the interviewees have for the city of Richmond was very inspiring and it’s important to take what they said to a national audience. I think businesses interested in Richmond value that – the testimonials from real people who chose to locate here.”