THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 29, 1995 TAG: 9505270319
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: Ted Evanoff
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Long regarded as a second-tier urban area below Atlanta and Charlotte, Hampton Roads polished its image in May.
Several events spotlighted the region. By some estimates, this was the most favorable national publicity ever focused on this sprawl of seven sizeable cities and 1.5 million people.
You can dismiss it as only shameless self promotion, though there's another side to attracting business.
``As we get more national companies, wages will go up and not only that, but the skill requirements will go up,'' said Ann J. Baldwin, research director at Forward Hampton Roads, the economic development arm of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.
In case you missed it, Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. corporation with world sales of $128 billion in '94, put on its annual shareholders' meeting in Norfolk.
Inc., a national business magazine catering to entrepreneurs, brought its Inc. 500 convention to Norfolk, hosting more than 300 executives of robust small companies.
The Business Council, a conference of America's corporate chieftains, met in Williamsburg for its regular economic forecasting session. Those who happened to peruse the May issue of Fortune could find a Virginia advertising section that included a plug for Hampton Roads.
And Norfolk last week was the theme for the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune. The show set up shop on the aircraft carrier Eisenhower at the Norfolk Naval Base and daily televised scenes of the region's tourist attractions.
All in all, for the image builders trying to spread the notion there's more on the lower Chesapeake Bay than sand and ships, May was a fortunate month.
``It's what the region needs,'' Baldwin said. ``More exposure and identity.''
Recently, she assessed the publicity. Naturally she was enthusiastic; reflective, too.
``People don't understand or appreciate the region until they are actually here,'' Baldwin said. ``We're a second-tier city without one highly visible city. We're cities of equal stature and we don't have the money to put behind the marketing like Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Jacksonville have been doing.''
While the various cities of Hampton Roads operate economic development campaigns, spending an estimated $8 million each year in total, the sum spent on promoting the region as a whole is considerably less. Hampton Roads ranks 28th in size among U.S. metro areas, but about $140,000 is available this year for marketing by Forward Hampton Roads.
``Because we don't have a big budget, we haven't advertised much for the last four or five years,'' Baldwin said. That changed a bit this year when the agency set aside $140,000 for marketing, including the Fortune ad. Baldwin said the ad drew about 200 inquiries.
The Inc. 500 convention was a collaboration. Forward Hampton Roads helped with the session, although both Inc. magazine and the Wheel of Fortune show were initially contacted by the Norfolk Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Weeks before the convention, Gov. George Allen twice sent invitations to executives at the 500 small companies. Forward Hampton Roads mailed information packets, and intends to follow up with another packet and a video promoting the region.
Events staged for the Inc. 500 conference cost about $200,000, money Baldwin considers well spent. Not only did the convention, which drew about 1,200 people, inject an estimated $1 million into the economy, but the cities and Forward Hampton Roads ensured the business executives were impressed.
During the session, Forward Hampton Roads handed out white golf shirts with a colorful logo displaying Virginia's outline beside the phrase ``Inc. 500 1995 Conference.''
Special buses drove to the Botanical Gardens in Norfolk, the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Colonial Williamsburg, the Lillian Vernon Corp. distribution center in Virginia Beach, and the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach. High technology tours included the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton.
Intended partly to give families a break from the convention, the buses carried almost as many men as women, which Baldwin said showed the executives themselves took in the sights.
``What I heard was amazement,'' Baldwin said. ``I think when they got here they were surprised at how nice the area was. They had no idea the area was like this. They were enthralled.'' by CNB