THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506230532
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
If gestures are significant, this one is huge.
Even if the monetary amount isn't.
For the first time ever, the five South Hampton Roads cities will contribute to a standing regional marketing and advertising fund.
The $140,000 fund - dedicated to regional advertising and promotion of economic development - is scheduled to start July 1, said Hans Gant, president of Forward Hampton Roads.
Forward Hampton Roads, the economic development arm of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce that represents the five Southside cities, will distribute the money, but only with approval from the cities' economic development directors, Gant said.
``With this fund, we're collectively pooling some advertising dollars to market the region on a national and international basis,'' he said.
The cities had contributed to advertisements and promotions on a project-by-project basis, said Ann Baldwin, Forward Hampton Roads director of research.
The cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach contributed $40,000 each to the regional marketing budget. Portsmouth and Suffolk, which have smaller populations, chipped in $10,000 each.
Most people acknowledge that the fund's size is inadequate for effective advertising.
Other regional advertising budgets, for instance, exceed $1 million. The Virginia Waterfront campaign, a regional advertising endeavor touting the cities of Williamsburg, Virginia Beach and Norfolk as a tourist destination, has an annual budget of $3 million. In its second year, Virginia Waterfront is financed solely by the city of Norfolk.
``No, the fund isn't big enough,'' said Tom Waller, Suffolk economic development director. ``In trying to compete with all the marketing that is being done globally, major amounts of money need to be expended. We hope by taking this approach we can pool our resources and we'll get more exposure for the collective effort.''
For now, the amount of the regional effort isn't as important as the gesture itself, economic development officials said.
``I think collectively to market the region is the way we've wanted to go for a long time,'' said Robert B. Smithwick, Norfolk's development director. ``It makes good sense.''
KEYWORDS: TOURISM HAMPTON ROADS by CNB