Ad campaign beckons: Create jobs in North Carolina

WINSTON-SALEM -- North Carolina officials next month will step up efforts to attract new businesses and jobs to the state.

Ads targeting executives who make decisions about corporate expansions will soon begin running in mainstream and niche publications.

The state will wrap issues of Forbes magazines -- delivered to about 1,000 senior executives -- with a supplement touting North Carolina's universities and workplace training programs. A scaled-down version of the ad will run in trade publications such as Site Selection magazine that are often read by location consultants.

"We discovered long ago that better education means better jobs," the ad reads. "We understand that better students make better employees, and better employees make better business."

The goal is to snag the attention of executives who might know North Carolina only as a place to golf or vacation. The effort shows just how competitive the business of economic development has become, as states jockey for billions of dollars in new investment.

North Carolina must have "well-targeted media" to make "direct contact with decision makers," Jim Fain, secretary of the state Department of Commerce, said Thursday.

Indeed, the ads are part of a broader strategy to spread the word about North Carolina's business climate. The Commerce Department is redesigning its Web site and has employed a public relations firm to help the state get more media coverage around the world.

Stories about the state have appeared in China, Germany and France, Fain told the N.C. Economic Development Board, which advises the governor on such matters. The group met in Winston-Salem on Thursday to discuss ways to recruit businesses and retain existing ones.

The stepped-up marketing comes after a consultant recommended in 2005 that the state more aggressively promote itself as a business destination. The General Assembly set aside $1 million to pay for such efforts this year.

The ad campaign was designed by Trone, a marketing company based in High Point.

"What we tried to do is develop a campaign with a lot of legs and a good shelf life," said Trone managing partner Monty Hagler.

About six other ads are planned; they will run in various media throughout the year.