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Washington State finally gets around to marketing

National business magazines often feature special advertising spreads touting various states or regions as the ideal place to move the company headquarters or locate that next big factory or research lab.

One state, however, has been notable for its recent absence in the parade of such advertising celebrations — our own.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/182601_theinsider19.html

That will change with the arrival of the July 26 edition of Fortune on newsstands (with Cisco System’s John Chambers on the cover). The magazine includes a five-page advertising section headlined "Innovation at Work." The subhead reads, "Washington state has it all: a wide range of industries, a skilled work force and economic incentives that nurture business mavericks."

Michelle Zahrly, communications director for the Department of Community, Trade andEconomic Development, says the state didn’t have to shell out any money for the promotional spread. Instead it was paid for with ad space purchased by Starbucks, Boeing and Paccar. Fortune contacted the state last fall about the section, sent a staffer out and "I took her around the state," Zahrly says.

The story mentions Gov. Gary Locke, the 7E7, agriculture, biotech, Vancouver and the Tri-Cities, includes the department’s Web site. While it’s "not always a perfect science" on measuring the response from such an hand, Zahrly says the state figures it’s one more way to reach decision-makers.

Zahrly acknowledges that the state hasn’t been a big player in the self-advertising game. "We do our best with a limited budget," she says. "We’re pretty pleased by the fact they contacted us; at least we’re on the radar screen."

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