Boise Valley brand name in the works – Goal is to bring more business to Treasure Valley

Coming soon: a brand name for the Treasure Valley.

Just as the phrase Silicon Valley — the name bestowed on a cluster of Bay Area communities — evokes a sense of high-powered high-tech companies, branding the Treasure Valley region could help attract businesses to the region.

Julie Howard
The Idaho Statesman

But instead of centering on one type of industry, the Boise Metro Economic Development Council plans to market the region as a place where entrepreneurs flourish.

The marketing campaign and search for a brand name will be at the center of a new effort by the council to pool resources of six cities and two counties in the Treasure Valley. Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Caldwell and Kuna, along with Ada and Canyon counties, will be part of the effort to market the area as the Boise-Nampa metropolitan area.

“We can´t be complacent about economic development in the Treasure Valley,” said Nick Miller, chairman of the council, at that group´s regular meeting on Friday where the marketing effort was announced. “We´re still the underdog. We´re still small.”

Todd Bunderson, director of finance and economic development for the city of Nampa, said the group hopes to hire a publicist and an advertising agency next year to come up with a marketing campaign. Bunderson said no funds have been pooled yet, and no amount has been budgeted for the project.

“For years, economic developers have done showy, feel-good ads that didn´t say anything about business opportunities in an area,” said Bunderson.

“Today´s businesses and site selectors want specific information, and we want to have that for them.”

Bunderson said the timing of the project coordinates well with a strengthening economy which has companies repositioning themselves for growth.

“Some other states are having trouble retaining businesses now, and businesses are more mobile today,” he said.

Shirl Boyce, the council´s vice president, said the new effort will help the entire Treasure Valley region.

“The brand name will have to say something about our quality of life and the reasonableness of doing business here,” said Boyce. “It´ll be something around entrepreneurship and the opportunities here.”

To offer story ideas or comments, contact Julie Howard
[email protected] or 373-6618

http://www.idahostatesman.com/Business/story.asp?ID=52277