Iowa's Creative Corridor hires company to market region

Economic development groups hope a new partnership with a site selection company it hopes will boost business interest in the Corridor.

The Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD) and Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, two of the seven counties that make up Iowa's Creative Corridor, hired Site Location Partnership (SLP) to represent and market the region at industry trade shows.

SLP, a Dallas-based consultant, will market the corridor's advanced manufacturing, bio processing, food ingredients, distribution and logistics industries, among others, to companies interested in expanding or relocating to the Corridor.

This week SLP is promoting the region at the 2013 Windpower Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.  

Mark Nolte, president of ICAD, said hiring SLP will save the development agencies time, energy and money. He described the time spent at trade shows like searching for a needle in a hay stack - parties may have to talk with tons of companies before they find someone truly interested in moving here.

"There's not much return on investment," Nolte said. "It's better for us to outsource that and focus our time on the companies who contact us and are interested in the area."

SLP also will assist with site selector appointment setting, website promotion and interactive marketing.

“With their expertise, we'll pinpoint decision makers in industries best suited for our area,” said Dennis Jordan, economic development strategist for Metro Alliance, in a prepared statement. 

The groups will use SLP for one year with the option to renew its contract, Nolte said. He declined to disclose the cost of contracting the company's services but said it is "nominal when compared with staff travel cost" to the dozen trade shows the agencies attend each year.

ICAD and Metro Alliance contracted SLP as part of the Iowa Creative Corridor's broader goals of bringing more business to the area, Nolte said.

The agencies are willing to form similar partnerships when they make sense, he added.

"We're always looking for way to be more efficient," Nolte said.