Create and Share Our Region's Story with the Outside World

ADVANCE REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Lead Org:

  • Hampton Roads Alliance 

Goal:

  • Build national awareness and familiarity of Hampton Roads — aka 757 region.

Actions:

  • Obtain the needed funding for a sustainable regional branding campaign.
  • Approach all 17 jurisdictions with a branding plan. The campaign will include integrated messaging — tourism assets (visit) and reasons to stay (quality-of-life, available jobs, Big Tent/Safe Harbor, etc.).
  • Match with private-sector funding.

Place Marketing:

Insights from the Envision 2020 Regional Branding Initiative & SIR Trends Research

  • Pre-COVID-19, more and more people were leaving the largest U.S. cities and moving to mid-size areas like Richmond, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando, and Atlanta.
  • Pre-COVID-19, more than a dozen Northeastern cities and states were offering $5,000 to $15,000 in cash incentives to attract new residents.
  • COVID-19 will accelerate this trend as more and more people and employers embrace a distributed workforce – i.e., live here/work there. 
  • Economic development marketing will morph toward tourism-style “place marketing” designed to attract visitors who become residents and work remotely.
  • Little national awareness of the Hampton Roads region exists despite $60+ million being spent in total every year by Hampton Roads’ 17 separate jurisdictions promoting their own locality.
  • Hampton Roads’ regional tourism effort – Coastal Virginia Tourism Alliance – has few resources.
  • Tie-in with local residents and hospitality industry to cross-sell visitors — “visit then stay.”
  • Tie-in local/national celebrities to leverage campaign resources.
  • Tie-in to Grow, Retain, and Attract Talent Strategic Imperative – “Attract Additional Qualified Talent to 757” program. 

Accountability:

  • Use the benchmark KPIs established from the Envision 2020 Prospective Visitor Survey — national awareness, familiarity and positive perceptions of Hampton Roads. These base measures will be posted on the Action Framework dashboard. Conduct second survey wave 12 months after the branding campaign is launched.