Annual marketing contract at Scottsdale City Hall June 21
By Terrance Thornton | Digital Free Press
The Greater Phoenix Economic Council is offering its services in regional efforts to lure new businesses to Scottsdale to the tune of $119,256.
For more than 20 years, the relationship between the regional economic engine and municipal leaders at City Hall, 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd., has provided “The West’s Most Western Town” with a competitive advantage in attracting quality employment opportunities, city officials say.
The annual contract is before Scottsdale City Council Tuesday, June 21 during its regular meeting.
“Since 1990, the city of Scottsdale has partnered with GPEC, along with Maricopa County, 23 other communities and more than 160 private-sector investors to promote the region’s competitive position and attract quality jobs that enable strategic economic growth and provide increased tax revenue for Scottsdale,” said Scottsdale Economic Development Program Manager Scott Cooper in his report to City Council.
Mr. Cooper explains GPEC is a regional player in both research and cost-effective marketing.
“GPEC was originally created because of a desire by all communities within the Greater Phoenix area to provide a more cost-effective approach to regional economic development marketing,” he said. “GPEC has a robust research department and business attraction team which generates new business prospect leads for its member communities. This contract will allow the city to continue to benefit from new business prospect opportunities during the coming fiscal year and utilize the research and marketing support offered by GPEC.”
The contract up for a public vote emboldened through resolution No. 12518 is a part of the June 21 consent agenda, records show.
Mr. Cooper explains GPEC has increased its array of member services of which Scottsdale benefits. They include:
- A market intelligence initiative;
- Launching a new foreign direct investment strategy;
- Increasing direct marketing to California companies;
- Spearheading a Smart Region initiative;
- Promoting an aggressive Connected Place marketing strategy and
- Competitive policy analysis.
The numbers derived for the contract are based on a population formula, Mr. Cooper points out.
“The cost of this program is determined utilizing the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity 2021 population estimates, which lists the city of Scottsdale as having a population of 243,528 and calculated at a per capita rate of $0.4897 for a total of $119,256,” he said. “In the past five years GPEC has assisted 226 locates in Greater Phoenix, including 23 locates in Scottsdale. These businesses represent 2,131 new jobs and $191.4 million in capital investment, $398.9 million in total new consumer spending, and $25.5 million in new direct revenue.”
Broken down further, Mr. Cooper provides a brief examination on the return on investment gained through the public-private partnership. He reports that ratio is 44:1.
“The GPEC contract further supports and expands Scottsdale’s economic development efforts by broadening the city’s national and international reach by collectively marketing the Phoenix metro region,” he said.
