Goal
The City of Merritt, BC required an Economic Development Strategy that envisions a more economically-diversified/new economy future. Meanwhile, a strategy implementation challenge was identified internally as specificity and actionability. Unfussy was engaged to bring investment attraction to life in specific terms via marketing foundation work.
Situational Analysis
Merritt has faced several economic challenges in recent years, including catastrophic flooding in 2021 (full evacuation of the city), and a forestry downturn (historically a major employer in the region) that won’t see revival to its “glory days” amidst fundamental restructuring of the forestry economy. The past won’t be the future in Merritt.
Extensive community engagement articulated a set of “wants”, with an observation that our default as communities is to hang our shingle and sell ourselves in isolation of broader geographic context with the belief that communities sell themselves simply by “being.” But a “want” doesn’t have strong competitive value proposition, which is established and made far stronger within a broader regional context.
Unfussy Recommendations
Unfussy communicated these more challenging truths in the generation of a Strategic Positioning output to inform marketing foundations.
Market research suggested a strategic catalyst for the City of Merritt, knowing that Metro Vancouver is struggling mightily with: Industrial land supply (employment lands – with their significant and measured job creation; Economic multipliers (income, employment, spending), and tax revenue benefit; Export focus that is the heart of community wealth generation); High/rising land and lease costs; and Projected absorption of all remaining Metro industrial lands between 2035 and 2047 with an effective supply limit reached in 2035.
There are sectors or types of land use that generate more employment and assessment intensity than other sectors or types of land use. The details and the positioning matter…to the fundamental trajectory of community and the aspirations of its residents. Land constraints can generate business relocation to other regions with more affordable and available industrial lands if most elements of business need (distance to port and transportation access) can still be met at net greater ROI vs current location.
But what if there was an even Greater Vancouver?
With the City of Merritt a three hour to port, four-lane highway pressure release valve for industrial activity, it can generate a win-win for BC with the most dynamic heartbeat of the provincial economy desperately needing land to prosper. Enter 200 acres of industrial land availability within the City of Merritt, and a fundamental opportunity to accelerate job creation and economic development by leveraging regional dynamic and the positioning of Merritt as a greater Vancouver industrial investment opportunity.
Output
- Strategic Economic Development Direction and Brand development
- Internal and external communications strategies
- Messaging Platform development
- Visual Identity (logo) system creation (“Invest Merritt”)
- Targeted advertising and marketing communications campaign conceptual development, design, and production
- Investment Guide design and production
- Sector Profiles design and production
- Investment Attraction website design and development
- Brand Standards (Playbook) / visual identity guidelines development
Designed to enhance community image, pride, and the sense of “salesmanship” needed to better connect with existing residents and potential newcomers, entrepreneurs, and business and industry investors, the rebrand initiative was fed by extensive internal and external research, including Council, staff, and key stakeholder workshops, SWOT, and discovery sessions, and significant community engagement in the form of in-person and online surveys and PR / social media engagement.
Deliverables developed to support this strategic positioning included:
- Eight Official Community Plan and four Economic Development Strategy target sectors (a wish list) further refined to three market-aligned target sectors: Agri-food manufacturing; Forestry value-add & prefabricated construction; and Transportation, logistics, and distribution
- Sector-specific value proposition and key messaging (proof points)
- Inbound and outbound marketing strategy and tactics, targeting detail re sector-specific regional market dynamics, and a shortlist of sector-specific, target expansion/relocation companies
- An OutVantage creative campaign brand (including brand promise and story, creative concepts, key messages, calls to action, visual identity, imagery, and brand guidelines) with sector-specific messaging
Outcomes
Paid data (Lightcast) was used to ensure the Marketing Strategy and marketing outputs are evidence-based. Unfussy generated an out-of-scope value-add in the form of 20 investment friendliness recommendations to support continued work on value proposition enhancement and economic development organizational capacity.
