In 2005, the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) implemented an editorial marketing program designed to attract national media attention to the successes and assets of our region. This new initiative broke from a previous national marketing program focused on print advertising.

Research and surveys found that corporate level decision makers and national site consultants ranked editorial news as one of the top two primary mediums for gathering information on specific communities. Print advertising ranked low as a source for information. The primary reason is credibility – a company or community does not pay for the content a reporter writes in a news story.

Those results convinced the RGP to move dollars away from national print advertising to editorial marketing. The strategy behind editorial marketing is to directly target national reporters, communicating intriguing news a reporter might consider for a story.

Over the last two years, this program has generated astounding results for the RGP – and the region. Primarily focused on our regional strength in the solar industry, Northwest Ohio has been prominently featured in such national media outlets as Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox Business News and ABC World News. In total, the program has produced more than 50 national placements in print and broadcast media, with an advertising equivalency exceeding $2.3 million.

The immediate benefit of this program is outstanding publicity for northwest Ohio, which is now recognized nationally as a leader in solar research and development. Ultimately, the expectation of this program is to attain greater investment, jobs and wealth to our community, and venture capital to our Rocket Ventures clients.

John Gibney
Director, Communications/Marketing, Regional Growth Partnership
gibney@rgp.org