Our Site Selection Journey: Perceptions Drove the Short List

In the spring of 2022, C Studios parent agencies Development Counsellors International (DCI) and OCO Global decided to pursue a joint venture with one another to bring specialized digital marketing services for economic development organizations to Europe. It kicked off an important decision process that would set the trajectory for our new business – where to establish the new entity’s headquarters.

We knew it would be in Europe, but there was no clear “future home” when we started looking. Within that context, we kick off a four-part series on the insights revealed during our own site selection process, which transpired over the summer. Along the way, several insights became apparent. Here is the first of those. 

Perceptions Matter

Our agencies are in the business of site selection and investment promotion, where we work hard to give each region a voice and find the true story of what it’s like to work, live and do business in a city, region or country.

Yet, many on our decision-making team still relied on long-held perceptions about certain locations. Without getting too specific, some cities were eliminated based on perceptions about cost, taxation, the quality of the labour market and more.

As much as perception drove where not to launch, it also helped us to form a short-list of where we would consider launching the new venture. Lifestyle was certainly part of the equation, as was the cost and quality of talent along with ease of doing business. While C Studios has the backing of two long-established businesses, it is still a young firm with a focus on successfully delivering for clients. The less we can worry about filling out paperwork or having issues scaling an exceptional team, the sooner and better we can bring our services to the market.

The Forgotten Element of Place Marketing

In working with investment promotion agencies over the years, there has been an increased focus on delivering leads. As we share with our clients, there’s a danger in that mindset becoming too narrow or, as the saying goes, “not seeing the forest through the trees.”

As noted above, initial site selection decisions are often decided based on existing perceptions. While that can work to the advantage of locations that are already perceived quite well, it works against a majority of places who end up eliminated without even having a chance.

If all efforts and focus are assigned to attracting leads (or outcomes), the critical initial components of a decision-making process like awareness generation, perception-building and education (or the inputs) get lost. As with anything, what you put into something influences what comes out of it.

While leads are certainly critical to reporting and justifying budgets, it’s important to maintain a balance across the decision-making process — inception all the way through to selection — and consider other ways to measure place marketing success. 

It’s one reason our team at C Studios is such a fan of Account-Based Marketing (ABM). This strategic approach balances awareness generation through marketing with lead generation through direct outreach to targets. The two are done in coordination with one another – building a strong business case through targeted advertising on the front end, and using data to inform who we contact for potential interest on the back-end. See how we utilized such an approach for Select Greater Philadelphia.

Interested in learning more? Schedule a meeting with Steve Duncan, Managing Director of C Studios. And don’t miss the rest of series; next up is about some of our research process.