Leduc County crafts new economic marketing strategy

LEDUC COUNTY -- Leduc County has adopted a new marketing strategy for economic development.

According to County staff, the new strategy will provide administration with the direction to position the municipality as a competitive and new investment-ready jurisdiction. They add that the strategy offers a clear and prioritized framework for Leduc County investment attraction activities. Economic Development Officer Trevor Andersen says this will improve the County's visibility to new investors. 

"This strategy guides us to better tell our story, highlight our strengths, and ensure Leduc County is top of mind when businesses are deciding where to invest," said Andersen. "This is a bit of a shift from being more reactive to a little bit more proactive."

Andersen says that the move is to ensure the County keeps up with rival regional and national municipalities, who invest heavily in marketing and promotion in a hyper-competitive development environment. He adds that currently, investment awareness of Leduc County among national investors, realtors, and large-scale site selectors remains low.

"Competition is increasing," said Anderson. "Neighbouring municipalities and other jurisdictions are actively marketing themselves to the same investors and site-selectors that we want to reach." 

He also notes that by focusing on established sectors such as logistics, manufacturing, energy services, agri-food and emerging sectors of data centres and aero-defence, Leduc County can strengthen its strong investment profile and attract new opportunities. He points to some of the advantages that the municipality has over other jurisdictions, such as the Nisku Business Park, Edmonton International Airport, economic corridors, and an established industrial base.

Some of the priority actions in the new strategy include targeting both established sector stakeholders and new emerging sectors such as data centres and aerospace defence. It will also include launching multi-channel marketing campaigns to build brand visibility, as well as developing professional investment materials and positioning investment attraction as a core corporate priority.

Some of this will come in the way of new professional investment materials, such as brochures, maps, and digital content.