B.J. Fairchild-Newman, Shelbyville News Staff Writer
Dan Theobald, executive director of the Shelby County Development Corp., knows the power of advertising, and he is using it to catch the attention of Honda workers preparing to transfer to the nearby Greensburg plant.
Advertisements in Ohio newspapers are channeling readers to a state-of-the-art Web site, www.welcomehonda.com, that has already received 12,000 hits within a week of operation and is intended to lure workers to Shelby County.
Although the new assembly plant won't begin production until the fall of 2008, Honda is already transferring some experienced workers from its plants in Marysville, Ohio, and Lincoln, Ala. In fact, several hundred workers are preparing for the move, and Theobald believes that Shelby County has a good chance of persuading some of these employees to relocate here.
An aggressive advertising blitz by SCDC's Indianapolis public relations firm, Avatar Communications, has placed full- and half-page ads in The Columbus Dispatch and the Marysville Journal-Tribune, hoping to catch the attention of transferring workers. The Columbus Dispatch boasts the 36th-highest newspaper circulation in the U.S. at 352,510, and the Marysville paper has a respectable circulation of 22,500.
However, Theobald said that after catching the attention of the newspaper readers, the ads have really triumphed by sending them to a Web site designed specifically to appeal to the incoming Honda workers.
The sophisticated site opens with videos showing local businessmen, community leaders and school children bragging about the virtues of living in Shelby County. Even the smiling face of Mayor Scott Furgeson encourages Web site visitors to sample all of the information on Shelby County that is available at the push of a button.
"We want everyone - workers as well as businesses - to know that Shelby County is ready to welcome them. Our schools need the students, businesses need the workers, and we have plenty of houses and building lots available," Theobald said.
After a warm video welcome, the Web site offers information on the history, education and housing choices available in the county.
In fact, the site is actually linked to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors Web site, which allows those browsing the site to plug in Shelby County and pull up information on specific houses and find local real estate offices.
MIBOR was so impressed with the SCDC plans to promote housing as well as business opportunities in the county that the organization gave the development corporation a grant of $10,000 to help pay for the advertising. Theobald said that SCDC has budgeted an additional $40,000 to finance the campaign.
Another link on the Web site to the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce provides answers to questions about the cost of living and employment opportunities in the area for spouses who might be coming to Indiana with the Honda workers.
"We want Honda workers to know that they can live in Shelbyville, drive 15 minutes to their jobs in Greensburg, and their spouses will find all kinds of available jobs within a 50-mile radius, including Indianapolis," Theobald said.
The president of Avatar Communications, Ernie Reno, who is in charge of the SCDC advertising campaign, said that he is extremely pleased with the success of both the print ads and the Web site.
"This is a good example of how print ads are still an important type of advertising," Reno said. "The newspaper ads are getting the attention needed to move the readers to pull up the site on the Internet and get more detailed information on Shelby County. Most people wouldn't find the site without the print ads giving them the Web address. There is still a place in advertising for both media."
Reno also praised Theobald and the SCDC board for allowing him to design newspaper ads that are eye-catching. He said that ads promoting development can easily "make the eyes glaze over," and capturing reader interest can prove tricky. By using humor and unconventional images, Reno believes that the ads have a better chance of attracting the readers' attention.
The four print ads all feature babies, and one of them pictures a baby dressed in a white shirt and tie who is sitting on a training potty and reading a newspaper next to the caption, "We believe in mixing business with pleasure." This is followed by the statement that "A long time ago, folks here in Shelby County learned the value of a good laugh."
"The SCDC was willing to take a risk with these ads; we aren't just doing the same old thing," Reno stated. "This is one of the most exciting projects that I have ever worked on, because Shelbyville was open to new ideas."
Portraying Shelby County as a friendly and welcoming place to live was the most important goal, Reno said. "We wanted to promote the idea of a small-town atmosphere with the conveniences of a big town."
After the ads have run in Marysville, Theobald said that Alabama will be the next focus.