Campaign Type
Inward investment
Campaign Title
Creating Awareness of Investment opportunities in Mississippi
Brief
The State of Mississippi is known for its river and the Blues but what is much less known is the state’s key strengths in the aerospace, defence and automotive industries.
Say manages the European office for the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA). In 2008 Say’s brief was to build greater awareness among UK and European businesses for investment opportunities in these sectors. A key objective was for the state to be placed on the short list of companies seeking to locate in the southern part of the US.
Solution
Say exploited the experience of British companies already located in the state to demonstrate Mississippi’s key attributes as a good place in which to do business. Say secured testimonials from companies such as Rolls Royce, EADS, Siemens and BAE Systems to demonstrate how Mississippi can accommodate business operations on a global scale.
These testimonials have provided a spur for companies to contact and meet representatives from the MDA. Say facilitated meetings at major exhibitions including the Farnborough Air Show and the major defence sector exhibition in London.
Given the investment already made by Nissan and Toyota in Mississippi, Say has built relationships with relevant automotive industry associations and economic development agencies in Europe. This has helped to develop business opportunities from suppliers to the automotive industry. Say also ensured that the MDA is represented at important business networking events and linked with government agencies.
Result
The success of Say’s approach is demonstrated by the visit to Farnborough Air Show in 2006 of RTI International Metals which led to the company’s location in Mississippi in 2008 through a $122 million project, creating 180 jobs.
Client verdict
“Through Say’s work, the profile of Mississippi as an attractive location for inward investment has increased significantly among European stakeholders. The number of business enquiries has doubled over the last two years.” Mississippi Development Authority