6.1 EDSR 11-21-2016 Pik ,�... Request for Action
River
To Item Number
Economic Development Authority 6.1
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
General Business November 21,2016 Colleen Eddy, Economic Development Specialist
Item Description Reviewed by
Marketing Update Amanda Othoudt,EDD
Reviewed by
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Action Requested
Item presented for information.
Background/Discussion
Staff continues to partner with Sherburne County, Greater MSP,and Minnesota.Marketing Partnership
through the Minnesota.Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The
partnerships allow us the opportunity to leverage our current marketing budget,attend market visits,
conferences and trade shows that revolve around our four targeted industries.
Trade Shows/Conferences:
Staff attended a Data Center Symposium hosted by DEED.The event included sessions on the State of
the State,a data center program update,FAQ of tax incentives,and industry perspective panel. Staff met
with a representative from DataBank,who is looking to expand in the Twin Cities area.
In September, staff attended the annual Medical Device and Manufacturing (MD&M) event at the
Minneapolis Convention Center.The event attracts medical device manufacturers from around the
county.The city visited with Metal Craft and J and J Machine who exhibit at the event.
Also in September, staff hosted Peter and Mark Orluck from Orluck Industries to the 2016 Ryder Cup in
Chaska MN. Staff received three tickets for the Wednesday practice rounds from DEED who sponsored
a chalet at the event.
Staff attended the Informarional Management Network (IMN) 7t'Annual Provider Forum on Data.
Centers and Cloud Services Infrastructure (West). The city was part of the Minnesota.Delegation along
with Great River Energy and Xcel Energy. Over 350 participants attended the conference. Some of the
breakout sessions consisted of Site Selection... What Is #1 on Your List?Data Center, Colocation&
Cloud Service Provider Macroeconomic&Industry Update and Large Data.Center vs. Smaller Scattered
Sites in One Geography...Which Way Should You Go?Staff also attended market visits with Ascent,T5
Data.Centers,Datasite Colo,CoreSite, Involta and the North Carolina delegation,who has recruited
Google and AT&T to their state.
In November, staff attended the Southwest National Data Center Summit in Phoenix.The city again
partnered with DEED,Xcel Energy and Dakota Electric. Over 250 people attended this event which
focused more on the southeast part of the country. Staff toured the new Aligned Data Center,which is a
1IIEREI A
co-location facility. Aligned is renovating over 550,000 sq. ft. of an old Honeywell facility. Staff met with
DartPoints, H5Data Centers, SubZero Engineering,Colliers International, and Involta.
Social Media/Tweeting:
During the various trade shows, staff tweets via our Twitter feed. Staff also re-tweets posts from our
various sponsors.
Market/Site Visits:
The city and Dan Weber from Sherburne County hosted a site visit with Kylle Jordan,the Metro Business
Development Representative from DEED. Kylle is the new rep for our area and was touring all the
certified shovel ready sites.
Video(s):
Staff is currently working with the city's video production team to produce a short video highlighting the
Nature's Edge Business Park development. The project will include stories and footage from Morrell
Oversize, Gatr Trucking and Sportech Inc. Production is expected to start in the next couple weeks.The
video will be aired on the city's YouTube Channel and on the EDA/HRA website/webpage.
Marketing/Newsletter:
The Signature Packet/Portfolio and the Community Profile is finally completed. Staff has distributed the
profile at trade shows, conferences and during market visits. Staff has submitted the marketing packet to
EDAM for their Marketing Award.
Advertising:
During the last two quarters of the year we have advertised in four different trade industry publications
and local organizational directories. A new venture was with the Minnesota Vikings organization.The
city took out a 1/4 page ad in the Viking game program.The program is distributed to suite ticket holders
along with attendees who purchase the program for$10 at each home game. The total cost of the ad was
$3,000 with an impression rate of over 10,000/game. Staff was also approached by the Minnesota Wild
team with the same offer. Staff is currently working on an ad that will be in the MN Wild game program.
EDA/HRA Website:
The new EDA/HRA Website is up and running. Our contract with the Golden Shovel Agency (GSA)
includes content strategies. Staff is currently working with GSA on content that will populate the news
feed. We have been receiving quarterly analytic reports which show the number of hits/page views each
of the page receives. Staff will facilitate an analytics update to the EDA on a quarterly basis.
Sponsorships:
The city sponsored the annual Real Estate Journal's Energy Summit and the annual Data Center Summit
in partnership with ERMU.Tom Sagstetter from ERMU presented at both of the events. The
sponsorships included an exhibit booth where staff distributed some of their informational packets and
various swag. The summits average between 100-150 attendees.
Financial Impact
Funding for trade shows, marketing and advertising are included in the 2016 budget.
Attachments - N/A