The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance is spending $150,000 to entertain a small group of corporate executives, site selection consultants and their guests at the Presidents Cup. The three-day visit is a standard industry practice used to forge stronger relationships and lure more jobs and investment.
CLT Alliance President and CEO Janet LaBar outlined the economic development nonprofit’s strategy during a recent interview with CBJ at the organization’s uptown offices. Danny Chavez, the chief business recruitment officer, joined the discussion in a video appearance while traveling.
LaBar, who worked in economic development in Phoenix and Portland, Oregon, before coming to Charlotte in 2019, said that the Presidents Cup offers recruiting and networking opportunities like other high-profile sporting events, from Super Bowls and college football national playoff games to All-Star Games and Major League Soccer title matches. All are events that LaBar and other CLT Alliance executives have used for recruiting in past jobs in other cities and in Charlotte.
LaBar and Chavez said they analyzed the top prospects for invitations, mixing companies already in discussions with CLT Alliance and/or regional recruiters with new prospects less familiar with the area. Those executives will each have one guest attend with them; LaBar said site selection consultants are invited without the option of bringing a guest.
“Executives from companies who would either consider expanding or relocating and/or they may have a presence here where there’s an opportunity for additional investment for expansion,” LaBar said of the invitation list.
They will be here from Sept. 21-23. While in town, they will attend the international matches at Quail Hollow Club, meet various local executives who are investors in the CLT Alliance as well as civic and political leaders, and visit uptown and other parts of the city to get a sense of the business community and quality of life.
At Quail Hollow, CLT Alliance is part of a group including the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority and city government that are splitting expenses for chalet tickets and food and drink during the Presidents Cup. A city government representative said the city is focused mostly on site selection consultants for its ticket allotment.
LaBar and Chavez said the $150,000 budget includes all travel and entertainment at the course.
Chavez said that “hard sells tend not to be best practice” when entertaining prospects at these types of events, but he added that closely monitoring and following up with companies and consultants to ensure the effort pays off is essential. A cohesive effort among multiple agencies and organizations should strengthen those efforts, he believes.
“I think it’s important to talk about how everything is so closely related,” Chavez told CBJ. “The partnerships that we have with the state and city, our local partners, but also with site selectors.”
Chavez added that CLT Alliance and the EDPNC, visitors authority and local government will benefit from what he described as “a united front” approach. LaBar said that it’s difficult to pinpoint a specific tactic or interaction that persuades a prospect to relocate or expand.
Because of that uncertainty, hedging your bets with multiple touchpoints that generate high interest and response rates is the best way to go, she said. Thinking along those lines means measuring success for a host city as more than the usual economic impact studies of spending on hotels, meals and other expenses by visiting fans and event partners, she added.
Beyond the direct recruiting efforts outlined above, CLT Alliance and other civic and government organizations around town have collaborated with the PGA Tour and the Presidents Cup on tie-in marketing and social-media campaigns. CLT Alliance Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Rob Horton told CBJ that during Presidents Cup week they plan location-based social-media messages targeting people around the Quail Hollow Club and uptown with information on the community, economic growth, population trends and testimonials from business leaders.
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