April 2000, Volume: 3, Issue: e/4

~~~Worth noting ... “Being creative is where you think about your thinking. Being innovative is when you act on your ideas.” Act now! Time is wasting. Quote: FastCompany Magazine, Jan/Feb 2000

~~~A thinker’s inquiry ... You think we’re serious about everything we do? Here are some books lauded in past issues of our newsletter: “Thinker’s Tool Kit” by Morgan D. Jones and “THINKERTOYS” by Michael Michalko are just a few of the great books that have a diversity of knowledge and variety of ideas.

~~~2,313,786,880 ... So, what makes your little 200 acre business park so special? (Number of acres of land in the U.S.)

~~~Park differentiation ... Promote your industrial/business/tech park from within by displaying boulevard banners with the park’s name. This reinforces internal marketing while beautifying and differentiating your park from the competition.

~~~”I couldn’t figure out why Robin Williams and his chorus line were singing all about Blane Canada on the Oscars. Any ideas?” Quote: Peter - Myall, City of Toronto

Perhaps ... you heard our corporate song “Blane, Canada” on the Academy Awards sung by Robin Williams and the BC dancers. It was a fabulous production, but it did create a bit of confusion. Some attendees and viewers actually thought they were singing “Blame” Canada, the theme song from South Park. I guess we will have to work with Robin on his diction. Academy Awards, Sunday, March 26^th.

~~~Post-it notes ... “A pizza restaurant in Ohio saw a 30% increase in sales - by changing its flyers to Post-it™ notes that looked like UPS delivery notices - to think that the ‘glue’ added to pieces of paper was a failure turned success! Some people die thinking they are failures, but later are called success ... a post-mortem note!” Source: Ed Crow, IL

~~~Internet guide ... “Getting Online: A Guide to the Internet for Small Town Leaders” explains the in’s and out’s of researching on the World Wide Web. The National Center for Small Communities is distributing 20,000 free copies to regional and statewide ED and technology related organizations. Recipients must pay a shipping/handling charge. Order or read the on-line version at the NCSC Web Site <http://www.natat.org/ncsc> ‘hot off the press’ section.

~~~Suburban Central Business District ... Valerie Kretchmer, real estate and planning consultant, Evanston, IL, conducted a study on “Suburban Central Business District Development.” She found that residents typically want an exciting downtown with all of the conveniences but not the traffic, crowds or density. Area residents will often say one thing but act otherwise. They like small independents, but shop at big box stores. They value the personal attention and knowledge found at smaller stores, but buy based on price. There is a dwindling pool of retail tenants, a record amount of retail space and few places in the suburbs that are really underserved. Sound similar to what you’ve struggled with in your town? Source: ICAC Illinois Alliance Program, Feb 2000 forum. 

~~~Writer’s trick ... Professional writers will write a draft direct mail letter (or any letter for that matter) then throw out the first paragraph. This would appear to us to be excellent advice for economic developers since many of the direct mail pieces we receive from EDC’s have weak opening paragraphs. Do yourself a favor. Throw out the first paragraph when the draft is ready. Your letter will be better for it.

~~~Urban industry initiative ... “Building Social Capital: A New Strategy for Retaining and Revitalizing Inner-City Manufacturers” describes Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp’s initiative to retain and increase jobs by helping manufacturers become more competitive. (Funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts). To obtain a copy <pidc@libertynet.org>

~~~Common misspellings register ... In last month’s issue, we inadvertently listed the incorrect Web address for Saleslogic <http://www.saleslogic.com>. The correct address is <http://www.saleslogix.com>, but both work because the Saleslogix has registered the misspelling—as we recommended in our previous ED Marketing Letter. What misspellings, acronyms or addresses are listed for your organization’s site?