Following months of discussion and 11 drafts, Focus on Forsyth was approved Wednesday by the Development Authority of Forsyth County.
“We have finalized our marketing plan and budget figures for our target market campaign,” said Bobby Thomas, authority chairman. “There were just a couple of minor changes from the last draft.”
The $60,000 strategic recruitment, development and retention campaign sets an aggressive strategy for recruiting international businesses, specifically from Germany and other European countries.
The plan, executed through a partnership between the authority and the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, is being funded through the county.
Brian Dill, chamber vice president of economic development, has been working on the plan from the beginning.
The plan breaks down various methods of attack, from education and training to marketing and recruitment strategies like attending trade shows.
The general goal is to market Forsyth as a business destination, but the final plan also outlines more specific goals.
For 2010, the goal is to generate 60 new leads and 20 new projects worth at least $25 million in new capital and 300 new jobs.
“We didn’t associate a company total with that, primarily because we didn’t want to limit ourselves to what we thought could come through the pipeline in that first year,” said Dill. “This first six to eight months are going to be the slow period as we ramp up ... and create some active interest.”
Since last month’s meeting, the authority has decreased from nine members to seven, with David Parker and John Bryan stepping down from their roles for personal reasons.
The authority will meet again April 21.
“We have finalized our marketing plan and budget figures for our target market campaign,” said Bobby Thomas, authority chairman. “There were just a couple of minor changes from the last draft.”
The $60,000 strategic recruitment, development and retention campaign sets an aggressive strategy for recruiting international businesses, specifically from Germany and other European countries.
The plan, executed through a partnership between the authority and the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, is being funded through the county.
Brian Dill, chamber vice president of economic development, has been working on the plan from the beginning.
The plan breaks down various methods of attack, from education and training to marketing and recruitment strategies like attending trade shows.
The general goal is to market Forsyth as a business destination, but the final plan also outlines more specific goals.
For 2010, the goal is to generate 60 new leads and 20 new projects worth at least $25 million in new capital and 300 new jobs.
“We didn’t associate a company total with that, primarily because we didn’t want to limit ourselves to what we thought could come through the pipeline in that first year,” said Dill. “This first six to eight months are going to be the slow period as we ramp up ... and create some active interest.”
Since last month’s meeting, the authority has decreased from nine members to seven, with David Parker and John Bryan stepping down from their roles for personal reasons.
The authority will meet again April 21.