Digital Media and the Branding of Downtowns: Strategies for New Business Development Using Paid, Owned and Earned Media November, 2013

downtown district. Before the web, most could communicate only to people they knew. In the world of Twitter (and several other social networking sites), one person can influence literally thousands of people, some of whom they’ve never even met. It’s important to acknowledge and even embrace a crucial new truth in the 21st century: you have less control over your message; your audience has more. These new online tools have shifted some of your communication power to the people you hope to influence. While the realization of less power is sobering, it also holds great promise. Satisfied customers are also likely to use digital tools to say good things and even help carry your marketing message. Paid, owned and earned media can help you plan more strategically, improve your message and boost your return on investment. OUR APPROACH To uncover best practices for using digital media for business development and branding, we interviewed professional communicators, marketers and developers in Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina. Just 30 miles apart, these downtowns are enjoying business growth and prosperity that neither has seen for decades. Interviews were conducted in October, 2013 with 11 key stakeholders. These hour-long, semi-structured interviews provided the opportunity to uncover additional information and context that would have been difficult or impossible to determine from secondary data alone or from a quantitative survey. Quotes from influential leaders are shared throughout the document so you can hear from them in their own words. Interviews were conducted with:            Jenn Bosser: Assistant Executive Director, Wake County Economic Development Matthew Coppedge: COO of Downtown Durham, Inc. David Diaz: President, CEO of Downtown Raleigh Alliance James Goodmon: President and CEO of Capitol Broadcasting Company, visionary of the American Tobacco Historic District James Goodmon, Jr.: Vice President and General Manager of the Capitol Broadcasting Company New Media Group, including oversight of startup projects Adam Klein: Chief Strategist for The American Underground Derrick Minor: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager, City of Raleigh Joe Procopio: Founder, Publisher of ExitEvent, contributor to tech-related publications James Sauls, Director, Raleigh Economic Development Casey Steinbacher: President, CEO of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce Allyson Sutton, Communications and Events Manager at HQ Raleigh (See Appendix A for detailed biographies of interviewees.) Page 4

Digital Media and the Branding of Downtowns: Strategies for New Business Development Using Paid, Owned and Earned Media November, 2013 | Page 4