MEDIA
HADCO, City of Huntington & Advantage Valley Promote Quality of Life in New Marketing Campaigns
The recent pandemic has drastically impacted the lives of millions of Americans and of citizens around the globe. Other than the human toll added with the strains and stressors to our health systems, the most significant impacts have been to our economy and, in particular, to how we work. Tens of millions of Americans have had to adjust to an entirely new definition of work in 2020 and as the pandemic wears on it is clear that many of the systemic changes initiated in 2020 are likely to continue beyond this crisis. Opportunities to work remotely, for instance, completely removed from existing offices and company headquarters, have grown exponentially and indications from many experts suggest that this will continue in to the future. Also, an exodus away from large cities has begun and along with this the desire for rural living, the open spaces, lower traffic congestion, and lower costs of living, is growing stronger for many individuals. As the millions who have fled larger cities in the wake of the pandemic make long-term decisions on where to locate for the future, HADCO and its partners with Advantage Valley, the City of Huntington and others are investing resources into attracting these newest waves of transplanted skilled workers, entrepreneurs, families and young professionals to our region.
Advantage Valley Launches New Livability Magazine
This past year, HADCO, in partnership with Advantage Valley, a regional economic development marketing organization, helped to sponsor the launch of West Virginia's Advantage Valley Charleston - Huntington Metro Region, a digital and print media collaboration with Livability Magazine, which focuses on quality-of-life and placemaking marketing. Livability.com is the go-to resource for anyone looking to discover the best places to live, work and visit in the United States. The high-quality, easy-to-share content in the new West Virginia's Advantage Valley magazine promotes the area’s favorable business climate, attractions and other amenities to encourage business investment, talent recruitment and relocation.
“New talent attraction is often stated as one of the top challenges area employers face,” said Terrell Ellis, executive director of Advantage Valley. “This new publication acts as a powerful recruitment tool to assist area businesses and other large employers such as area hospitals and universities, in attracting high value candidates to our community.”
For the next three years and perhaps beyond, the new Advantage Valley publication will receive significant national exposure through Livability.com. Sophisticated media promotions and advanced search engine optimization through Livability.com will ensure that the regional messaging reaches the broadest possible audience and area employers will be able to send hard copies of this publication to prospective candidates so that they can begin to visualize and plan for building a life in the area. This is a great opportunity for our communities to promote positive messaging about our region.
City of Huntington’s Digital Media Action Plan
HADCO isn’t the only entity engaging in talent recruitment marketing. In December, the City of Huntington announced that it would invest $250,000 from its contingency fund to economic development in order to contract with Stream Scape Media, a local regional marketing firm, which will implement the city’s digital media action plan. The basis of the plan will be finding ways to entice people to move to Huntington. Using an advanced targeted marketing approach, Stream Scape Media will target individuals considering a move away from some of our nations large and mid-size cities and provide them with information on why moving to Huntington would be ideal.
“We have an entire generation that is going to be able to work from home and make a good living,” says Chris Miller, one of the principal partners at Stream Scape, in a recent news article published in the Huntington Herald Dispatch. “They are looking right now, and they are looking at places where they can relocate their family to accommodate what their new definition of a new healthy life is, and we know that Huntington can play a huge part in that.”
Outstanding Quality of Life
“For those considering a move, the Advantage Valley Corridor has a lot to offer,” says HADCO President and CEO David Lieving. “Affordability, diverse employment opportunities and low housing costs means a lot to people, especially those recovering from the lingering impacts of the pandemic.”
The Charleston-Huntington metro region certainly does have a lot to offer in terms of overall quality of life. It’s a region that blends the best of big-city amenities with the outdoors. Centered around the two largest cities in West Virginia within one hour’s drive time of one another, it’s a region that offers access to a spectacular natural landscape but also to the vibrant arts and cultural conveniences of many larger cities as well as a diverse economy with an abundance of varied employment opportunities, affordability and ease of mobility.
Cultural amenities abound throughout the region. Marshall University’s Artists Series brings nationally revered artists, plays and musicals to the historic Keith Albee Theater in downtown Huntington. The Huntington Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of more than 16,000 pieces. Heritage Farm and Museum, West Virginia’s first Smithsonian Institute affiliate, blends cultural attractions, including seven distinct museums highlighting Appalachian heritage, with outdoor nature and recreation. Heritage Farm is in the process of completing a treehouse trek and four-story tall aerial challenge course, which will be available in 2021.
Outstanding outdoor recreation is one of the main attractions of the region. The Huntington area is home to renowned green spaces including Ritter Park, a 70-acre award-winning park near downtown Huntington, and St. Cloud Commons Park, a destination playground for those with disabilities and nationally recognized for its inclusive design following the 7 Principles of Inclusive Playground Design outlined by Utah State University’s Centers for Persons with Disabilities. Also located just outside of Huntington in neighboring Ceredo is Camden Park, West Virginia’s only outdoor amusement park and home to the Big Dipper, one of the oldest continually operated wooden roller coasters in the country and designated an official landmark through American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE).
Natural beauty and outdoor recreation exist in abundance throughout the region. The state is known for its tremendous hiking, world class skiing and white-water rafting, rock climbing and a multitude of recreation opportunities. The Hatfield McCoy ATV trail system has fast become one of the premier outdoor recreation attractions in all of West Virginia. Bookending the Southwestern portion of the Advantage Valley Region, Hatfield-McCoy Trails offers nine distinct trails and thousands of trail miles. The system recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and sold more than 55,000 permits in 2020.
In addition to these outdoor recreation and cultural amenities, the Advantage Valley region is also highly affordable. According to salary.com, cost of living in Huntington, WV is 11.1% lower than the national average. Housing prices in the region are 81% of the national average. Business startup costs are much lower in the region as well. According to the Tax Foundation’s 2021 State Business Tax Climate Index, West Virginia ranks 22nd in the country for business taxes. This, coupled with low real-estate development and lease rates, means that business owners have the flexibility to start and grow their businesses without being priced out of the market or taking on massive amounts of debt.
For his published interview with Livability.com, Patrick Guthrie, owner of Black Sheep Burritos and Brews and Bahnhof WVrsthaus, a German restaurant and bar, both in Huntington, talked at length about affordability of the area. “You have better opportunities to get more stable rent and buildings that become available versus in bigger cities where a lot of developers drive up rent and leases,” says Guthrie. “Here, the buildings have been rehabbed and secured in a way that’s cost effective.” Those factors have allowed the City of Huntington to host a surprising array of ethnic restaurants and local eateries. Chain restaurants also flourish in the area, but its Huntington’s locally grown and owned restaurants that have helped turn it into a regional foodie destination.
Finally, the Advantage Valley Region offers tremendous employment diversity and opportunities. Advanced manufacturing, chemical and polymer production, healthcare and information technology are just several of the growing industry sectors in the region. For those interested in transitioning in to one of these fields, perhaps the spouse of someone who has taken a job opportunity in the area, West Virginia residents have access to tremendous workforce training and education resources. The state of West Virginia offers tuition-free education for in-demand degree fields such as healthcare and welding and machining and tech-related services. Workforce West Virginia, the state’s employment and jobs resource center, will also provide training resources for qualified in-state residents to attain professional certifications to advance their careers. Those who want to build a life for themselves in the area have the resources to turn their dreams into reality.
Opportunities in Attracting Remote Workers
Huntington, along with the larger Advantage Valley Metro, checks a lot of boxes needed to attract and grow its skilled talent pool in the near future. One of the clearest opportunities to grow this talent pool however is to capitalize off of the growing remote worker trend. Entire industries are moving substantially toward this model. Recent surveys reported in Forbes Magazine have found that as many as 74% of CEOs have said they intend to make the shift to remote work for some employees permanent. Never before have so many in the workforce been able to enjoy such flexibility in their choice of work/life balance. As geographic boundaries to these jobs disappear there is a whole world of possibilities for communities like Huntington.
The challenges in attracting these individuals will of course be in marketing and messaging but also in helping prospective residents gain a foothold in the community. Many communities such as Tulsa, Oklahoma, Savannah, Georgia and Shoals, Alabama provide new remote workers with living stipends and other resources to incentivize new residents to move to their communities.
Tulsa Remote program launched in 2018 and sought to provide new residents applying for remote work positions $10,000 in living stipends over the course of one year. Tulsa received more than 1,000 applications in a single day and had to cap the applicant pool at 10,000. West Virginia University recently received a $25,000,000 donation to fund a new remote worker incentive. Full details on the program benefits are forthcoming, but participants in the program may expect access to financial incentive, entrepreneurial support, free access to co-working space and community building initiatives, according to a release from the university. Leadership representing communities in the Advantage Valley region, may need to develop similar incentives programs if it hopes to compete for these remote workers.
Moving Forward
As we move forward into 2021, and the picture of what life will look like beyond the Covid-19 crisis becomes clearer, it is essential that our local and state leadership work toward preparing our community, our economy and our workforce for new realities and new opportunities. There is a real prospect over the next few years of attracting a new wave of skilled transplants to our community. Some of these workers will be attracted to the area to take advantage of our high quality of life while others will be moved by the prospect of diverse and skilled employment prospects as well as remote work opportunities. Providing the right messaging and resources to these individuals will be key in attracting the next generation of talent to the area.