11/19/2020

The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina is reaching out to businesses and community leaders across the state through a new marketing campaign emphasizing the free services the EDPNC offers that can help businesses survive the pandemic and thrive beyond it.

“Onward as One,” an integrated advertising and public relations campaign running through the end of this year, is aspirational in tone while being very practical in the services it promotes. Those EDPNC services include helping businesses navigate COVID-19 relief and recovery programs and providing resources to find new supply chain partners.

Meanwhile, the core economic development functions the EDPNC performs on behalf of the state are more important than ever ― because they better position companies for success in both the short and long term. Those services include helping North Carolina businesses launch successful expansions, connecting businesses to workforce development resources, supporting manufacturers’ efforts to increase their exports and enter new international markets, and counseling small-business startups. The EDPNC does all this in addition to recruiting new corporate facilities to the state.

The advertising portion of “Onward as One” includes in-state television commercials opening with “Good morning, North Carolina, it’s a new day!” The target audience of businesses and community leaders will see the campaign’s awareness-building message via:

  • Television advertising on Spectrum Reach and streaming media, including sponsorship of Spectrum “News Weather on the 1s” and local placements on CNN and HLN, Fox Business Network, MSNBC and CNBC. There will also be local sponsorship of “Shark Tank.”
  • Print advertising in area business journal publications.
  • Radio sponsorship on five regional NPR stations around the state.
  • Digital display and social media advertising on LinkedIn and Facebook.

The campaign’s public relations component highlights the “Onward as One” virtual roundtable discussion series. Eight regional panel discussions scheduled in November and December will spotlight local businesses that have demonstrated resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as helpful resources available through EDPNC.

The noon to 1 p.m. roundtables will feature Christopher Chung, chief executive officer of the EDPNC; John Loyack, EDPNC vice president of global business services; regional EDPNC managers; area business owners; and leadership from local chambers and economic development organizations.

The webinars are open to the public, but registration is required. The full schedule of webinars follows:

Tuesday, Nov. 24 – Southeast Region. Watch the webinar recording here.
Tuesday, Dec. 1 – North Central Region. Click here to register.
Wednesday, Dec. 2 – Northeast Region. Click here to register.
Thursday, Dec. 3 – South Central Region. Click here to register.
Tuesday, Dec. 8 – Piedmont-Triad Region. Click here to register.
Thursday, Dec. 10 – Southwest Region. Click here to register.
Tuesday, Dec. 15 – Northwest Region. Click here to register.
Thursday, Dec. 17 – Western Region. Click here to register.

To learn more about EDPNC services, visit edpnc.com.