News Archive
FORGET WILMA AND FOCUS ON AREA'S STRENGTHS, EXPERTS SAY
Publication: The Miami Herald - Business
Date: Monday, November 28, 2005
Author: Niala Boodhoo
"I think it would be a mistake for us to try to increase awareness from a marketing point of view," Joanna Wragg said. "We are not New Orleans; we are not out of business. We need to be adjusted to the fact that this is the new normal."
The rest of the world may not remember that last month around this time, South Florida businesses were struggling to reopen, thanks to Hurricane Wilma.
And those who sell South Florida as a good place to do business are happy to let everyone forget.
Wilma crippled many South Florida businesses for days and in some cases weeks because of prolonged power and telephone outages. Operations were further complicated by the difficulty in getting gas. In Broward, some companies also sustained serious physical damage. But by now, many are back up and running.
The problems related to getting businesses operational after Wilma have some worried that it might impact recruitment efforts to bring companies to the area.
One financial services company that had planned to relocate to Miami decided not to after Wilma, because of increased costs for insurance, construction and power backup systems.
But advertising and marketing professionals still advise caution in any post-Wilma marketing efforts, simply because they say the hurricane didn't muster much notice outside the area.
"In another few months, it won't be on anyone's radar," said Howard Rubenstein, a public relations expert and president of Rubenstein Associates, a New York-based advertising and media agency. "They'll put it into context, well, Wilma was just another one.''
The Beacon Council's initial reaction was to ''get out there and say the hurricane tried to end us, but it didn't,'' said President Frank Nero. But then the Miami-Dade economic development agency decided the best course of action was to wait until the new year. That way, everything will have ''died down a bit'' and the ads won't get lost in the holiday clutter.
The organization has hired Washington-based DCI Group to manage a marketing campaign and plans public relations tours to promote economic development in Miami.
It also will launch a multifaceted marketing campaign early next year, targeting site selection professionals, the business community and the general public. The messages will be tailored to each audience.
To site selectors, the message will be upfront: ''Yes, Miami had a hurricane, however we've rebounded well and we had business continuity,'' Nero said.
INTEREST IS STRONG
The message to the business community emphasizes preparedness and that the Beacon Council is still seeing interest from other firms that want to relocate here.
The general public will see a ''not too subtle'' message that ''we're fine and we're getting ahead,'' he said.
Rubenstein, who years ago did local tourism campaigns, advised that economic development agencies like The Beacon Council and the Broward Alliance emphasize the region's assets, not Wilma.
''I would refer to it in passing and talk about the enormous strengths, the more important economic resources that Florida offers,'' he said.
That's the approach of Enterprise Florida, which has used $1 million in special funding it was given last year to market the state after the multiple-storm season.
A survey Enterprise Florida conducted after the 2004 hurricane season found that almost half -- 43 percent -- of businesses outside of Florida that were polled said they had a ''very negative'' or ''somewhat negative'' view of Florida following the hurricanes.
STATES OF NATURE
But there's a key difference this year: With all the attention on Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the Gulf Coast, there's a realization that hurricanes don't just hit Florida, said Sena Black, the economic development agency's senior vice president for marketing and information.
''People began to understand that anyone near the ocean is vulnerable,'' she said.
The group has taken out a series of ads it runs throughout hurricane season that says the state's economy and businesses have been "weather-proofed.''
One ad focuses on CitiFinancial, which lost a financial operations center in Pensacola during Hurricane Ivan. The company decided to stay in Florida and rebuild.
''If we go out there and are aggressive in terms of the positive message, we can drive out the negative,'' said Black. "We're really sending out the message that Florida knows how to deal with all the preparations before, during and after a hurricane.''
The Broward Alliance's James Tarlton said the current focus for that organization has been on getting businesses that were damaged help.
Just before Wilma hit, the group had been developing a new marketing campaign titled ''Always Broward County,'' with a dual focus on retaining existing businesses within the county and recruiting more.
Local public relations professional Joanna Wragg thinks that won't be necessary. Wragg, a principal with Wragg & Casas Public Relations, was on vacation in Colorado immediately after Wilma hit. Out there, even the resort owners had very little knowledge of what Wilma had done to South Florida, she said.
''I think it would be a mistake for us to try to increase awareness from a marketing point of view,'' she said. "We are not New Orleans; we are not out of business. We need to be adjusted to the fact that this is the new normal.''