Andy Levine Of Development Counsellors International Shares “A View From Corporate America" Survey

Dec. 13, 2011 - PRLog -- The world’s economy has certainly been struggling over the last three years, so now it is more important than ever for communities to know exactly what their potential investors want. Andy Levine, President of Development Counsellors International (DCI), recently sat down with Mike Bako, host of Inside Communications on Speaking Channel TV, to discuss the outcomes of his company’s sixth installment of the “A View From Corporate America: Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing” survey.

Every three years DCI surveys 250+ senior U.S. executives, with site selection responsibilities, to better understand best practices in marketing places by going directly to the economic development world’s “customer.” Specifically discussing travel destinations, Levine reported the top three information sources executives rely on when making decisions:

1.   Dialogue with industry peers
2.   Print publications including articles, newspapers and magazines
3.   Rankings and surveys

Surprised, Bako questioned the absence of social media. Levine explained that although executives, ages 40 – 49 years old, use social media more than their younger and older counterparts, a full 38 percent of them reported using no social media in their business. Only a small percentage reported using sites such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs. At 58 percent, LinkedIn was rated the most popular social media outlet.

“This was an absolutely fascinating finding,” Levine said. “What our conventional wisdom told us was that the younger the executive was, the more interested and more attuned to social media they would be.  That turned out to be wrong.”

Speaking to the media most consumed by executives, Levine reported the following rankings:

1.   The Wall Street Journal
2.   Local-area newspapers
3.   Top-tier general business publications, including Forbes, The Economist and Businessweek

One of the most enormous changes is the power of the Internet, which was not even included on the first survey in 1996, Levine said. It now ranks as the second most important way influencing executives.

Learn more about the study findings by watching the full interview with Andy Levine, click here: http://vimeo.com/33485247.



About Development Counsellors International (DCI)

Development Counsellors International (DCI) is the leader in marketing places specializing in economic development and travel marketing. Since 1960, they have worked with more than 400 cities, regions, states and countries, helping them attract both investors and visitors. For more information on the agency, visit www.aboutdci.com. To learn more about the Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing Study, click here. Follow DCI on Twitter @AboutDCI

About Inside Communications with Mike Bako

Discussing the strategic brilliance of PR campaigns is one of the main focuses of Inside Communications with Mike Bako. Featuring guests from all sectors of PR, viewers improve their understanding of what it takes to develop and execute a successful PR campaign. To learn more about the show and view videos of previous interviews, click here. To be a guest on the show, please e-mail producer@speakingchannel.tv.