Case Study
Attracting Talent with a Fresh Brand and Innovative New Website
Economic Development
Background
The NC Triad, a 12-county region in the heart of North Carolina, is anchored by three main cities: Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem. In 2017, the Piedmont Triad Regional Council (PTRC) along with business and education leaders initiated a 3-phase regional talent alignment strategy to examine resource positioning related to employer needs.
Research revealed that despite the region’s stunning landscapes, enticing arts and culture experiences, diverse communities, and excellent job opportunities, the Triad had not yet garnered recognition as an ideal place to live and work on a national scale. A recommendation of the strategy was to create a strong regional brand that illuminated the region’s assets with a focus on retaining and attracting talent. This is when PTRC turned to DCI for assistance in generating awareness of the region and attracting more skilled workers to fill available jobs across a wide range of industries.
Strategy
DCI developed a six-month integrated branding and website strategy for PTRC with a focus on talent attraction.
First, DCI recognized opportunities for the region’s growth and developed key messages to highlight what makes the NC Triad a unique location for talent and prospective residents. Through focus groups and research surveys, DCI discovered that the term “Piedmont” did not resonate with those outside of North Carolina, so we recommended leading with the new and refreshed “NC Triad” brand, which also played up the region’s location within the state. DCI then created the Find Your Center NC website to elevate the profile of the NC Triad and attract talent by highlighting the region as an excellent place to live, work, play and learn.
In late 2020, during the pandemic, DCI worked with PTRC to launch a virtual career fair series to connect job-seekers with major employers in the NC Triad region. For its premier virtual career fair, in partnership with Brazen, PTRC was able to connect major employers like Nestle-Purina and Gildan Activewear with job candidates in a completely new, virtual way, with promotion and strategy by DCI.
Results
As a result of DCI’s efforts to develop a new brand and website for the Piedmont Triad Regional Council, the region gained an external marketing arm to attract new residents and connect existing residents with open jobs.
A new logo and fresh imagery serve to promote the Triad as an ideal place to live and work. DCI also implemented several of its proprietary webapps on the new website for prospective residents to explore the region, including the cost of living calculator, interactive communities map, commute times tool and jobs board app that pulls jobs directly from Indeed. In addition, DCI created a storyboard for the locally produced video featured on the home page.
DCI managed and promoted the virtual career fair with 10+ companies by building a landing page, utilizing digital advertising, and earning numerous media placements.