Case Study
Tourism and Economic Development in Chattanooga
Tourism
Background
In recent years, Chattanooga has caught the attention of national media thanks to its growing entrepreneurship hub, its being the first American city to have a community-wide gigabit network, and its position as a city ripe for innovation. Through its work for both the Chamber and the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) since 2003 and 2010 respectively, DCI is tasked with ensuring that national and industry news outlets continue to pay attention to and run stories about Chattanooga.
Strategy
Working together with the Chamber, DCI continually develops and cultivates compelling storylines and pitches them to target media, building and maintaining national awareness of Chattanooga as a vibrant place for businesses, entrepreneurs and residents. DCI also brings Chattanooga’s story on the road through media tours in markets like New York and Atlanta, and brings media to Chattanooga to experience the city firsthand.
Results
Since 2003, DCI has secured hundreds of business media placements highlighting Chattanooga’s startup culture, business advantages and quality of life, with more than 2 billion impressions worldwide, in a wide range of national, regional trade and online outlets including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Economist, Fortune, CNN, Fox Business News, CNBC and The Huffington Post. In the first three years of working with the CVB, DCI generated almost 1 billion impressions showcasing Chattanooga’s Southern hospitality, one-of-a-kind attractions and vibrant riverfront downtown in outlets such as ABC News, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Delta SKY, Fcom, Georgia Magazine, National Geographic Weekend, OUTSIDE Magazine and Southern Living. In 2013 when blockbuster movie Iron Man 3 misrepresented Chattanooga by depicting it as a small, backwater town, DCI set the record straight with a pitch that went viral with more than 200 media outlets running the story. In 2015, when EPB rolled out its 10 gigabit network, DCI helped spread the word, securing placements in nearly 80 outlets, including WIRED, the Washington Post, the Associated Press and The Hill, and garnering more than 95 million impressions worldwide, further solidifying Chattanooga’s position as the “Gig City”.