The Greater Antelope Valley California Enterprise Zone

The Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance (GAVEA) has decided it’s time someone took a stand against the negative marketing campaigns against California being circulated by a few states. (Such as Nevada’s missing bear campaign.)

Sure some companies may feel the need to relocate from California’s major Metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles or San Francisco, but that doesn’t mean they have to leave the state.

Citing a need to tell the Antelope Valley's story, the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance has contracted with Economic Development Marketing (EDM), an iGroups company located in Thousand Oaks, California, to identify businesses from San Diego to Ventura that are considering expanding or relocating and would consider the Greater Antelope Valley region as a possible location. (www.econdevmarketing.com) EDM is implementing three, multi-channel marketing campaigns consisting of direct mail, e-mail, telemarketing, and web which will reach over 6,000 businesses. The message will boast of the Valley's relatively low cost of doing business and dispel the notion that the “grass is greener” for businesses outside of California.

Among the points the alliance wants highlighted are: (1) property taxes in Arizona and Nevada can run 250% to 350% higher than the Valley, (2) the cost of doing business in the Valley is much lower than the Arizona communities of Phoenix and Chandler, (3) the region has an enterprise zone which provides state tax credits on employee wages and equipment purchases, and (4) the region has a foreign trade zone which provides businesses breaks on custom’s duties.

Other states have marketing efforts that give a false impression that they are cheaper for businesses to operate, when that is not ultimately the case. If we don't tell the true story, somebody else will tell it inaccurately. Our goal is to tell the story accurately.

We will consider the campaign a success if it generates 15 to 20 leads from companies seriously considering a move to the Valley. The first campaign was completed just before Christmas and resulted in six face to face meetings and several other companies requesting additional information. One of the meetings was with a fortune 500 company, while another resulted in a scheduled site visit with a company that is seriously considering relocating within the year and will create approximately 35-40 jobs.

Once companies are made aware of the benefits the Antelope Valley has to offer, they will realize there is an alternative to leaving California. Companies will realize they can simply relocate their business to the Antelope Valley and start reaping the benefits!

Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance (GAVEA)
Mel Layne, President
www.aveconomy.org