“Let me tell you about that lobster we had in Bar Harbor last summer,” “When I was a kid, I spent every summer at camp on Sebago,” and “I know about Maine, my grandmother and grandfather were from Ellsworth, but they left to go to work at Pratt and Whitney in Connecticut.”
These were just some of the comments my colleagues, from South Portland, Portland and Westbrook, and I heard at the BIO 2007 trade show in Boston a couple of years ago. These comments coupled with the distinct feeling that these high-tech folks thought they were conversing with a bunch of “Nanooks from the North” summed up our problems in recruiting the type of business that Maine needs to provide quality jobs for our citizens.
How do we change “Vacationland” to “Jobland?” First of all, let me say that there is nothing wrong with “Vacationland.” As one of our biggest industries, I don’t know where Maine would be without tourism. Much to our chagrin, people “from away” have continually provided income and jobs to Mainers, seemingly forever, and we should continue to try to grow this part of the economy.
Unfortunately, the hospitality industry cannot solve all of our problems or provide the level of income we need to support the level of services we all want. Good schools, public safety and safe roads are just some of the things we have come to expect. Unfortunately, mainly due to things we can’t control, providing these services is costly.
One way to offset this cost is increased economic development. Creating more, better paying jobs for Mainers will provide the means to provide the aforementioned services.
We can help existing Maine businesses grow and increase employment, and attract new businesses that will create good paying jobs. The key to creating these jobs may well lie in the “Vacationland” sobriquet (OK, OK, I do crossword puzzles) because when you think of it, what’s wrong with living and working in “Vacationland?” Our existing businesses are here and, hopefully, will stay here and grow. It behooves all of us in economic development to work to make this possible.
In Scarborough, the Scarborough Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) has embarked on an aggressive campaign to let “people from away” and “businesses from away” know about our town and Maine and why they should consider moving their companies here. We are not using the traditional “carrots” of economic development advertising. We are not talking about the energy costs, tax incentives, low wages, etc. Everyone does that, and, frankly, those aren’t our strengths. What we are talking about is lifestyle, and we think the lifestyle Maine offers is really what we have to sell. We are targeting those with a connection to Maine, but who either no longer live here, or would like to live here, but just haven’t realized yet that you can do business here.
Our campaign, in national and regional publications that have Maine as their theme, asks a simple, but important question: “If you lived and worked here, where in the world would you go on vacation?” Our ad goes on to state, “Scarborough, Maine, is just two hours north of Boston, but it feels a million miles from the crowds, the traffic, the grime and the stress of city living.” We ran this advertisement last summer in DownEast Magazine and are currently running it in various Maine college and university alumni magazines.
There are two thoughts behind this strategy: If you live in Chicago or Hartford or Los Angeles and subscribe to a magazine such as DownEast, you have more than a passing interest in Maine. The second thought is to attract graduates of Maine colleges and universities who have started businesses elsewhere but remember Maine fondly and might decide this is just the place to raise a family. If you are a skier, a sailor, a fisherman, a hunter, a snowmobiler, etc., “Vacationland” might sound pretty good to you. Coupling this with our “Down East” reputation for quality, and our dedicated workforce, we can “close the deal.”
Coupling this advertising with a joint effort between Portland, South Portland and Westbrook to bring Greater Portland to the high tech and bio tech communities by participation in national industry tradeshows, will hopefully bring new business activity to Maine, and build the Maine economy in a way that will ultimately serve all the residents of “Vacationland” well.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
