State means business with marketing dollars

New York state is prepared to tap $10 million to $50 million in budgeted funds for a promotional campaign to attract companies to locate here.

Following through on his campaign pledge in 2010, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced the launch ofÂ “New York Open for Business,” a coordinated communications and marketing effort to show business leaders the benefits of doing business in the state and to dispel a common perception that the state”™s political and regulatory climate is hostile to business.

“The ”˜New York Open for Business”™ campaign will get the message out to companies throughout the world that New York is a premier place for businesses to invest and grow,” Cuomo said in a statement.

The state will recruit a communications agency to craft and spread that message in a broad media campaign. Empire State Development Corp. (ESDC), the state”™s chief economic development agency, will issue a request for proposals from interested companies to start the selection process.

State officials said the initial campaign is expected to cost at least $10 million and could receive as much as $50 million if necessary. That money will be pooled from 2011-2012 budget appropriations for advertising resources in ESDC and other state agencies as well as from other existing economic development funds, according to the governor”™s press office.

The campaign is the latest in a series of business-friendly moves in Albany since Cuomo moved into the governor”™s office in January. They include the adoption of a balanced state budget with no new taxes, a 2-percent annual cap on local property tax increases and the launch this summer of regional economic development councils throughout the state.

The 21-member councils, appointed by the governor, will draft strategic development plans to submit to Albany by mid-November and vie for shares of an initial $200 million in capital grants and tax credits from the state. The councils also will prioritize jobs-creating projects in their respective regions and apply to the state for funding in a newly streamlined application process.

The New York Open for Business campaign will be led by a committee of prominent business leaders with a range of expertise in business and strategic communications. They are:

Russell M. Artzt, vice chairman and founder, CA Technologies, Islandia;
Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO, Ruder Finn Inc., New York City;
Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and CEO, American Express Co., New York City;
Donny Deutsch, chairman, Deutsch Inc., New York City;
Shelly Lazarus, chairman, Ogilvy & Mather, New York City;
Eric Mower, chairman and CEO, Eric Mower and Associates, Albany;
Julie A. Shimer, president and CEO, Welch Allyn Inc., Skaneateles Falls;
G. Thomas Tranter Jr., president, Corning Enterprises, Corning; and
Robert G. Wilmers, chairman and CEO, M&T Bank Corp., Buffalo.

State officials said the committee will advise on developing and implementing strategies to promote New York as a place to live and work.

The promotional effort is expected to span several years.

Heather Briccetti, acting president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State Inc. in a statement said the governor”™s plan “sends a strong message that New York is prepared not only to control the cost of government but to invest in the state”™s economic future.”

William M. Mooney Jr., president of the Westchester County Association, in a statement said the campaign “will help us and all other regions in the state to promote our strengths. We commend the governor on his forward thinking.”