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BUSINESS TO BRUCE

Paisley Business Recruitment Strategy & Support

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Express your Talents in Paisley

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BUSINESS TO BRUCE COUNTY 4 CONTENTS The County’s Role 5

BUSINESS TO PAISLEY 6

Situation Analysis Summary 7

Audiences 8

Recruitment & Expansion Opportunities 9

Paisley BtoB Strategy 10

Positioning Narratives 10

Paisley BtoB Narrative 11

Paisley BtoB Theme 11

ACTION PLANS AND TOOLS 12

Action Plan 13

Posters 14

Print Ad & Billboards 15

Social Media Ads 16

Pitch Kit (Folder & Inserts) 17

Pull-up Banner 18

Video 19

Roles and Responsibilities 20

Implementing The Tools 22

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BUSINESS TO BRUCE COUNTY

In 2014, Bruce County developed a County-wide community investment program, called Business to Bruce, that was founded on the principle of collaboration and focused on recruiting/nurturing entrepreneurs. Three levels of participation were identifed (County, municipal/township, and local leadership) each with their own role to play.

County

Municipal

Local leaders

BRUCE COUNTY Primary role is to give each community scale and to collect, flter, and direct opportunities at a high level.

MUNICIPALITY / TOWNSHIP Responsible for local selling, establishing readiness by streamlining processes, and providing support to existing and prospective business owners.

LOCAL LEADERS Responsible for acting as welcoming ambassadors for the local community and as business guides.

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The County’s Role

Business to Bruce is about collaboration between local networks of business owners, communities, and the County. Each group has a specifc role to play. For the County’s part, the focus is on providing communications resources and scale; to reach beyond the borders of Bruce County and build awareness of the opportunities here. Equally important, the County’s economic development team is in place to guide and coordinate local eforts, support networking and provide access to expert resources. We’ll even help spread the word locally if that’s what it takes to help our partners succeed. Listed below are the key areas of County participation.

ELEMENT OPPORTUNITY

Website

Social Media

Education & Training

Outreach

Grant Support

Stewarding & Mobilization

Partnership

The BtoB website is a wide net that will serve to receive and process interest in County opportunities, and direct that interest to individual communities and local business networks. All communications activities both inside and outside the County will generate visits to the BtoB website. The County will staf and maintain the website.

BtoB is active on Facebook, and promotes opportunities in the region related to business development. In order to take advantage of the County’s broad reach, communities are encouraged to connect with Bruce County if they have business-related content to share (examples include opportunities, new business announcements and events).

Bruce County’s economic development ofce ofers a variety of business supports. The County is eager to partner with communities in ofering programs related to their business development strategy.

Using a variety of tools including paid digital media, media relations, and owned channels (social media and e-newsletters), Bruce County is reaching out to residents within and beyond our borders with Bruce County positioning. Trafc from the majority of outreach will be directed to the Business to Bruce website where prospects will be directed to explore the communities and opportunities available to them.

Economic development grants are available to advance business development and community development.

County resources will support local economic development staf to guide the program, local council, and business owner networks. In addition, the County will participate in bringing those networks together through its own network.

Explore the Bruce is an extensive and successful program that connects visitors and residents alike as they explore our County through the tourist season. Turning tourists and seasonal residents into full-time local business owners is also a primary strategy for the majority of communities. The economic development team is a resource for promotional distribution, research, and attraction support.

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BUSINESS TO PAISLEY

What the business community in Paisley lacks in scale it makes up for with creativity and a capacity for embracing change. Simply mailing out folders and information inserts or even painting building facades in the spirit of an Artistic River Community will not attract new business people to Paisley. Celebrating the talented people who live there and making room for more like them will. Talent comes in all shapes and sizes in Paisley - let’s make room for everyone to express it and diferentiate the Paisley experience in that context.

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Situation Analysis Summary

Before creating the BtoB strategy for Paisley, an audit of the current situation was conducted and a business community insight session was held.

REVIEWED CONSIDERED HEARD

• STB Community Toolkit • Artisan-based economies • Strong community engagement and• STB Business Handbook • Migration of people 50+ passion• STB Resident Survey Results • Spousal employment • Unique natural environment• June 2019 Business Inventory • Experiential tourism • Opportunity to develop tourism• OMAFRA Arran-Elderslie Q1 2019 Data Set • Tourism drivers • Bohemian spirit with a willingness• Paisleyvillage.ca to try new things• Explorethebruce.ca • Challenge fnding employees• Visitpaisley.ca • Lack of housing and afordable childcare• Village of Paisley Facebook group & twitter account

Based on the current situation, using insights gathered from a variety of sources including community business leaders and interpreting the business community’s toolkit requirements, we concluded that:

(1) To align with STB tourism branding, the business community needs its own spin on the same 'artisan'concept to attract attention. So within The Artistic River Community, there is also a creative businessopportunity.

(2) Celebrating our creative business talents during tourist season (in town, in relevant tourism socialmedia and through targeted advertising) will position Paisley as a place for business-minded artisansto set up shop.

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Audiences

Expanding the defnition of artistic beyond ‘art and tourism’ and focusing instead on ‘talented people’, we can build a business brand that all current business people can join. This creates a cluster and the scale that will attract attention and liked-minded individuals. People who think diferently (whether about art or work or community) will fnd a welcoming attitude in Paisley and a place to be their diferent selves. There are three types of individual that ft the bill: Age 50+ who have retired / semi-retired and who are looking to do what they’ve always wanted to do and; free-spirited younger people with a slightly bohemian outlook. There are examples of both groups in the audience profles below:

WHO DETAILS

Tourists

Bruce Power Families

Bruce Alumni

• 50+ (primary), 35-50 (secondary)• paddling, rivers, surrounding wetlands & conservation areas• Nature Lovers (passion for the great outdoors, family-focused, 35-45 year old couples with or without children)• Mellow Vacationers (quiet, somewhat introverted, couples 55+)• Knowledge Seekers (educated and eager to learn more, skew female, zest for new experiences, 55+)• visit from late spring - fall

• spouses of Bruce Power employees who are either unemployed or underemployed• skew female• have high-earning partner so may be more willing to take a risk• best opportunity to “aim younger”

• age 50+ (couples), 35-50 (secondary)• familiarity with the area (originally from the area or have visited)• rural upbringing (local or otherwise)• reached through personal networks and social media• seeking middle class life and opportunity• working in SWO (may not own a business yet)• located in Windsor to London corridor, Kitchener/Waterloo and Guelph

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Recruitment & Expansion Opportunities

The Business to Bruce program strategy is to focus on the who, not the what (the business owner/entrepreneur not the business sector itself). That said, the below sectors are the best areas to look at in terms of brand alignment and community strengths and opportunity/gaps.

SECTOR OPPORTUNITY

Artisan

Retail

Food

Tourism

• art and craft• handmade or bespoke anything• digital or wholesale selling• creative approach to light or advanced manufacturing

• hubs or shared spaces• small food• hospitality• artisanal

• local consumer-focused agriculture

• talent shows (events)• river travel • experiential (food, arts, nature)

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Paisley BtoB Strategy

Paisley's BtoB strategy starts with recognizing that to attract new business people (the who), we have to engage our current creative business people and promote their accomplishments while newcomers (tourists) are in town. The goal is motivate others to want to know more. Building on the approved Strategy coming out of the audit, there are three key steps:

(1) Recruit our existing creative business community, document how they express their talents and promote them.

(2) Establish awareness of Paisley's invitation (Express Your Talents) in all communications to do with economic development. Do this in tandem with tourism communications and timing.

(3) Be ready with BtoB tools to welcome interest, inform opportunities and attract economic growth. The brand and the tools perform diferent roles but compliment each other.

Positioning Narratives

Human beings transfer information in the form of stories. In the context of marketing, these stories are called brand or positioning narratives. The narrative sets direction, establishes context and becomes the lens through which the strategy comes to life.

In the case of Paisley, the positioning narrative establishes the personality of the individuals we want to attract and the branded product we use to attract them.

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Paisley BtoB Narrative

I am a free spirit living in a community for the free spirited. I let my right brain rule my left brain, I look for ways to be diferent and I celebrate the diferences in others. I want to explore my creative side and express myself in a creative and eclectic community. Maybe it’s a unique favour of ice cream, or a sculpture made of bed springs or a canoe paddle painted to refect the confuence of two rivers, now is my time to fnally embrace my passion and build a business that I love. And I’ve found a place in the country where almost everyone feels exactly the same way- regardless of what they create. I have talents- living here in Paisley inspires me to show my talents, share with others and be a part of the experience. That’s just a cool way to go through life.

Paisley BtoB Theme

Themes (slogans, taglines, positioning statements) summarize what makes a community unique and ‘of interest’ to the target audience in as few words as possible. The Paisley ‘theme’ is the summary of the positioning narrative and should be used as a key message in all BtoB communications.

Express your Talents.

logo theme

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Action Plans and Tools for Attracting Business Talent to Paisley

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Short Term (ST): 2-3 months | Medium Term (MT): 6-12 months | Long Term (LT): 1 year + ACTION PLAN

Creating and Promoting Paisley’s Business Culture

Positioning Paisley as a creative hub or 'talent pool' while newcomers are visiting or passing through town is core to the strategy. There are a variety of tools to bring the positioning to life and attract the attention of our targets. Equally important, the tools will galvanize our current business owners and promote their success too. It's a win-win.

ACTIONS TIMELINE

Identify and engage all existing creative business owners capture their stories and prepare them for use in social media and promotion.

Create a media plan (traditional and digital) that can run from May to October each year (many of our targets do not have children and are not bound by the summer months for travel).

'Decorate' Paisley in BtoB creative wherever it does not interfere with tourism promotion.

Establish a social media group to share stories, pique interest and engage visitors. This is also a tool that existing business owners and residents can share.

Explore ways to nurture and demonstrate Paisley’s talent. Examples include a shared creative workspace or annual events.

ST

ST

ST

MT, Ongoing

LT

Outcome: The outcome Paisley is looking for early on is engagement and interest with the existing business community and new interest from outside. Analytics should track against those two outcomes. Social media shares, inquiries, and in-person inquiries are all important.

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TOOLS: POSTERS

Poster Poster

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TOOLS: PRINT AD BILLBOARDS

Half page print ad Billboards

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TOOLS: SOCIAL MEDIA ADS

Social Media Ad Social Media Ad

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TOOLS: PITCH KIT (FOLDER & INSERTS) The pitch kit is a positioning tool that introduces key themes and facts about Paisley during events, face-to-face meetings and for mailing as required. Blank mastheads can be used to create content that is customized to the activity (specialized information about a business sector like green energy or micro manufacturing for example).

Folder Cover Inserts

PAISLEY VOICES

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TOOLS: PULL-UP BANNER

For use around town and at events, trade shows and meetings when appropriate. This is a positioning tool that reinforces the economic development focus of the community.

Pull-Up Banner

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TOOLS: VIDEO

A short video that features some of the talented local business owners in Paisley. The video will be posted to the Business To Bruce website and shared on social media.

.com/paisley

Video

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Roles and Responsibilities

L MUNICIPALITY

• Apply localized marketing tools to promote local business culture– keep the conversation positive– encourage entrepreneurial culture

• Support local leader network– facilitate connections between online leads and the local business community– facilitate/organize quarterly meet ups with existing owners (blend of social and entrepreneurial; identify possible ways to work together

to create economic opportunities). Invite prospects if appropriate.

• Identify and mitigate current obstacles to new or expanding businesses– determine what infrastructure support is needed– focus frst on the quick/easy wins– fexibility is more important than being ready for every scenario

• Continue to work with and encourage participation in economic development grant programs

• Identify and nurture existing business expansion opportunities– get to know your current business owners and help connect them with each other (either through quarterly events or one-on-one as needed)– attract more attention through the county to existing food businesses and celebrate early adopters

• Support elected ofcials as advocates

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Roles and Responsibilities

LOCAL LEADERS (BUSINESS OWNERS)

• Annual commitment of approximately 15-20 hours

• Act as ambassadors for new business prospects– meet/guide new prospects when they come to town– mentorship for newly established business owners

• Engage extended networks in business recruitment

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Implementing The Tools

ELEMENT YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3

BUDGET Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

PHOTOGRAPHY

Original photography that supports business and arts positioning Biennially: $1,500

PITCH KIT & INSERTS

Print to have on-hand and make available digitally

Review content annually for accuracy

Monitor trends and create industry- or topically-relevant inserts as required

PULL-UP BANNER

Source supplier and produce One-Time Cost: $600

Use at events, meetings, workshops and appropriate tourism opportunities

POSTERS

Print Printing: $250

Distribute/hang

BILLBOARDS

Media planning Media: $2,500

Live in media

PRINT ADS

Media planning Media: $2,500

Live in media

SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING

Planning & setup Media: $1,000

Live in media

Annual Printing: $1,500