County economic tool wins marketing award

by Gena Smith

Published:

Friday, May 30, 2008 9:41 AM EDT

LUMBERTON — The Robeson County Economic Development Commission has won a Gold Hermes Award for a marketing brochure that highlights the county’s assets to prospective businesses and industries.

The brochure was designed by Market Force Inc., a Raleigh marketing and advertising firm owned by Nancy Perry Johnson.

“About 15 percent of the 4,000 entries were gold winners, so that puts the Robeson County Economic Development Commission in a pretty elite group,” said Terry Immel, administrative assistant at Hermes Creative Awards headquarters in Texas.

Greg Cummings, executive director of the Robeson County Economic Development Commission, said Robeson County has much to offer businesses.

“Our goal was to present our assets, which include our great location along the Interstate 95 and Interstate 74 corridors, in a professional brochure, which will help brand our county and make a memorable impression on our prospects,” he said. “We are excited that our efforts have been recognized by this prestigious award.”

Cummings credited Brenda Daniels from Electric Cities for her idea to bring Market Force on board.

“We found out that if you’re going to do a marketing brochure, you definitely need to bring in one of the best marketing groups there is in the state,” he said. “It’s definitely an honor to know that we put together one of the top pieces that won an international award ... our Web site will be a mirror of that brochure.”

The Web site is found at www.robesoncountyoed.org.

Cummings said that five entities came together to contribute to the making of the brochure — Electric Cities, Progress Energy, Lumbee Electric, Piedmont Natural Gas and the Robeson County Committee of 100.

The brochure, he said, will go to national consultants and to industrial magazines as well as the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the North Carolina Southeastern Commission.

“It’s going to give us some good visibility across the United States as far as dealing with these national consultants,” Cummings said. “A lot of your consultants go in on the Web site, they no longer make telephone calls. It gives them all the data they need on your county.”

Market Force specializes in economic development.

“We cannot create outstanding work without having outstanding clients,” Johnson said in a press release. “We are fortunate to have had great teamwork with Robeson County and are proud to have been recognized for producing work that will help them be more visible and successful in their endeavors to recruit industry.”

According to Immel, about 15 percent of the entries received platinum awards and about 10 percent received honorable mention in this year’s contest. Hermes Creative Awards, which began in 1995, is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. It honors outstanding achievement and service to the communication profession.