The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority is spending $350,000 in taxpayer money for a cable-television commercial complete with a pie chartand bar graph touting the perks of doing business in Virginia’s most-populous county.
And they are going after more than Washington-region companies.
In a strikingly aggressive move, the economic group bought 30-second television spots slated to air in Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, in addition to the Washington area.
“We’ve got the momentum going right now, and we’re going to take advantage of it,” said authority President and Chief Executive Officer Gerald Gordon.
Hilton Worldwide, SAIC and Volkswagen of America were among the companies that relocated their headquarters to Fairfax County recently. And the county remains in the running, with Arlington, to land defense titan Northrop Grumman.
But some scoffed at the investment, saying it wasn’t a wise use of public money for a county that just filled a $257 million budget shortfall.
“Who are you going to be reaching?” asked Steven Silverman, director of the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development. “This is a very targeted group of people who are involved in company expansions or relocations. I don’t think a Fortune 500 company is going to be persuaded by an ad on television.”
He said the Montgomery County economic development agency doesn’t spend any of its six-figure marketing budget on commercials.
Production of the commercial costs $130,000 and the airtime expected to be viewed by 7.5 million people is another $220,000, Gordon said. The commercials will run on news and business channels through the end of June.
In the commercial, the various graphs morph into real-life situations — the blue wedge of a pie chart into a pizza slice and a portion of an circular diagram into a ball — before ending, “But what kind of diagram do you use for imagination?”
County leaders said they supported the commercial.
“I think they should do it,” said Supervisor Jeff McKay, D-Lee. “I think their track record of landing big corporate relocations speaks for itself.”
