Economic Development
Economic Development Marketing that Drives Growth, Investment, and Talent
CWA Economic Development Marketing is a specialized division of Chartwell Agency, delivering full-service marketing solutions built specifically for economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, municipalities, industrial parks, airports, and regional partnerships.
For more than 25 years, we’ve helped communities attract employers, retain and grow existing businesses, strengthen workforce pipelines, and communicate impact to stakeholders — all while navigating limited staff capacity and increasing public expectations.
Our focus is simple: position your community for long-term economic growth and measurable impact.
Built for the industries we serve
Our work is grounded in deep experience across the sectors we know best – credit unions, economic development, education, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations.
We understand the unique challenges, audiences, and opportunities within each and tailor every strategy accordingly. Because effective marketing and communications isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s informed, intentional, and built for your world.
Challenges
Solving the Challenges Economic Development Leaders Face Every Day
Economic development organizations are being asked to do more than ever before: retain employers, attract new investment, address workforce shortages, communicate housing and childcare realities, revitalize communities, and demonstrate measurable outcomes to boards, elected officials, and taxpayers.
At the same time, expectations for transparency, reporting, and digital presence continue to rise. Data is abundant but turning it into compelling messaging that resonates with site selectors, employers, and stakeholders is a constant challenge.
We partner with economic development organizations navigating:
- Workforce shortages and talent attraction challenges
- Resident-attraction concerns
- Business retention and expansion pressures
- Site selection competitiveness
- Limited internal marketing resources
- Difficulty turning economic data into compelling stories
- Increasing stakeholder reporting and accountability expectations
- Website optimization and digital visibility challenges
Solutions
Focused on Outcomes That Matter to You
Marketing in economic development is not about impressions — it’s about investment, retention, advocacy, and growth.
Every strategy we develop aligns with your organization’s top priorities: business retention, expansion, workforce development, and community and/or organizational positioning. We help translate complex economic data into messaging that attracts decision-makers and builds trust across audiences.
We help economic development organizations:
- Strengthen business retention and expansion initiatives
- Improve talent attraction and workforce messaging
- Enhance site selection positioning and competitiveness
- Elevate community branding and differentiation
- Increase visibility among employers, investors, and stakeholders
- Customize communications for site selectors, elected officials, and boards
- Showcase success stories and measurable impact
Stories of Growth and Community Impact
Every region has a story to tell — but not every region tells it effectively.
Our case studies highlight how we’ve helped economic development organizations clarify their positioning, improve website performance, enhance digital marketing, communicate data-driven impact, and strengthen business and talent attraction efforts.
Each story demonstrates how thoughtful strategy and strong positioning support communities as they compete and grow.
Why Organizations Choose CWA Economic Development Marketing
Choosing a marketing partner in economic development requires more than creative capability — it requires understanding the pressures of public accountability, stakeholder alignment, and long-term regional strategy.
Organizations partner with CWA Economic Development Marketing because we understand:
- The importance of business retention as a top priority
- The growing demand for workforce sustainability messaging
- The competitiveness of site selection marketing
- The need for transparent, customized reporting
- The balance between advocacy, community engagement, and growth
We combine economic development expertise with agency-level execution, delivering:
- Strategic clarity grounded in regional goals
- Deep experience in economic development marketing
- Transparent reporting tailored to multiple audiences
- Website and SEO expertise specific to economic development
- Creative that reflects your community’s strengths and aspirations
- A collaborative approach aligned with public and private stakeholders
We don’t just market regions — we help them compete.
For more than 25 years,
Chartwell has partnered with economic development organizations, destination leaders, municipalities, and regional stakeholders across the country to strengthen community positioning and support long-term growth.
Our team has supported hundreds of projects with award-winning projects and campaigns and nationally recognized work – helping communities attract investment, recruit employers, support workforce initiatives, and elevate their brand through strategic marketing built for public-sector realities.
When economic development organizations are looking for a marketing agency that understands stakeholder alignment, public accountability, and long-range strategy, they choose Chartwell for one reason: we know what it takes to help communities compete and win.
Our services:
A Full-Service Marketing Partner for Economic Development
We provide integrated strategy and implementation designed to support business attraction, retention, workforce development, and stakeholder communication.
Everything is customized to your region’s priorities — from rural economic development to urban revitalization to industry cluster growth.
Our work commonly includes:
- Economic development website design and optimization
- SEO for economic development organizations
- Industry/Trade PR for economic development initiatives
- Economic development branding and positioning
- Business retention and expansion marketing support
- Talent attraction campaigns
- Workforce development messaging
- Economic development advertising (digital + traditional)
- Annual reports and stakeholder communications
- Data storytelling and visualization
- Case studies and success story development
- Video production showcasing community assets
- Social media and digital marketing strategy
- Messaging for high-growth industries
Marketing Support That Exceeds Your Community Goals
Economic development organizations are managing broad priorities with lean teams – from business retention and workforce development to site selection, stakeholder reporting, and community positioning.
Our structured marketing programs help communities turn data, assets, and local advantages into clear, search-friendly content that reaches today’s decision-makers. Each package is built to strengthen visibility, support growth, and communicate measurable impact to employers, site selectors, boards, elected officials, and community stakeholders.
Looking for something specific? View our capabilities to learn more about the services we offer.
Business Attraction & Site Selection Marketing Programs
This program helps communities compete for investment by strengthening positioning, digital visibility, and decision-maker-ready content for site selectors, employers and investors
- Community/regional marketing campaign
- Site selection marketing strategy
- Economic development SEO
- Target industry messaging
- Industry/trade public relations and social media implementation
- Employer and investor attraction campaigns
- Community asset storytelling
- Collateral development
- Landing pages for priority industries and available sites
- Digital advertising for business attraction
Data Storytelling & Economic Development SEO Programs
These programs transform workforce, housing, infrastructure, industry, and community data into content that strengthens SEO and helps decision-makers evaluate your region
- Data-driven content strategy
- SEO blog and article development
- Workforce, housing, childcare, and industry data storytelling
- Infographics and data visualization
- Search-friendly success stories and case studies
- Content built for site selectors, employers, boards, and stakeholders
Workforce & Talent Attraction Marketing Programs
Focused on strengthening workforce pipelines and attracting talent
- Talent attraction campaigns
- Workforce development messaging
- Resident attraction strategy
- Employer partnership storytelling
- Quality-of-life content
- Digital campaigns targeting employees and families
Business Retention & Expansion Communication Programs
This program helps organizations stay connected with existing businesses, promote expansion opportunities, and communicate support resources
- Business retention and expansion marketing
- Employer communications
- Local business success stories
- Email marketing and stakeholder updates
- Resource campaigns for existing businesses
- Expansion and reinvestment storytelling
- Advocacy communications
Website, SEO & Digital Visibility Programs
Building your community’s presence online for today’s decision-makers
- Economic development website design and optimization
- SEO for economic development organizations
- Landing page strategy
- Website content audits
- Search-friendly content development
- Digital marketing strategy and implementation
- Monthly analytics and reporting
- Conversion pathways for site selectors, businesses, and talent
Ongoing Economic Development Marketing & Performance Program (Retainer)
A full-service marketing partnership built for lean economic development teams needing consistent support – combining strategy, content, creative, SEO, digital marketing, and reporting
Typical inclusions:
- Quarterly strategy and campaign planning
- SEO and website optimization
- Data storytelling and blog content
- Business attraction and workforce campaigns
- Social media and email marketing
- Public relations and stakeholder communications
- Monthly analytics and performance reporting