Washington County Economic Alliance recognized regionally for their Our Story marketing campaign
Aug 8, 2018
Washington County Economic Alliance recognized regionally for their Our Story marketing campaign.
Southern Economic Development Council honors the Washington County Economic Alliance with an Award of Merit for the 2018 Community Economic Development Awards (CEDA).
Greenville, MS – The Washington County Economic Alliance (WCEA) was presented with an Award of Merit by the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC) at their 2018 Annual Meeting held earlier this month in Mobile Alabama. The WCEA won this recognition in the “Thinking Outside the Box” category for their Our Story social media campaign.
“We are excited to receive this recognition from SEDC. There are 1000 members in SEDC and the WCEA was one of 5 organizations to win this award,” acknowledged Cary Karlson, Executive Director of the Washington County Economic Alliance.
WCEA’s Our Story social media campaign, at its heart, is to raise community awareness and to lead the charge for positive community attitude. The campaign runs across multiple social media platforms and uses videos and images to highlight the positive community assets of people, places, events, and employers. The branding of each post contains the hashtag #OurStoryWashCo.
“Through social media analytics, we can quantify that the posts are being seen, and we believe the posts are creating new narratives for the community to share and be proud of,” said WCEA project manager Will Coppage.
Another component of the campaign is the Our Story Video Contest. The contest runs through October 1, 2018. Residents of Washington County are asked to create videos/movies under two minutes in length that show “why they love Washington County.” Prizes for best video and most shared video will be awarded, with the two prize packed consisting of a Canon Rebel and a Go Pro camera package. To learn more and submission details, visit https://wceams.com/news/videocontest. Winners will be announced in November during the WCEA’s Community Christmas Crawl.
About the 2018 CEDA Awards:
In 2006, SEDC started a new program to recognize outstanding communities in our region for their efforts in advancing the economic viability of their community through economic and community development programs. The awards recognize exceptional projects/programs of communities for efforts in the areas of Business Retention and Expansion, Business Recruitment, Community Development and Community Involvement. Entries are judged based on innovativeness, transferability, community commitment and leverage, and measured objectives.
About the “Thinking Outside the Box” Category:
A marketing piece, campaign, event or other related economic development activity that clearly demonstrates originality, uniqueness, creativity, and/or use of leading edge technologies (including social media).
About SEDC:
Tracing our roots to the fall of 1946, the Southern Economic Development Council is the oldest and largest regional economic development association in North America. We have members in 17 states in the American South, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
SEDC is a non-profit, 501 (c)(6), membership organization governed by a Board of Directors and Executive Committee. One director is elected by each member state to serve with elected officers on the Board of Directors. Our office is located in Atlanta and managed by a professional staff.
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Contact:
Cary Karlson
Executive Director
662.378.3141
ckarlson@wceams.com
August 8, 2018 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE