The promotion is the work of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. and Adams Outdoor Advertising.
View full sizeOne of the billboards in the ad campaign compares the Lehigh Valley economy to that of other nations. The Lehigh Valley is beginning to toot its own horn.
The region’s main economic development agency, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., has launched an advertising campaign to draw attention to the region’s offerings.
It differs from LVEDC’s other region-boosting initiatives in that it’s aimed within the Lehigh Valley as opposed to corporations and business agencies outside, said John McGran, LVEDC’s vice president of marketing.
“We're making a concerted effort to do a large part of our promotion within our own borders,” McGran said today. “We’re continuing to do that outside (the Lehigh Valley). But we want to remind people that this is a special area -- that there’s a lot going on here.
“And we also hope to capture people who come in and out of the region to do business. It shows that this is a place where you want to do business or locate your business.”
The campaign, coordinated with Adams Outdoor Advertising, includes five digital billboards along Route 22 and 14 other vinyl billboards across the Lehigh Valley, McGran said.
“The purpose is to promote the Lehigh Valley within the Lehigh Valley -- to show off our creativity,” McGran said.
For example, one of the billboards highlights the region’s workforce, noting the Lehigh Valley has more college graduates each year than Harvard, Notre Dame and Stanford combined.
Another points out that the Valley was awarded more patents than 11 states last year.
The campaign also spotlights some specific businesses.
One billboard asks ‘Who puts the pinstripes on the Yankees?’ -- a reference to VF Majestic, the Palmer Township plant that makes Major League Baseball uniforms.
And, ‘What area produces more Samuel Adams than Boston?’ references Boston Beer Co’.s brewery off Interstate 78 in Upper Macungie Township.
McGran wouldn’t disclose how much LVEDC is paying for the campaign. It started earlier this month and will run six months, he said.