C a s e S t u d y
Development of a marketing profile for Sliven
Summary
The
The project involved the development of an information toolkit presenting the
Problem Statement
Municipal marketing is one of
As a Phase III participant, Sliven had the opportunity to choose from several different areas of cooperation. We decided in favor of the municipal marketing profile project, as we had already began working on it, and we realized the need to promote Sliven in a new way. The implementation of best practices shared by our partners spurred our team's efforts. By comparing our approach with those used in the development of the marketing profiles of Auburn and Blagoevgrad, we reached the conclusion that we had to focus on changing the contents and the structure of Sliven's presentation.
The new format has several advantages:
n It provides targeted information, which may be tailored to the needs of the end user.
n It provides for quick update of contents to reflect changes in the municipal economy.
n It avoids the expense of hard copy publications, by allowing Sliven to print only those copies needed for use.
Project Description
The close cooperation with our partners from Auburn and Blagoevgrad enhanced to a great extent our efforts in the development of our municipal marketing profile. The experience accumulated by our Blagoevgrad counterparts in the development of their marketing profile was very useful to us. They provided our team with detailed information on the essence of the project and the stumbling blocks they had faced.
This allowed our team to quickly and effectively formulate its vision of Sliven's marketing profile, to decide on volume and contents, to find the appropriate individuals to work on different aspects, and to form the work group.
We brought together a team mainly of municipal staff to implement the project. The team was comprised of municipal secretary Mr. Dobri Dobrev, directors and staff, and was chaired by deputy-mayor Mr. Radostin Koychev. We assigned the Web site design to an external contractor.
Project implementation went through several stages:
n Analysis of the information collected by Sliven's municipal team (decisions on structure and contents, on additional information requirements, and on shortening certain sections).
n Updates and amendments to the information.
n Web site design.
n Web site programming and upload onto the Internet.
n Translation of marketing materials into English.
n Development of the English version of the Web site.
n Upload of the English version on the Internet.
n Updates to the marketing profile.
Our partnership with Auburn and Blagoevgrad resulted in the decision to have the marketing profile in electronic format. Mr. Phillip Dunlap argued that having the marketing profile in electronic format would allow for quick updates and at the same time would provide the users the opportunity to print only the needed information.
Our partners from Auburn and Blagoevgrad cooperated very closely with us with regard to project implementation. Mr. Dunlap and his counterparts from Blagoevgrad visited Sliven three times. Auburn's marketing expert, Mr. Ed Gardner, also visited Sliven. The meetings with our partners were used to discuss not only the marketing profile but also the implemen tation of other projects by using Auburn's experience in business recruitment. Conse quently, we initiated a discussion on the opportunities for building an industrial park in Sliven.
Implementation Timeline
Work on the project began 18 months ago, in October 2000. Most of the work involved the collection and structuring of information and Web site design and was completed in six months. The translation of the materials in English was completed in a very short time; however, the development of the English version of the Web site was delayed, and the information was uploaded later than planned, in May 2002. The information is being updated on a regular basis.
Solutions Overview and Specific Results
Sliven's marketing profile was developed and presented in electronic format, in both Bulgarian and English. The information was collected and structured to meet potential investors' needs. The focus of the profile is on the strengths of the municipality.
The marketing profile provides:
n Quick and easy access to data that are critical to potential investors.
n Specific and succinct information.
n Opportunities to access additional information via links.
n The ability for an unlimited number of users to access the profile.
n Quick and easy updates.
n Lower costs of creating and maintaining the Web page compared to hard copy publications.
n Opportunities to print specific information.
Benefits
n The development of the marketing profile marks a step toward the development of a com pre hensive municipal marketing strategy for Sliven. It serves to promote the municipality's strengths and to generate investor interest.
n Sliven has benefited greatly from the trilateral partnership and the opportunities to share knowledge and practices with other municipalities provided by its participation in the Bulgarian Technical Twinning Program.
Conclusion
Currently, very few Bulgarian municipalities have marketing profiles in electronic format. Thanks to its partnership with Auburn and Blagoevgrad, the municipality of Sliven is proud to be among those few.
We believe that the Auburn/Blagoevgrad/Sliven partnership is a proof of the relevance of the replication idea. We are also convinced that the further implementation of the replication process will result in the development of many best practices in various areas.
A trilateral partnership that went beyond the specific project was born during the work on Sliven's marketing profile. On Mr. Dunlap's proposal, and with his invaluable assistance, two municipal employees from Sliven had the opportunity to visit Auburn and see what our American partners are doing in the areas of economic development, social services and information services. These were unexpected side benefits.
The replication project gave the municipality of Sliven access to many interesting ideas and practices implemented by the other Bulgarian participants in the Bulgarian Technical Twinning Program. As a result, our team came up with new ideas, not only in municipal marketing but in other problem areas, too.
