THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 17, 1994 TAG: 9412170237
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
It's North Carolina's economic climate and tax structure that lure new businesses to the state, not a lack of unions and a low-paid work force, state Commerce Secretary Dave Phillips said Friday.
``Climate - that's the big selling factor,'' Phillips said during a news conference to unveil an advertising campaign aimed at attracting industry to the state.
Promoting the state by advertising a low-wage work force was a strategy of 10 or 20 years ago that isn't enough to attract businesses to the state today, Phillips said.
``Companies want a work force that can make products in a quality way,'' he said.
Watts Carr, director of the department's Business and Industry Development Division, said about 10 percent of industry executives still believe the state's low rate of union organization and low wages are its main draw.
The other 90 percent want assets such as educated workers and access to airports, he said.
But the state's ad campaign - which is costing about $330,000 - focuses on bottom-line economics.
The two-page black-and-white ads feature large-type slogans promoting the state's business climate.
The state chose black-and-white ads because they are less expensive than color ones, Phillips said.
The first ads will appear in ``Business North Carolina'' magazine in January. Other ads will appear this spring, mainly in ``Fortune'' and ``Industry Week.''
The campaign was developed by the Charlotte advertising firm of Loeffler Ketchum Mountjoy.
``The best way to keep your company from heading south is to head south,'' one ad reads. Below the slogans are three facts about North Carolina that make it attractive to business and a phone number for businesses to call.
``To say our state is `pro-business' is a little like saying the Sistine Chapel is `kinda pretty,' '' another ad reads.
John Ketchum, a partner in the advertising firm, said researchers for the campaign found that 50 percent of all companies are looking for places to expand or relocate.
Meantime, Gov. Jim Hunt has said too many of North Carolina's high school graduates lack the basic skills needed in the modern work force. Hunt appointed a 25-member commission to come up with higher standards and a better way to evaluate students throughout their school years.
Last July, after about 10 months of hearings and research, the North Carolina Standards and Accountability Commission came up with a list of standards that all students should be able to meet.
The state Board of Education this year is considering its final recommendations for new criteria.
Hunt on Thursday reiterated to several hundred businessmen at a meeting in Research Triangle Park that the state must cut taxes for business.
Last week, he proposed $483 million in tax cuts, including eliminating the intangibles tax and dropping the corporate income tax rate from 7.75 percent to 7 percent. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jim Mountjoy, of the Charlotte company Loeffler Ketchum Mountjoy,
shows off an advertising slogan that his firm developed to attract
new business to North Carolina.
by CNB