Regional marketing work helps boost inward investment figures
A record number of jobs have been created or safeguarded in the West Midlands as a result of foreign investment over the last three years following the launch of a marketing campaign to boost the profile of the region.
[UKPRwire, Thu May 10 2007] Figures published today show that in the West Midlands for the financial year 2006-2007, a total of 2,500 jobs were created as a result of inward investment and a further 11,996 safeguarded.
Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands – which is responsible for working overseas to promote the region and generate investment – was directly involved in projects which saw 1,879 jobs created and 211 safeguarded.
This means that in the three years since the launch of the West Midlands Regional Marketing Campaign, some 11,364 jobs have been created or safeguarded by Advantage West Midlands, the best three-year series since the Agency was established in 1999.
The marketing campaign is aiming to improve perceptions of the region internationally, focusing on the West Midlands’ strengths as a place to do business.
Taxis presenting the message to business people in Paris, Brussels and Gothenburg will soon be appearing as the latest phase of the campaign.
Among the successful projects involving the Agency was the opening of the State Bank of India in Birmingham, initially creating 11 jobs, the opening of the Airbus UK Ltd plant in Bickenhill, Birmingham, creating 220 research and development jobs and the creation of 70 jobs at Sega Europe in Solihull.
Advantage West Midlands is constantly involved in working to secure global investment with companies across the world and has a network of offices in the USA (Chicago, Boston, Washington DC and San Jose), Japan, India, Australia, Germany, France, Sweden and Belgium.
John Edwards, Advantage West Midlands Chief Executive, said: “Inward investment is a crucial element in the economic performance of our region and Advantage West Midlands’ role in both encouraging investment and promoting the region is paying dividends.
“There is intense competition within the UK to encourage foreign-owned firms to locate in a given region and then to stay, consolidate and expand there.
“Our regional marketing work – created to position our region ‘at the heart of it all’ – is working to change perceptions of the West Midlands across Europe and beyond and I am particularly pleased to see international names such as Airbus, Alstom and Sega making important investments here.
“Our region is home to around 2,300 foreign-owned enterprises employing more than 250,000 people – around one tenth of the region’s workforce.
“Overseas companies continue, quite rightly, to view the West Midlands as a place where manufacturing and engineering thrives, supported by investment in research and development facilities and an increasingly powerful regional image.
“We know the West Midlands is the best place in the world to do business – it is clear from these three-year figures that the rest of the world is increasingly realising it as well.”
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