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About Atlas Advertising, LLC
- Since its launch in 2001, Atlas Advertising has worked with more than 80 communities in 40 states and six countries.
- CEO Ben Wright is a former economic developer
- Four sites designed by their Creative Director have won best economic development web site for communities in the country.
- Some examples of their work can be see on sites created for Grand Rapids, Mich. www.rightplace.org, and Muncie, Ind. www.muncie.com.
DAYTON — The City of Dayton Office of Economic Development has contracted Atlas Advertising, LLC out of Denver, Colo. for $45,000, to create an economic development website that promotes the city to businesses.
The award-winning company beat out 15 other bids, including five local firms, to create the site that will feature state-of-the-art search and database tools to show businesses what Dayton has to offer.
“Research has shown that a strong economic development website has a strong return on investment,” said Timothy Downs, deputy director of the city’s economic development department. He said the department’s current site, which is a part of the city’s main website, doesn’t offer the advanced search tools or analytics needed to compete.
“So much of how a company gathers information about locations and communities is done online,” said Atlas Advertising CEO, Ben Wright.
He said the new site will incorporate the city’s “Dayton Originals” marketing campaign while offering sophisticated geographic information system (GIS) tools that allow interested businesses to map potential locations and research workforce demographics.
“Having a website for them to use as a tool is the first step,” Wright said, to getting businesses interested in moving to Dayton. “It will add to Dayton’s competitiveness.”
The $45,000 contract with the city is for one year of site development and training the city’s economic development staff to manage the site, Downs said.
Along with an independently hosted site, the city will get access to a content management system that allows the staff daily control over the site, analytical tools to track who is visiting the site and what they are searching for, and a mobile site.
Downs said he anticipates the cost to actually be less than $40,000 total. The site is expected to launch in mid-June.
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