Chester Chooses Burke to Launch Economic Development Campaign
March 31, 2009

CHARLOTTE, NC - Chester County Economic Development has selected Burke Communications to design and launch a promotional campaign to attract industry, residents and tourism to the upstate South Carolina county.

The campaign, titled "Choose Chester! For Business. For Life." includes a Web site (http://www.choosechester.com/), brochure, video and folder highlighting the features and benefits of living, working and playing in Chester County, located less than 30 miles south of Charlotte. The campaign and materials refine and package Chester County's economic development message that the area is an exceptional place to locate a business due to its skilled workforce, low taxes, plentiful land, and proximity to transportation and cultural hubs in Charlotte, N.C. and Columbia and Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C.

The campaign, which is funded through a grant from the South Carolina General Appropriations Act of 2007, recently announced that Southeastern Petroleum and the Insurance Center for Building and Home Safety Research will locate in Chester County.

Julie A. Rochman, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Insurance Center for Building Safety Research, lauded Chester County Economic Development's work. She said, "After spending months sifting through proposals from several other state and local development offices, and specifically examining dozens of parcels of land, we chose Chester County... The due diligence you conducted on our behalf as we winnowed down our list of potential sites ensured that we did not waste valuable time looking at land that would not meet our needs. The cooperative, productive, highly professional atmosphere that you and the other state, county and local representatives have fostered made it much easier for us to get answers to our many questions quickly, which was important, given our compressed timeline for decision-making. "

Karlisa Parker, Executive Director of Chester County Economic Development, credits Burke Communications' help in developing the Choose Chester! brand for improving the effectiveness of the agency's communications with prospects. "Those of us who live here know that Chester County offers wonderful opportunities for businesses and individuals. But, because we haven't been well known, we needed a way to convey the message that Chester County is an incredible place to live and work. Burke Communications provided us those tools and we are thrilled to see that, even in the earliest stages of the campaign, we are seeing success." The Choose Chester! logo was created by Chester county graphic designer Niki Amos.