Marketing Hometown America is a program that has been successfully used by Cooperative Extension programs in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and now Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to help rural communities retain their quality of life and market the value of rural places by teaching them to home in on what people are looking for when they choose a place to live and do business.
Contact Information
Target Audience
Rural communities in need of a focused marketing plan to attract new residents and businesses.
Delivery Method
The Marketing Hometown America program trains local facilitators to run a four-week Study Circles program. Each week many small groups within a community meet with their own facilitator and work through a different topic. At the end of the four-week Study Circles sessions, all the participants from all of the groups come together for an Action Planning Forum where each group’s ideas are presented and everyone chooses the ideas they like best to be incorporated into a marketing plan for their community.
Requirements
Client communities must have at least 10 people who are ready and willing to commit to serving on an advisory committee and can recruit 30 or more residents to actively participate in discussions.