The Kansas Department of Commerce serves as the State's lead economic development agency.
Commerce engaged our graduate program while the state of Kansas was riding an unprecedented surge of economic development wins, creating more career opportunities and jobs than there are qualified people in Kansas looking for work.
Develop a comprehensive talent attraction initiative to attract and keep working-age people and new graduates in Kansas.
To allow workers to rediscover Kansas as a place to thrive, we developed five strategies to:
Reach and engage its audience
Better position Kansas’ brand
Flip the script on common misconceptions about Kansas and its inhabitants
Reintroduce Kansas as a place to build a flourishing career
Improve Kansas’ perception around diversity, equity, and inclusion
As a team of graduate students, extend research and advise on a campaign to bring workers to the state of Kansas.
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Solution
Through a combination of primary and secondary research, we discovered the need to challenge Kansas' stereotypes head-on that are causing unfavorable representations of the state among former Kansans and those with no prior Kansas association.
View the full research report here.
Strategy 1 improves Commerce’s ability to engage and reach the right target audience at the right time. Through updated SEO strategies, paid search, retargeting, and ongoing email campaigns, Commerce can create visibility to help the target audience see Kansas as a place to call home.
Strategy 2 recommends Commerce position the brand by leaning into the perception of Kansans being “Midwestern nice” to attract people to the state’s hometown feel. This omnichannel social campaign will highlight real Kansans, the state’s connection to Ted Lasso, and user-generated content.
Strategy 3 focuses on flipping the script on perceptions of Kansas as being flat, boring, and lacking attractions. Tactics include an influencer travel campaign, a Kansas “calm moments” media campaign, and an Out-Of-Home campaign highlighting unique Kansas history.
Strategy 4 aims to promote Kansas as an attractive location for career growth in unexpected industries. Tactics include creating career development opportunities for workers through a certificate program and a virtual career fair.
Among young professionals, our research showed a concern that Kansas is not a welcoming place for diverse groups. Strategy 5 repositions the Kansas brand as diverse, equitable, and inclusive through a storytelling campaign. It is also suggested that Commerce create a crisis communications plan to address potential reputational risks that might arise around diversity issues in the states.
Our research report provided data to identify and analyze Commerce’s ideal audience through journey maps, audience journeys, and personas.
