Florida League of Cities and RMA's Kevin Crowder Host Economic Development Summit Series
Is Your City In Control of Its Brand?
POMPANO BEACH, Fla., May 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Loss of brand control to Trip Advisor, reactions to Uber and Lyft, and missed opportunities are a few of the reasons cities can fall behind in their redevelopment plans. To help city leaders overcome these obstacles and affect real change, The Florida League of Cities established The FLC Summit Series: Tools that Work for Economic Development. The series is being taught by Kevin Crowder, Director of Economic Development for Redevelopment Management Associates (www.rma.us.com). The summits are free to all area elected officials, city and county economic development staff, CRA's, and other public and private economic development leaders. Upcoming dates are 5/13 Davie, 6/26 Sarasota, 7/17 Jacksonville Beach, 8/11 Winter Park. To register visit www.flcities.com.
"During these summits we will introduce city leaders to RMA's Business Flare™ concept," said Crowder, the former Director of Economic Development & Intergovernmental Affairs at City of Miami Beach and Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency. "This is a market-based, realistic approach to economic development. Understanding what drives development and investment is essential, but learning how you can and cannot influence these drivers is critical to success."
At these summits, Crowder provides real world examples and tackles the issues that are affecting cities' growth.
Crowder addresses hot topics like Uber and Lyft and why cities must adapt their approach to new innovation and technology. He also discusses how technology is taking away cities' ability to brand themselves.
"Cities are on an accelerated path to losing control of their brand image," he said. "If you are a tourist, who are you going to believe---the tourism division or sites like Trip Advisor and Yelp that have thousands of comments about an area?"
The influence of individual's aggregate comments are becoming even more far reaching. "It's not just about the town's restaurants now, it's about the government, the police, crime etc. This has led Crowder to stress, "To keep control, cities need to deliver—not just say they are delivering!"
"Our members have told us that these Florida League of Cities Summits in general are of great value to them, covering a wide spectrum of topics. We are particularly pleased with the very positive feedback from these Economic Development Summits," said Carol Westmoreland, Executive Director of The Florida League of Cities.
SOURCE RMA
Related Links
WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?
Newsrooms &
Influencers
Digital Media
Outlets
Journalists
Opted In
Share this article