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This is AM with your CC
Quite a bit of controversy surrounds the City of Eureka's effort to award marketing dollars to a firm. While the process has been poorly handled from the very beginning, the decision on the table right now is: To give the marketing money to the local "Humboldt Made" group, or send the funding to a very capable organization in Virginia, one "Eddy Alexander."
Humboldt Made is a very special local group, they work really hard marketing local businesses and they have the ability to bring crowds to local events. Local references for Humboldt Made are easy to find, as its easy to love the hometown contender.
The other organization that is applying for these Eureka Marketing dollars, is Eddy Alexander, a firm in Virginia. Local officials close to the decision process have remarked, perhaps somewhat grudgingly, that Eddy Alexander is a well polished group that has plenty of references that showcase success stories. That is to say, Eddy Alexander has proven evidence that they can market a small quirky city to the international community.
What is the goal of the marketing dollars? There is even debate about that. Should we market to people in the Bay Area or the international market? I believe we should expand our attention getting efforts as far as possible. If you agree with me on that, then Eddy Alexander should be the firm you support. If you believe that our marketing strategy should be to appeal to the Bay Area then you really could go either way on this.
Marketing is crucial to bringing in new customers, but content is king. I have been in business for ten years now in Old Town Eureka, and I have seen countless examples of what happens when visiting worldly tourists get a look at the crime, drugs and bums that are so rampant in our area. If we can't get a handle on cleaning up our neighborhoods, bringing more opportunities for employment and fixing all of our potholes, then even the best marketing effort is going to go to waste.
Speaking of international news, my industry has been impacted by the new, increased Tariffs from China and the effects have not been that severe. Chinese audio has increased by 25% for example. As far as the music industry is concerned, I think that all the manufacturers who moved their production facilities to Vietnam and Indonesia are very happy they made those moves! Trump is very wise to insist that countries treat us right on trade. While the current tariffs make my life a little more complicated, im glad that we are negotiating from a position of strength and glad that countries around the world are jumping in to gladly accept the workload that China is losing. China has a lot more to lose from this trade war than the United States, as long as we keep our resolve to play this out.
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YOU be the judge! You can see the two proposals from each competiting group Here
