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From Challenges to Prosperity—Let’s Build Stronger Communities
Full-Service marketing
support for your community.
Economic development is about more than just growth — it’s about building strong, resilient communities where people and businesses can thrive. But today’s economic landscape is evolving fast, from workforce shortages and shifting industries to the rise of remote work and increasing competition for investment.
That’s where we at S.I.R. come in. With decades of experience partnering with economic development organizations, regional alliances, tourism offices, and local governments, we know how to uncover what makes a place truly competitive — and how to tell that story to the right audiences.
We’re all about helping communities attract business, retain talent, and create opportunities for long-term success. Curious about how we can collaborate? Let’s talk!
Strategies
Focused on uncovering what makes your community stand out. Our team works closely with economic development organizations to craft strategies that attract investment, foster business growth, and retain talent in an ever-changing economic environment.
Insights
Our in-house research team uncovers the data and trends that matter most — from workforce dynamics and industry perceptions to site selection drivers and resident sentiment — helping you make confident, informed decisions.
Results
Powered by deep research and decades of expertise, we deliver strategic plans, branding and messaging platforms, marketing campaigns, stakeholder engagement strategies, and reputation management to position your community for long-term success.
Virginia Tourism Corporation
Strategic Plan for Tourism Growth
Statewide roadmap for destination development and economic impact.
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In 2019, Virginia Tourism Corporation set out to create a strategic plan that would not only strengthen Virginia’s travel and tourism industry but also equip local destination leaders with clear, actionable guidance. VTC needed a plan that could address state-level goals while also being flexible enough to provide practical, region-specific tools for communities across Virginia.
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S.I.R. partnered with VTC to launch a comprehensive, research-driven process, starting with interviews, industry listening sessions, and stakeholder surveys. Combining this direct input with trend analysis and secondary research, S.I.R. developed DRIVE 2.0 — a five-year strategic plan paired with tailored roadmaps for each of Virginia’s 10 tourism regions. The plan offered clear insights into assets, trends, competitive positioning, and future opportunities. To ensure local leaders could translate strategy into action, S.I.R. also developed a series of practical How-to Guides and facilitated hands-on workshops to support storytelling, partnership building, and grant access.
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DRIVE 2.0 provided Virginia with a unified statewide tourism strategy while equipping regional and local leaders with tools to drive their own success. The plan helped align promotional efforts, enhance product development, and foster stronger partnerships between destinations. S.I.R.’s ongoing support continues to help Virginia communities transform strategy into tangible economic growth.
Strategic Workforce Development Plan
City of Charlotte- HIRE Charlotte
Building a stronger, more inclusive employment ecosystem.
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Charlotte’s rapidly growing economy demanded a stronger and more coordinated workforce development strategy. The city faced a fragmented employment ecosystem, making it difficult for job seekers and employers to navigate available resources. The Department of Economic Development needed a unified approach to address employment gaps, strengthen talent pipelines, and create more equitable opportunities for residents and businesses alike.
• EXPLORE barriers to higher education
• IDENTIFY internal cultural and policy challenges preventing student success
• UNDERSTAND the appeal of community college enrollment among these populations, and
• DETERMINE messaging or policy changes that may serve to increase interest in local community colleges.
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S.I.R. partnered with the City of Charlotte to develop HIRE Charlotte, a comprehensive jobs strategy framework designed to unify and enhance the city’s workforce ecosystem. Through a 13-step collaborative process, S.I.R. engaged industry leaders, conducted stakeholder interviews, and analyzed employment trends. The framework identified regional strengths and challenges, evaluated workforce training programs, and ensured alignment with equity goals to create a more connected, accessible job market.
We conducted online surveys among past, current, and prospective Black, Latinx, Native American, and ALICE population students throughout Virginia to quantify barriers, desires, expectations, and perceptions. With quantitative findings in hand, we then conducted Virtual Communities (online focus groups) to explore participant experiences in more depth.
Activities and topics were designed to identify and explore cultural and structural attributes that either contribute to or detract from the student experience, as well as explore the decision-making process of enrollment and examine comparative differences between VCCS and other educational options.
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By March 2022, HIRE Charlotte became a guiding strategic framework, helping to bridge the gaps between workforce training, education, and employer needs. The initiative fostered stronger collaboration across stakeholders, leading to a more inclusive, opportunity-driven employment ecosystem that supports long-term economic growth and mobility for Charlotte residents.
Tourism Master Plan for Sustainable Growth
Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB)
Shaping a 20-year vision for a premier travel destination.
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Despite the Charlottesville-Albemarle region’s success as a popular travel destination, the area lacked a cohesive, long-term strategy to guide its tourism future. CACVB needed a plan that would balance economic growth with preserving the region’s cultural and natural assets, while also addressing evolving travel trends, seasonality challenges, and the need for a stronger, more inclusive brand identity.
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CACVB partnered with S.I.R. to develop Destination 2045, a comprehensive 20-year Tourism Master Plan (TMP). From August 2023 to June 2024, S.I.R. led a collaborative, research-driven process involving over 150 local stakeholders and more than 800 past and prospective visitors. Through stakeholder interviews, industry surveys, workshops, and competitive analysis, S.I.R. identified strategic focus areas including enhancing visitor experiences, promoting unique regional assets like wine tourism, and prioritizing diversity and inclusivity. The resulting plan combined marketing strategies, infrastructure improvements, and collaborative initiatives to foster sustainable tourism growth.
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The Destination 2045 plan now serves as a clear blueprint for the region’s future, aligning community and tourism goals to ensure long-term economic sustainability and quality of life. With strategic guidance in place, Charlottesville-Albemarle is positioned to grow as a premier, inclusive, and resilient travel destination — one that honors its history while embracing new opportunities.
Travel Oregon – Destination Ready Program
Tourism Asset Development and Funding Support
Helping communities strengthen tourism assets and secure funding
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As the tourism industry began its post-pandemic recovery, many Oregon communities struggled to revitalize their local attractions while facing limited resources and technical expertise. Destinations needed guidance to assess their tourism potential, enhance visitor experiences, and craft competitive proposals to secure future funding — all while navigating an uncertain tourism landscape.
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Travel Oregon partnered with S.I.R. to create and implement the Destination Ready Program, designed to guide 11 communities through a structured tourism development process. S.I.R. conducted Destination Ready Assessments to evaluate each community’s key tourism assets, identifying opportunities for product development, infrastructure improvements, and visitor experience enhancements. In addition to these assessments, S.I.R. facilitated workshops to help communities prioritize projects and draft competitive grant proposals — ultimately helping destinations position themselves for long-term success.
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The program empowered participating communities to identify their unique tourism potential, develop actionable plans, and secure funding to bring key projects to life. With S.I.R.’s support, several destinations successfully obtained grant funding, enabling them to implement priority initiatives. The Destination Ready Program not only helped communities recover but also strengthened their capacity to manage and grow tourism sustainably in the years ahead.
The Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor (BRIC)
Strategic Vision & Regional Economic Growth
Transforming Southwestern and South-Central Virginia into a Competitive Economic Hub
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Despite its strengths in manufacturing, healthcare, and education, Southwestern and South-Central Virginia lacked a cohesive economic identity that could position it as a competitive megaregion alongside Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Hampton Roads. The region needed a unifying strategy to drive economic development, workforce growth, infrastructure improvements, and business attraction while fostering collaboration across multiple localities.
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S.I.R. spearheaded the creation of the Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor (BRIC), developing its strategic vision, branding, and framework for long-term regional growth. The initiative focused on four key areas:
Economic Growth – Positioned the corridor as a leader in advanced manufacturing, biomedical research, and workforce training, including partnerships with the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (Danville) to support innovations like industrial 3D printing for the U.S. Navy.
Transportation & Infrastructure – Advocated for improvements to U.S. Route 220 to strengthen connectivity between Virginia and North Carolina, while also enhancing the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport to meet business and academic needs.
Workforce Development – Leveraged the presence of Virginia Tech, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and other institutions to develop talent pipelines in key industries.
Regional Collaboration – United business leaders, academic institutions, and local governments under a shared vision to attract businesses, retain talent, and drive innovation.
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The Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor has emerged as a powerful economic engine, driving investment, infrastructure expansion, and regional collaboration.
Key outcomes include:
Increased business attraction and global investment, supported by major industrial sites like the Southern Virginia Mega Site at Berry Hill and Summit View in Franklin County.
Stronger regional connectivity, with improved efforts to enhance transportation and logistics infrastructure.
Expanded workforce development programs, positioning BRIC as a hub for skilled talent and innovation in Virginia.
Economic Recovery and Resilience Framework
Hampton Roads Alliance
Uniting regional leaders to drive post-pandemic economic growth
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When COVID-19 struck, the Hampton Roads region faced unprecedented economic disruption. As the leading economic development organization for the region, the Hampton Roads Alliance needed to rapidly respond to the crisis, helping businesses navigate uncertainty while also laying the groundwork for long-term economic resilience. This required both immediate action and a clear, strategic framework to guide recovery efforts in a way that supported regional unity and future growth.
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The Alliance partnered with S.I.R. to develop the 757 Recovery & Resilience Action Framework, a collaborative plan organized around five strategic pillars: regional unity, job creation, talent development, economic resilience, and infrastructure investment. To create this framework, S.I.R. conducted extensive surveys with business leaders to understand the pandemic’s impacts, convened over 200 stakeholders to shape the plan, and launched the 757 Business Recovery Forum — a central hub for expert advice, real-time updates, and collaborative discussions. To amplify engagement, S.I.R. also created a dedicated website and produced more than 15 videos featuring regional leaders discussing recovery strategies.
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The 757 Recovery & Resilience Action Framework gave Hampton Roads a clear, actionable roadmap for economic recovery and long-term resilience. The process strengthened regional collaboration, empowered local businesses with practical tools and expert guidance, and fostered a sense of shared purpose across the community. Thanks to this coordinated effort, the Hampton Roads region emerged from the crisis stronger, more connected, and better prepared for future challenges.
Building Unity & Clarity
City of Norfolk
Establishing a cohesive city brand
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S.I.R. partnered with the City of Norfolk to determine how it could best serve its stakeholders and, in turn, improve how Norfolk's diverse communities felt about their city. The first challenge we encountered was how to build unity and clarity around the city's communications.
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To consolidate the city's 26 different departments under one unified brand, we first needed to see how each was communicating as individuals. As such, we gathered collateral from each department and led city leaders through an audit process that confirmed what we suspected — each department not only had its own logo, but it also managed its own communication, making the development of unified messaging and effective communication with residents and stakeholders next to impossible.
With our audit findings in hand, we conducted one-on-one interviews with each department head and distributed surveys to residents to begin assembling a plan that prioritized what needed to be communicated, what elements drove resident satisfaction and improved perceptions the most, and how the city could improve the way they meet resident needs.
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These efforts all fed into a new organizational structure, whereby the City of Norfolk could stand-up a government-level communications department to centralize messaging. To help ensure the development of that department and a smooth transition, S.I.R. acted as the city’s interim Chief Marketing Officer until all the necessary pieces were in place. S.I.R. also unified the city's branding elements such as color choice, website layout, and logo development — in fact, the logo that we developed is used by the city to this day.
Let’s Talk
All of S.I.R.’s projects start with a conversation. Let us know a little about you and your organization and we’ll set a time to talk. You can visit our offices in the Fan District of Richmond, VA or we can hop on a video call. Whatever works best for you works best for us.
If you would prefer to start your conversation with one of our consultants individually, please refer to our people page.