Loudoun Economic Development is proud to announce that it has received two awards from the International Economic Development Council.
The honor was presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, September 19, during the IEDC annual conference, which was held in Toronto, Canada.
“On behalf of the IEDC board of directors and Excellence in Economic Development Awards Advisory Committee, congratulations to the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development. Not only did they work to provide a necessary service to their community; but also, their participation in the awards program sheds light on their stellar projects which other communities can now use as a benchmark,” said Michael Langley, 2017 IEDC board chair.
“We pride ourselves on finding new and innovative ways to get the ‘#LoudounPossible’ message to stand out in the eyes of businesses interested in investing in our county. In today’s competitive environment, where ‘off the shelf’ solutions don’t cut through, our potential clients have responded to our tailor-made, professional-quality proposals, which help the department stand out from its competition,” said Economic Development’s Executive Director, Buddy Rizer.
In an effort to persuade a pharmaceutical company to choose Loudoun County as a site for their company, the department created a custom-made marketing booklet packaged with a hand-made, 12-inch replica of a human DNA strand made from jewelry wire and glass beads.
Recipients were able to hold the DNA strand in their hands and use it as an office decoration, allowing the strand to serve as an ongoing reminder of the assets that make Loudoun a world-class corporate location.
The department also won a Bronze Excellence in Economic Development Award in the category of new media. The department produced a one-minute “Mannequin Challenge” video in December 2016, a time when making “Mannequin Challenge” videos were a popular, global Internet trend that was covered by news media such as the New York Times, NPR and Time magazine.
ALSO READ: Making the Mannequin, Joining Web Trends in a Meaningful Way
Celebrities, entertainers, pro athletes and businesses of all sizes produced “Mannequin Challenge” videos and posted them on social media.
“Within the first month of posting the video, it was viewed almost 40,000 times across our social media channels. It helped raise awareness of our organization regionally as well as across the U.S. and overseas,” Rizer said.
“The awards process is a thorough, non-biased and multi-layered process. These are extraordinary accomplishments for all winners, and an overall great effort by all participants,” Langley said.
