Preparing a Major Company for Future Growth
Conducting local market evaluations to analyze the risks and opportunities associated with building a new headquarters and relocating employees and operations to a fast-growing city
The opportunity
A major company planned to leverage tax incentives to build a new U.S. headquarters in a rapidly developing city and relocate its entire workforce from its long-time suburban business center to a downtown urban setting. Although the proposed destination showed clear signs of economic growth, there were drawbacks: high crime, a history of anti-corporate pushback from residents and activists, and criticism of companies that were taking advantage of “corporate tax giveaways.” The company hired us to help them think through the risks and opportunities of making the move and develop their strategy for engaging productively with key stakeholders, especially local communities.
The Client
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International financial services company with significant U.S. operations
Their Communities
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Employees
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Local residents
What we did
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Conducted a comprehensive risk and opportunity assessment, which included deep local market research and interviews with community influencers, employees, and every member of the client’s senior leadership team, including the CEO and General Counsel
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Identified key influencers our client would need to productively engage and involve in the planning process to mitigate risk and ensure the relocation was mutually beneficial
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Developed a detailed strategic communications and community engagement plan, including proposed messaging, outreach activities, and social impact partnerships that would help our client quickly weave itself into the fabric of the local community in an authentic and supportive way
Win-Win
By focusing so intently on employees and local residents, we were able to identify both risks and opportunities the client hadn’t thought of or fully considered. Our community-first approach improved our client’s ability to make informed decisions and understand how to best to support local stakeholders. Ultimately, our work helped produce a stronger, clearer, more effective go-forward strategy for them.