If more people with northern accents start moving here, it could be due to a marketing campaign targeting the northeastern United States which promotes Mount Airy to retirees.
But that is just one of the efforts benefiting this city through its designation as a certified retirement community, according to a representative of an organization called the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.
Andre Nabors, a partner and trade relations manager with the group based in Cary, also outlined various other ways word of Mount Airy is being spread to the outside world, during a Thursday afternoon presentation at a city Board of Commissioners meeting.
Nabors’ visit was aimed at highlighting how Mount Airy has been aided by becoming a state-certified retirement community about three years ago. Achieving that status cost the municipality $10,000, and will require paying another $10,000 when its present five-year membership period ends.
Mount Airy is one of 13 communities in North Carolina which have opted to obtain that certification as a way to attract retirees who tend to have large disposable incomes and in return seek a slower lifestyle far removed from some northern metropolis.
That gap is being bridged through a variety of methods, according to the representative from the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, a non-profit group created in 2014 to serve as the main tourism arm for the state. It has taken over recruitment, marketing and sales functions formerly performed by the N.C. Department of Commerce.
The state marketing group is using a number of tools to promote certified requirement communities, Nabors told the city council during Thursday afternoon’s well-attended meeting in seeking to answer the question “what have you been getting, particularly, for that $10,000?”
One is a prominent place on the RetireNC Internet site.
“When you click on certified retirement communities, Mount Airy is one of these that pops up,” Nabors said of a listing that includes a picture of the downtown area and a one-paragraph description.
“This small town served as the real-life inspiration for Andy Griffith’s Mayberry and offers museums, wineries and gourmet restaurants in north-central North Carolina,” it states.
Nabors said the intent is to appeal to retirees who are interested in moving to a setting near the mountains.
He added that the number of people accessing the Internet site is steadily growing, including a 70-percent increase in visitors to it over the past year.
“E-marketing is another thing that we’ve focused on,” Nabors said of a process which involves marketing a brand via electronic media. Every quarter, two or three communities are spotlighted, he said.
Consumer shows
The marketing group’s attending of consumer shows is probably one of the most important components of the certified retirement community program, according to Nabors. Such shows are sponsored by organizations including Ideal-Living magazine, whose mission is informing retirees about the best places to live.
These kinds of events tend to lure up to 1,500 people during a weekend, and the state group has attended shows in places such as New York City and Tysons Corner, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The North Carolina group also will have a presence at upcoming shows in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Long Island, N.Y.
“These are in affluent locations,” Nabors said of shows that appeal to retirees with “serious” retirement/relocation plans.
The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina operates a booth at the events to provide information about the state, which Nabors said more retirees are interested in moving to than any other southern state.
Along with dispensing information about its climate to those interested in North Carolina, the marketing personnel from Cary give out packets with all certified retirement communities listed and each of those also can supply materials.
Social media is another tool relied on, which is used to list attractions and events in Mount Airy and other retirement communities.
The goal of these and related efforts is to develop leads for local tourism organizations to pursue more fully, based on Thursday’s discussion.
Jessica Icenhour Roberts, who coordinates tourism functions with the Mount Airy Visitors Center, said at Thursday’s meeting than when it receives inquiries from potential retirees to the city, additional information is sent about local events and amenities.
“So it’s an ongoing outlet to respond to these people,” Roberts said.
Co-op marketing opportunities also are relied on, Nabors said of a mechanism in which a group of entities shares the cost of reaching target markets.
Catrina Alexander, the city’s parks and recreation director who is involved with local tourism promotions, mentioned at Thursday’s meeting that Mount Airy will be featured in a spring co-op advertisement.
Public relations functions are another tool to promote the certified retirement communities, Nabors said, which includes reaching out to magazine and other writers specializing in quality-of-life subjects and places offering this, such as Mount Airy.
Effort expanding
Those who heard Nabors’ presentation at City Hall generally seemed impressed by the state certified retirement community program. But there were some suggestions aired about broadening the list of areas targeting retirees to include more than just the Northeast.
“Why is Florida not on there?” local citizen Ron Ellis asked in relation to the marketing effort. “Southeastern Florida would certainly be one of the areas I would go after.”
The reasoning behind this is that many retirees to the Sunshine State from northern areas later find they want to be closer to their children left behind, and North Carolina is well-situated for this. It also offers a mid-range climate that is not too hot or too cold.
“We are looking at that,” Nabors said of the Florida market that is becoming overcrowded, and added that his organization is interested in launching promotions targeting other states in the South.
Tom Joyce may be reached at 336-415-4693 or on Twitter @Me_Reporter.
