MEDC Names Agency Partners to Advance Goal of Securing Michigan as Top Four-Season Business and Travel Destination in North America

• Lambert/9thWonder, MMGY Global, FINN Partners, and Meredith Travel Marketing to support promotion of Michigan as a world-class business location and travel destination • Agency partners to support existing and growing workforce presence in Michigan

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan remains the home for opportunity, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation continues to promote the state as a world-class business location and travel destination to inspire, motivate and engage business decision-makers and leisure travelers to choose Michigan.

To continue that momentum and elevate key marketing campaigns supporting economic growth across the state – including Pure Michigan, Pure Opportunity and Pure Partnership – MEDC today announced four agency partners have been selected through a competitive RFP process to help Michigan become the top four-season business and travel destination in North America.

• Lambert/9thWonder for Business Marketing and Advertising
• MMGY for Travel Marketing and Advertising
• FINN Partners for Business and Tourism Public Relations and Social Media
• Meredith Travel Marketing for State of Michigan Travel Guide Production Services

“Whether our audience is leisure travelers, entrepreneurs or business owners looking to expand or grow in the state, we have a compelling story to tell about the opportunities Michigan has to offer,” said MEDC Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Doug Kuiper. “Working alongside our talented team here at MEDC, these four respected, top-tier marketing and PR agency partners will play a critical role in getting our Michigan story into market and building a pipeline of new visitors and new business leads that will help drive long-term economic growth in Michigan.”

Today, the Michigan Strategic Fund approved the business marketing services contract with communications firm Lambert/9thWonder with MEDC awarding the three additional contracts for a combined approach to showcasing Michigan as a world-class business and travel location.

With one of MEDC’s strategic focus areas being to market the state and promote Michigan’s image worldwide, these contracts will serve to assist in generating new business prospects for the state, increasing awareness of the full suite of services MEDC offers to Michigan businesses and communities, and increasing the visibility and selection of Michigan as a regional and national leisure travel destination.

The firms were selected based on the recommendations of four Joint Evaluation Committees, each including at least one industry expert from outside of the MEDC. The JECs undertook a rigorous process to review and consider the responses received through the RFP and determine their recommendations. Each JEC reviewed scoring and technical proposals, oral proposals for those who received consensus scores greater than 80, and pricing proposals for those who participated in oral presentations.

The contracts were awarded to:

• Business Marketing and Advertising – Lambert/9thWonder, a partnership between the Michigan-founded communications and marketing firm Lambert and the Hispanic-owned enterprise 9thWonder, was chosen to provide business marketing and advertising activities that attract, retain and grow businesses that deliver economic benefit and opportunity to the people of Michigan.
• Travel Marketing and Advertising – MMGY Global, a Michigan-owned company and the leading integrated marketing agency in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry for more than four decades, was chosen to provide marketing and advertising services to elevate the Pure Michigan brand. MMGY will also be expanding its Michigan presence with a new Detroit office as well as the additions of new staff and partner suppliers.
• Public Relations and Social Media – FINN Partners, a global and independent communications agency with a strong Michigan presence, was chosen to support the public relations and social media work across both business and travel, including MEDC, Pure Michigan and MobilityMI social media accounts, to promote Michigan’s image as a world-class business location and leisure travel destination.
• Seasonal Travel Guide – Meredith Travel Marketing, a national full-service editorial, design, sales, and marketing agency for tourism partners, was selected to produce, publish and distribute the official Michigan Seasonal Travel Guide, published twice yearly.

“Our existing providers have delivered high-caliber, committed and outstanding work,” Kuiper said. “Ultimately, the decisions from our JECs are based on the belief that these four firms will best amplify and expand the MEDC’s Michigan storytelling, while continuing to grow Michigan’s visibility and reputation as a regional and national business and leisure travel destination.”

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and Twitter.