Upstate Alliance likely to reject using Greenville/Spartanburg in marketing

By Rudolph Bell • STAFF WRITER • June 24, 2008

The Upstate Alliance will likely reject a consultant’s recommendation to start highlighting the Greenville/Spartanburg name in its marketing, an official with the regional economic development organization said Tuesday.

The change is one of numerous possible changes the Alliance has been considering as it prepares a new strategic plan
The idea didn’t sit well with at least one county that is a member of the Alliance but doesn’t go by the name Greenville or Spartanburg. Anderson County Council voted against the idea in March.

Now, a task force that is leading development of the strategic plan is leaning heavily against the idea as well, said Craig White, an executive with Self Regional Healthcare in Greenwood who is chairman of the task force.

"We can’t favor one county over another in any way because if we do that we lose credibility with our investors and our counties," White said. He said the task force is thinking about marketing with the names Upstate, South Carolina, instead of just Upstate.

That would be an improvement, but still may not provide enough differentiation from other communities around the country that use the name Upstate, said Greenville businessman John Moore, another member of the task force.

"When branding we have to talk in the language that means something to our target market. It’s about talking to your target market, not what we call ourselves," said Moore, vice president of marketing for Zipit Wireless Inc. and the former senior vice president of economic development at the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce.

The Greenville-based Alliance markets South Carolina’s ten westernmost counties as great places to do business. Anderson County contributes $50,000 to its annual budget of $1.46 million.

In recommending the change, Amy Holloway, a marketing consultant from Austin, Texas, said too many other regions across the country use the name Upstate. She helped an Atlanta firm called Market Street Services develop drafts of the strategic plan.