State of Maryland - Marketing Guide

Marketing Guide 2024

The Marketing Team

What We Do

Manage Business

Attraction Marketing

Promote Commerce Programs & Initiatives

How We Do It

Advertising/Branding Websites

Email Marketing

Event Marketing

Social Media

Videos

How To Request Marketing Services

Where Can I Find... Logos

Data & Rankings Letterhead

PowerPoints

Collateral / Materials

What To ExpectTurnaround

The Marketing Team

Sherri Diehl Marketing Director 410-718-0075

sherri.diehl@maryland.gov

DIGITAL TEAM

Carolyn Hammock Digital Director 443-680-3058

Julie Miller

Brian Fisher

Maggie Whitescarver

GRAPHIC DESIGN TEAM

Saundra Jones

Scott Johnson

WRITING / COLLATERAL

Jim Meyer

carolyn.hammock@maryland.gov

Digital Content Manager 410-693-6686

Content Strategy & Planning julie.miller@maryland.gov

Digital Designer 917-941-1128

Video Editing, Online Graphics brian.fisher@maryland.gov

Digital Marketing Coordinator 443-301-5944

Social Media, Email, Web Edits margaret.whitescarver@maryland.gov

Creative Director 443-255-3549

Visual Design, Brand, saundra.jones@maryland.gov

Event & Collateral

Senior Designer 410-320-0272

Visual Design, Brand, scott.johnson@maryland.gov

Event & Collateral

Writer/Editor 410-925-8217

Collateral and Web Writing, james.meyer@maryland.gov

Audio Projects, Annual Report

TRADESHOWS / EVENTS / SPONSORSHIPS

Tiffany Sargent Marketing Manager 410-350-5186

Tradeshow Coordination, tiffany.sargent@maryland.gov Sponsorships, Promotional Items

What We Do

Manage Business Attraction Marketing

Our objective is to develop and manage the business brand for the state of Maryland. We aim to position Maryland as a great place to be — to run a business and live a well rounded lifestyle. Our marketing messages reinforce key selling points with an emotional pull to really instill a positive perception of Maryland as a location.

Our primary marketing hub is Business.Maryland.gov This site is essentially an online brochure for Maryland and attempts to engage business decision makers in content that will help them keep Maryland top of mind as they make business move/ expansion plans. All of our business attraction advertising directs to this site.

The marketing budget is comprised of dollars allocated from the state budget as well as dollars collected from fundraising from private sector businesses. Fundraising efforts are made possible by the Maryland Marketing Partnership (MMP). This legislatively mandated organization was created in 2016 as a way for us to generate additional funding for our advertising campaign.

The MMP is led by a governor-appointed board of business executives. The board works in partnership with the Commerce marketing team to oversee the advertising campaign. The partnership is also made up of 20+ Maryland Businesses that invest in the partnership and share their resources.

Promote Commerce Programs & Initiatives

Commerce’s marketing team supports the promotion of Commerce programs and initiatives, including grants and other opportunities for business. The team creates printed collateral about Commerce programs as needed, and writes/ designs Commerce’s Annual Report. The team also facilitates and manages many sponsorships on behalf of Commerce. Additionally, the commerce.maryland.gov website is maintained by the marketing team.

How We Do It

Advertising / Branding

The marketing team, in collaboration with an advertising agency, handles all business attraction marketing for the state. Our advertising campaign is continuously evolving, and examples of our ads can usually be found on display around the 9th floor in the World Trade Center. For an update on our latest ad strategy, contact Sherri Diehl.

Commerce also leads statewide branding efforts, and advises all state agencies with proper logo implementation and use. On some occasions, Commerce designs logos for the Governor’s office or other special initiatives. Typically, we encourage the use of the Maryland logo primarily. Please discuss logos and branding with Saundra Jones.

How We Do It

Websites

Business.Maryland.gov

Business attraction marketing site. We use this site in any attraction/promotion. On this site, our team regularly creates custom content in the form of blog posts and landing pages to help tell Maryland’s story and convey key messages.

Commerce.Maryland.gov

State agency site. We use this site to house agency information (boards and commissions, details on incentive programs, etc.)

LiveWorkMaryland.com

Workforce attraction marketing site. This site is used in any advertisements/ promotion for the state’s workforce attraction initiatives.

Business Express

This is a resource site for Maryland businesses and comprehensive of all state programs/initiatives to support business. This is managed by SDAT, with occasional input by marketing.

How We Do It

Email Marketing

Commerce maintains several email programs including:

• Business Pulse (monthly newsletter)

• Daily blog updates (notification daily if new post exists)

• Marketing emails to contacts outside of Maryland

• International News & Events - Recap of opportunities from International team

• Life Sciences News & Events - Recap of opportunities from Life Sciences team

• One-off emails as needed for specific initiatives or events

• Invitations for events hosted/coordinated by Commerce

• Site Selection News - Tailored newsletter for site selectors

How We Do It

Event Marketing

The marketing team supports Commerce’s event-related opportunities such as managing sponsorships, trade shows and business receptions. We can create print and digital invitations, assist with event site selection, provide event management, design trade show booths and large Maryland pavilions and oversee their installations. Additionally, we can provide promotional items, signage, and collateral materials as needed.

Marketing team can provide:

• Standard tablecloths with Maryland logos

• Promotional giveaway items

• General pull up banners

• Table top displays

• Collateral material

• Assistance with digital invites and RSVP management via digital tools

Custom banners and signage can be created as needed, but require extra time. Please contact Tiffany Sargent with any event-related questions.

How We Do It

Social Media

Commerce maintains daily updates and interactions on social media sites. If you’re comfortable, like and share our content (especially on LinkedIn).

How We Do It

Videos

With a video editor on-staff, our team produces high-quality video content that is used in various ways to market the state.

• “Be Moved” Campaign Video/Ad

• Meet the Marylanders series

• Meet Our Innovators

• Success Stories

• Places and Spaces

• End of year wrap ups

Marketing  Requests

Requesting marketing services via Salesforce ensures the right team members see your request, and helps our team prioritize your project in our queue. There are 3 different marketing request types:

• Creative Services Request - Use for graphic design needs (brochures, trade show booths, etc). Your request will be assigned to a designer

• Web Edit Request - Use to add your web edits to our queue. Use this for both Commerce.Maryland.gov and Business.Maryland.gov

• Promotions Request - Use to request promotion of a specific initiative, event or topic. Select email/social, etc.

Additional Requests

• Business Cards - See your unit’s Executive Assistant to place an order through our online system

• Promotional Materials - To request promotional materials, banners or other event-related assistance, contact Tiffany Sargent

Where Can I Find...

Logos

JPG and PNG logos can be accessed at commerce.maryland.gov/logo

Different logos include:

• Commerce Logo

• Maryland Logo (No Department)

If you have questions or you are working with a vendor that needs a different file format, please contact Saundra Jones or Scott Johnson and they can provide details. They can also help you select the best logo for the scenario (Commerce / Maryland only). For more information on using our logo and other brand standards, access our brand guidelines here.

Data & Rankings

Data about Maryland can be found in the Data section of Business.Maryland.gov Use the site to see select rankings and various data points provided by Zoomprospector.

An even more comprehensive rankings list can be found on Salesforce, along with other Data resources (Navigate to Knowledge Center / Data / Data Resources).  The Research team has access to more data as needed.

Letterhead

Letterhead can be found in the Knowledge Center of MyCommerce/Salesforce (Navigate to “Marketing Resources”).

Where Can I Find...

PowerPoints

In the Knowledge Center of MyCommerce/Salesforce, you will find several PowerPoint templates in the Marketing Resources Section, including:

• Blank branded template

• General Why Maryland presentation

Ask Carolyn Hammock or Julie Miller for assistance/edits.

Collateral / Materials

Print collateral the department produces is converted into digital flipbooks for online sharing. Current collateral can be found here as flip books. In addition to viewing as a digital flipbook, you can also download PDFs from this site.

If you are attending an in-person event and need print collateral, reach out to Jim Meyer to discuss how to secure copies of these materials and if any edits are needed. Advance notice is likely needed as a stock of print collateral is not typically on-hand.

What To ExpectTurnaround

Creative & Print

Digital

•

•