All posts by Robert Payne

Multichannel marketing and communications professional with a proven ability to deliver award-winning campaigns that inspire action from difficult to reach and discerning audiences. • I’ve exceeded benchmarks time and again across programmatic and social media buys. • Empowered sales teams with tightly integrated lead funnels and lifecycle management solutions leveraging Salesforce.com. • Know how to craft a compelling narrative and have won over a dozen video production awards in the past 5 years. • Served on both the interactive agency and client side, and I am a highly capable sparring partner for any marketing professional whether B2B or B2C. Most recently, I helped the Georgia Department of Economic Development attract new business both domestically and in 12 strategic markets around the globe. In the 7 years I ran Georgia’s global marketing efforts, we were selected as the #1 State for Business by Site Selection magazine, and its database of site consultants, for an unprecedented 7 years in a row. Jobs and investment grew steadily YOY due to a healthy pipeline of prospects. In addition, the Department’s commitment to marketing over that same period of time grew more than 300% because the ROI was clear and measurable. I also managed a team of 5 and 4 agency relationships for interactive, pr, traditional and video production. My online marketing career started with the direction of email marketing and web campaigns for Mandalay Resort Group, resulting in several awards for creative execution and exceptional return on investment. This caught the attention of the interactive marketing company, Twelve Horses where I directed their corporate marketing, advertising, and public relations efforts, as well as provided strategic consulting for travel/tourism clients such as Park City, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and America’s Adventure Place. Leveraging my experience with media and multi-channel marketing technology, I went on to lead the marketing and branding initiatives for SAXOTECH (now NEWSCYCLE), a global provider of content management platforms, circulation systems and advertising solutions for the media industry. I’ve worked in sales, marketing, advertising and public relations for a variety of other companies, including Switchback PR & Marketing, Stoel Rives LLP, Preferred Capital Corporation and Patagonia. I have an MBA with a specialization in Marketing and a BA from Clemson University. Side hustle: My photography has appeared in countless ads, brochures, and marketing campaigns.
Musings

Eastern Washington

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I continue to be inspired by the stunning beauty, cataclysmic geology and agricultural productivity of Eastern Washington. Apples and cherries continue to be leading crops, but many people do not know that this region produces 75% of the nation’s hops, and it is also the 2nd largest producer of premium wine. Great beer, wine and scenery? Sold.

If you love geology, I highly recommend checking out Nick Zentner. He teaches at Washington State University and lives in Ellensburg. Whether you find yourself in Olympic National Park, Cascades, or the Missoula floodplain, Nick can certainly put the vast expanse of time and change in perspective via his podcast, PBS, or other streams of content.

Just a few scenes from the East Side. Click the thumbnails for a larger view.

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GREATER SEATTLE PARTNERS ANNOUNCES NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM FOR BUSINESS ATTRACTION AND GLOBAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT

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Seattle, Wash. (May 12, 2021) – Greater Seattle Partners (GSP) board of directors today announced two new senior hires and a promotion to drive economic development strategies for the region. Cynthia Carrillo will become vice president of economic development, Josh Davis will become vice president of global trade and investment, and Robert Payne will become vice president of marketing and communications. They join Emily Cantrell who just recently became vice president of operations and strategy after serving with the World Trade Center Seattle. They will lead the organization at a pivotal time as the economy rebounds and domestic and international companies renew site selection and trade development activities.

Full release here. Excerpt below:

“These individuals have demonstrated exceptional leadership with corporate site selection, company expansions, international trade and investment missions and business attraction around the globe,” said Brian P. McGowan, chief executive officer of GSP. “I am really looking forward to working collaboratively with the collective experience of this team to build a more resilient, equitable and inclusive economy for our region.”

Robert Payne
Robert has been instrumental in helping GSP weather the pandemic by managing external and internal marketing and communications, overseeing business development, building an economic recovery framework and launching GSP’s ‘Dear Rest of the World” campaign. Prior to joining GSP, Robert spent more than 7 years leading the global marketing and communication strategies for the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDECD) where he garnered numerous awards for multi-channel marketing strategies that consistently delivered a strong ROI and helped position Georgia as the number one state for business 7 years in a row. Prior experience includes working in the for-profit software development and interactive agency space notably serving clients in economic development, tourism and media. Robert is a Clemson University alum with an MBA from the University of Nevada with a specialization in marketing.

“There is no doubt that Covid-19 continues to create unique challenges for our region as we look to re-engage our global partners and pursue new economic opportunities with international and domestic companies,” said Bill McSherry,” vice president of government relations, The Boeing Company and Board chair of GSP. “But through an extensive global search, we have built a highly capable team with the experience, tenacity and connections to overcome these hurdles and bring greater prosperity to the diverse communities across our region. I am really looking forward to GSP’s renewed role in building our economy back stronger than before.”

ABOUT GREATER SEATTLE PARTNERS
Greater Seattle Partners (GSP) is a public-private partnership that leads regional economic development through global business attraction, site selection and investment and trade opportunities in the greater Seattle region. GSP collaborates with community and economic development partners to ensure that every person in the Puget Sound region has the opportunity to prosper. We strive to attract and retain quality family/living wage jobs across all communities of the region. Throughout the world we tell the story of our talent, pioneering spirit, unique communities, and quality of life.

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I Eat Press Releases for Breakfast

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Leaving Atlanta for Seattle not long before a global pandemic has led to many changes, and the scope of my job responsibilities is certainly one of them. In my former job, I had a Marcom team of nine, two designers, social media manager, interactive manager, project manager and four agencies of record, including a global public relations firm. Now I am all of these things, doing work I haven’t done since I was fresh out of graduate school. I know, the world’s tiniest violin is playing: you’re lucky to have a job young man. Whatevs.

One of those “duties” has been dusting off my press release writing chops and pitching stories to media. This one was rather interesting because it was centered around the Seattle region recently surpassing the very MSA I had just left ie Atlanta. Ah, the irony.

SEATTLE METRO AREA BECOMES 10TH LARGEST REGIONAL ECONOMY

Seattle, Wash. – Greater Seattle Partners (GSP) today announced that the Seattle metro area economy has become the 10th largest regional economy in the country, surpassing the Atlanta metro area in its first jump in this ranking since 2012. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the region grew to nearly $383 billion in 2019, a 5.1% increase over 2018, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“While there is no doubt that our ‘superstar city’ status is fueled by the tech industry and being home to two of the largest cloud computing companies on the planet, our pioneering spirit has long created household global brands from coffee to fashion to flight,” said Brian McGowan, chief executive officer of Greater Seattle Partners. “The diversity of our economy, world-class education institutions, a strong tax environment, and an unparalleled quality of life are just a few of the reasons why we are a great place to do business.”

According to Brookings, “90% of the nation’s innovation sector employment growth in the last 15 years was generated in just five major coastal cities,” which include Seattle. In fact, Seattle’s economy grew about 2.5x faster than the U.S. economy (metro portion) as a whole last year, and it marked the ninth consecutive year the regional economy grew by more than 3%, which is considered a good year. Since 2010, Seattle has been among the fastest growing regional economies in the country, expanding at an annual rate of 4.9 percent. Real GDP has grown by over 50%, which translates to about $135 billion in added value.

This GDP growth reflects pre-COVID-19 conditions and points to a resilient economy capable of emerging quickly from the pandemic. A recent October 2020 Puget Sound Business Journal article stated,  “venture capital deal values in the Seattle area are on pace to surpass 2019 levels, despite the pandemic,” which equated to approximately $3.6 billion in 2019. But job losses and business closures persist in the current economic conditions. To counter the negative impacts of COVID-19, GSP is leading economic recovery planning in conjunction with public and private partners across the region to support small businesses, accelerate the growth of competitive and emerging industry clusters, and ensure local workers have the skills and training to fill future jobs.

“While economies across the globe and communities here at home are reeling from the pandemic, I remain optimistic about the future of our economy and grateful to all who are working to support recovery, opportunity, and growth.  Our success as an airline is tied to our geographical roots and the amazing employees, partners, and communities who’ve forged our path to become the 5th-largest U.S. carrier with reach around the world,” said Brad Tilden, chief executive officer of Alaska Air Group. “As we look to 2021 and beyond, we will continue to connect the world to greater Seattle with new routes, pioneering technologies and customer innovations that keep guests safe and build stronger relationships between regional businesses and global partners.”

The complete top 10 list of regional economies are as follows:

  1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
  2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
  3. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
  4. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA
  5. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
  6. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
  7. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
  8. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
  9. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
  10. -Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

ABOUT GREATER SEATTLE PARTNERS

Greater Seattle Partners (GSP) is a public-private partnership that leads regional economic development through global business attraction, site selection and investment and trade opportunities in the greater Seattle region. GSP collaborates with community and economic development partners to ensure that every person in the Puget Sound region has the opportunity to prosper. We strive to attract and retain quality family/living wage jobs across all communities of the region. Throughout the world we tell the story of our talent, pioneering spirit, unique communities, and quality of life. For more information visit Greater-Seattle.com.

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Dear Rest of the World

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If you live in the greater Seattle area, I hope you can appreciate how daunting it could be to launch a regional marketing video between the pandemic, civil unrest, wildfire smoke and the upcoming election. It felt like threading a very fine needle. I was worried the video would stagnate or suffer potential backlash on social media with comments raging on about homelessness, anarchy and dysfunctional government. Fortunately, it went well because there is truth in the message and delivery.

Leading up to the launch date, I conducted extensive outreach to engage the broader community to amplify the effort. I have been humbled and inspired by the outpouring of support and positive feedback on the effort. Everyone from the UK and Japanese Consulates to Alaska Airlines, Port of Seattle, cities of Everett and Tacoma, and the list goes on. I think we all needed some positivity.

Join by sharing the video across your organization’s channels. You can simply amplify our posts by liking and sharing and/or launch your own custom complementary posts.

I hope every person across the region can see themselves in this video and be proud to share our collective story.

Help tell the world what makes Greater Seattle unlike anywhere else on Earth.