Full Capacity Marketing, Inc. (FCM) was hired by the Department of Labor-Employment and Training Administration to lead workforce investment boards from the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County in an eight month project to attract business customers to the public workforce investment systems. FCM led strategy sessions to improve business outreach operational structures and to develop a comprehensive brand strategy.

The City and County workforce investment boards successfully merged their business services teams and used a summit event as a catalyst to build partnerships with economic development, community colleges, and local businesses.

FCM aligned teams and engaged stakeholders and political constituencies [governor; county commissioners; mayor] for the sold out Summit with Steve Forbes, created all marketing materials, negotiated a cause-marketing media package, conducted public relations activities, managed the project from start to finish, and trained teams to deploy the brand strategies.

Outcomes of the project include:

• Awareness of the workforce system among business in targeted sectors improved from 14.2 percent to 46.1 percent.
• Market penetration among businesses using One-Stop Career Center services in targeted sectors increased from 1.7 percent to over 12 percent.
• Over $90,000 was raised in corporate sponsorship monies to help fund future projects.
• "Cause-related" marketing was used as a pivotal strategy to create a strategic alliance valued at over $178,000 with the local newspaper, The Plain Dealer.
• 38 proactive print and/or broadcast stories were placed about the project.
• Coalitions in health care, small business, construction, and manufacturing were created.