AMAZON HQ2 TO DMV

Campaign Proposal for Amazon

By: Courtney Camp

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SITUATION ANALYSIS
Amazon is building another headquarters, dubbed HQ2, and is in the process of
narrowing down their location. The list of possible places has 20 potential contenders,
with three of them being in the District-Maryland-Virginia region (DMV). This is the
only area that contributed three finalists. Amazon will formally announce their decision
in September 2018, however they sent a confidential request-for-proposal. The DMV
must show why it is the optimal location for not only Amazon’s HQ2 but also the
community, as well as how to successfully raise community excitement.

OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT
Amazon has requested a proposal to represent HQ2 in the DMV area. Though they will
not officially select until September, the DMV needs to highlight why they should be the
location and how to consolidate HQ2 into the community for a successful transition.

Strengths Weaknesses
 Access to top technical workers,  The DMV is third in the nation for
with the 4th largest concentration of road congestion.
tech workers in the country.  There is already a high cost of
 Highly educated workers, the living and housing in the area.
second highest with almost 60
percent of the workforce having a
 Gov. Hogan pledged $5 billion in
incentives and some critics think
bachelor’s degree.
that is too much.
 Three major airports are located in
the area, with two of them being
international.
 Easily accessible transportation
options, including Metrorail,
railroads and highways.
 Great livable area
Opportunities Threats
 Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, recently  HQ2 could increase already high
bought a home in Washington D.C. living costs, like other tech-centered
and he owns the Washington Post. cities, like Seattle and San Fran.
 The original Amazon headquarters  President Trump has publically
is located in Seattle, so an east coast critiqued Amazon multiple times;
HQ could be a more productive stock price dropped 5 percent after
addition. the most recent incident.
 Respected colleges in the area could
be an easy recruiting opportunity
for potential employees.
 Washington’s ability to work with
Amazon to ease road congestion.
RESEARCH
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Secondary
All three DMV locations seem to be a good fit for HQ2. There is limited information
about how residents feel about being on the shortlist, however, politicians in the area
have expressed excitement. Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, Virginia Gov.
Ralph Northam and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser all made statements regarding
their excitement surrounding being selected.

Incentives that could entice the community would be the 50,000 new jobs created and the
$5 billion invest from Amazon into the region. The job influx could lower unemployment
rates in the area. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington has the highest
unemployment rate out of the three DMV locations, with 5.2 percent, which is higher
than the national average of 3.9 percent. The other locations have an average of 2.6
percent unemployment.

There are also major economical benefits. According to Amazon, the impact of
Amazon’s Seattle HQ from 2010 through 2016 resulted in an additional $38 billion into
the city’s economy. Amazon directly affected Seattle in multiple positive ways. There
was $25.7 billion compensation to employees as well as a public transportation and
tourism benefit. The amount paid into the city’s public transportation system as
employees’ transportation benefit was $43 million. The number of annual hotel nights by
visiting Amazonians and guests were 233,000 in 2016. Indirectly, Amazon was also
responsible for 53,000 additional jobs created in the city as a result of Amazon’s direct
investments. There were also $38 billion worth of additional investments in the local
economy as another result of Amazon’s direct investment. Lastly, there was a $17 billion
increase in personal income by non-Amazon employees as a result of Amazon’s direct
investment.

Hilton Hotel Corp. moved their headquarters from Beverly Hills, Calif. to McLean, VA
in 2009. They had a very smooth transition and were welcomed into the community.
However, even nine years after their relocation, they are still involved in the community.
 In 2016, Hilton partnered with REAL School Gardens, a local organization that
unites the community to create gardens tailored to specific school needs. Hilton
team members spent a day gardening with school students.
 In 2017, Hilton launched “The Social” which is a public hub open to the local
community.
o Features include a reception area, international food hall, a Starbucks,
collaborative workspaces and an outdoor terrace.

Hilton’s impact on the community was a lot less significant on what Amazon’s would be.
Hilton only created around 300 full-time jobs in the county and only invested about $17
million into it.

In 2008, Volkswagen Group of American (VW) relocated their headquarters to Herndon,

VA. They invested over $100 million and created a surplus of 400 jobs in the local
economy. To improve community relations, VW promoted a $2.1 million dollar
philanthropic campaign to support the region’s educational entities. The donation
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provided financial, educational and other resources to George Mason University, Virginia
Tech, University of Virginia, Northern Virginia Community College, Fairfax County
Public Schools and the Excel Institute in Washington.

Primary
The secondary research focused more on the economical impact of the headquarters to
the DMV area, however community relations were not explored.

I recommend they should research how the community feels about the Amazon relocating
into the DMV, if they are excited or concerned. Figuring out the community’s attitude
toward HQ2 would help Amazon gain insight on areas where they need to maintain
satisfaction, areas that raise concern and other aspects of the their feelings. In addition,
they should conduct primary research on where the community wants Amazon’s
investments to go. They should be targeting the Baby Boomers, Gen X and the
Millennials because those are the generations who will be most affected by Amazon’s
HQ2 integration. The main primary research they should conduct is multiple surveys, as
well as focus groups to get not only a broad consensus of what the public wants, but a
more in depth analysis from the focus group.

Another recommendation should be how residents feel about traffic and possible
solutions to combat the heavy road congestion in the area.

PLANNING
Goal: To facilitate Amazon’s transition into the community while creating positive
relations with the public.
 Objective 1: Increase community approval to 75 percent of the public in the 2
years happening the official location selection.
 Objective 2: Generate at least 500,000 positive media impressions surrounding
Amazon’s HQ2 in the month following the official decision.
 Objective 3: Support 3 local causes that are important to the community (as per
primary research).

Publics:
Primary Secondary
 DMV (actual area depends on  Amazon HQ2 employees
location selected) residents, 23-to-  Residents in the area surrounding
60-years-old. HQ2 location

Intervening Moderating
 News outlets in the DMV area  Washington Post
 Legislators in the state selected  Jeff Bezos
 Amazon spokespeople

Message Points:
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Primary Messages:
 Amazon is excited to become a member of the DMV community
 HQ2 benefits the surrounding region in many ways
Secondary Message:
 Amazon and the community have a symbiotic relationship

Big Idea and Theme

Amazon’s headquarters is situated in Seattle Washington, and by moving to the DMV
area, their HQ2 would be in close proximity to Washington D.C. By being able to
connect the west coast headquarters to the east coast one, it would ignite the campaign’s
theme “Washington to Washington.” This theme would promote Washington D.C.
connecting with Seattle because they are accepting Amazon into the D.C. community.

Spokesperson
Jeff Bezos
Founder and CEO of Amazon
The spokesman who would connect best with Amazon’s goal public would be Amazon
CEO Jeff Bezos. Bezos would be ideal because he recently purchased a house in
Washington, so even though he is not a long
time resident, he still is setting roots down in
the area, similarly to HQ2. He also owns the
Washington Post, which is a national
newspaper, but it is stationed in Washington,
so it is another way to show that him and
Amazon alike are invested and interested in
the community in a major way. It can
emphasize the theme because he is a person
who further connects the Washington to
Washington matter. Although Bezos is a
billionaire, which is not relatable to majority of the target public, the residents in
Montgomery County, MD and Northern Virginia, have some of the wealthiest
households in America.

Strategies and Tactics

Strategy 1: Celebrate Amazon moving to Washington with an event, and continue it
every year until HQ2 opens.

Strategy 2: Generate national media coverage, as well as social media engagement,

surrounding both Amazon headquarters being in the Washingtons.

Strategy 3: Hold different events at various locations to show how invested Amazon
is in the community.

Tactics
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Tactic 1: Happy HQ 2 You!

When the official location is finally unveiled, Amazon will throw an event at the soon-to-
be headquarters, with Happy HQ 2 You being a play on “happy birthday to you.” This
event will be celebrated like a birthday party for Amazon coming to Washington. The
spokesperson, Jeff Bezos, will be the guest speaker. The event will include raffles, such
as a free Prime for a year and Amazon gift cards. There will also be a meet and greet with
Jeff Bezos, as well as a town hall like question and answer session to answer questions
the residents might have. There will be musical guests, who perform live music, typically
local DC artists. To show that Amazon cares for the community, local artists, performers
and business owners will also have the chance to set up tents for people to browse and
buy their products. The event will end with birthday cake as a celebration. The social
media hashtag used will be #HappyHQ2You.

Tactic 2: Washington-to-Washington Promotion

Amazon will receive media coverage when they announce their location, so to capitalize
on the attention, Amazon launch a social media promotion. To signify their cross country
move, they will ask people on social media to share their moving stories with the hashtag
#WashingtonToWashington. Amazon will select their favorite stories to be shared on
their social media pages. They will also randomly chose 10 lucky winners to win one free
year of Amazon Prime. In addition to that, on the actual announcement day, Amazon will
give 20 percent off to all those who use the promotional code “Washington2Washington”
when buying online.

Tactic 3: Fly Me to HQ2

Amazon will send one family to Washington D.C. for an extended weekend, including
travel, lodging and a tour of the new HQ2 location. Amazon will also partner with a
reputable airline, such as Southwest Airlines, and offer discounted flights to both Seattle
and Washington D.C. to further connect the Washington-to-Washington agenda.

Tactic 4: Invested in the Community

After picking local causes that the community cares about, Amazon will do various
things to show their support, depending on the cause. An example is if the residents
express interest in education, they can partner with the local district and donate money
for new supplies. Another example would be if people express interest in cleaning up the
area, they could have an event where they clean up trash, wash off graffiti and plant
flowers to make the community more beautiful. The actions Amazon takes to support the
community would focus on what the residents find important, and the operation should
reflect justly on such.

TIMELINE
April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018
Conduct primary Start planning Contact venues, Continue planning
research of DMV Happy HQ 2 You, business owners, of Happy HQ 2 You
residents budgeting etc. etc. for event
August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018
Reach out to the Happy HQ 2 You Launch Announce
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press and continue event. Washington-to- promotion winner

planning HQ 2 You Washington via social media
promotion
December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019
Primary research on Planning for causes Planning for causes Invested in the
what causes the event, depending on event Community event 1
target audience cause
cares most about
April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019
Planning for causes Invested in the Planning for causes Invested in the
event Community event 2 event Community event 3
August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019
Pitch local and Planning for Fly Me Social media Launch Fly Me to
national media for to HQ2 event, reach outreach for HQ2 promotion
grand opening out to airlines promotion
December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March/April 2020
Fly Me To HQ2 Fly Me To HQ2 HQ2 Opening / Fly Evaluation
promotion winner announced Me To HQ2 event
at end of month

EVALUATION METHODS
This is to determine if “Washington to Washington” was successful or not.
Answer these questions:
 Did Amazon increase community approval?
 Did Amazon generate their ideal social media impressions?
 How many social media engagements were there during their promotions?
 How many people attended their events?
 Did the community support the causes that Amazon chose?
 Did Amazon create a positive relationship with their target public?