LANSING – As reactions poured in over the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s decision to attach the Pure Michigan logo to an advertisement touting the recently passed right-to-work law, MEDC CEO Michael Finney reiterated one thing Thursday: This is not something new.
“We really are continuing the business marketing that we’ve been doing,” Finney said in a phone interview. “As policies change in our state that are favorable to businesses, we would look to promote those. We think it’s a very effective brand.”
But legislative Democrats and liberal organizations such as Progress Michigan have continued to express outrage over the use of what many saw as a divisive issue – right-to-work – and linking it to one with mostly bipartisan support, the tourism-oriented campaign associated with Pure Michigan.
Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) called on Governor Rick Snyder to come clean about why the campaign “is being improperly used to advance his own political agenda,” a statement from her office said.
The governor’s office directed all calls to the MEDC on Thursday.
“Pure Michigan has always been about uniting our state around what makes us great: our natural resources, our communities and our people. It’s simply offensive that Governor Snyder would corrupt that message and use it to advance his own political agenda,” Whitmer said. “I’m calling on the Governor today to answer to the people of Michigan who have overwhelmingly expressed their disapproval with what he’s done to the Pure Michigan campaign.”
Finney said the full-page ad in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal cost $144,000 but that the MEDC did not use state-appropriated dollars for it but instead “MEDC corporate dollars.” The ad, which Finney said ran as “part of the overall business marketing campaign,” highlights Michigan becoming the newest right-to-work state and also points to other policies the state has adopted such as the redoing of incentives and regulatory processes, as well the elimination of industrial personal property tax and the move to a flat 6 percent Corporate Income Tax.
He also said the Pure Michigan brand has seen “an incredible reception” both from businesses and tourism, and that the continued “business marketing” of Pure Michigan in ways similar to the controversial Wall Street Journal ad would be favorable.
“A lot of really favorable business things have happened in our state and we’ve been communicating all of those in the Pure Michigan business plan,” he said. “It really is a total marketing effort, not just strictly an advertising campaign we have going.”
The MEDC does in fact use Pure Michigan logo as part of its business efforts, such as in Pure Michigan Business Connect, considered the hub for all business activity the MEDC oversees.
Whitmer, however, was joined in her concern by Robert Kolt, a former top aide to ex-Governor James Blanchard and a 20-year instructor in advertising and public relations at the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University. He is also the president and CEO of Kolt Communications in Okemos.
“Linking Pure Michigan’s paid advertising to an issue as politically sensitive as right-to-work is actually insulting to many people and simply an error in judgment,” Kolt said in a statement. “This new ad focus is a dramatic change in promotional strategy for Michigan that could seriously backfire, resulting in damage to the positive brand image and value of our state’s business climate, especially our successful tourism industry.”
House Minority Leader Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) also released a statement alongside Rep. Brandon Dillon (D-Grand Rapids) expressing their discontent with the advertisement, with Dillon calling it a “pure perversion” of what Michigan residents want to see from their leaders.
“The ‘Pure Michigan’ campaign is an award-winning, successful effort to showcase the best of what our state has to offer. It used to be something all Michiganders could be proud of,” Dillon said. “Now it’s being used to push a divisive issue and as another front for the special interests that have taken hold in Lansing.”
Finney said he has received mostly anonymous calls from individuals both in favor of and in opposition to the advertisement. He said it was too soon to tell what kind of effect the advertisement has had or will have, but that regardless of whether the calls are good or bad, he merely continues to explain what the state can offer to businesses.
“We spent time communicating what our strategy was. This is a campaign that’s been under way for more than two years,” he said, saying right-to-work is just one of the most recent changes it now includes in its marketing to businesses. He said the MEDC communicates “a variety of policies and laws” as they pertain to the company or individual, including the talent base and the quality of living.
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