Drive to make Iowa a "brand name"

The state’s largest chambers of commerce are pressing the state to develop amore aggressive strategy to develop Iowa as brand name. Ron Corbett,president of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, says no one outsideof Iowa really knows much about the state. There are 2.9 MILLION people inIowa, but the state’s marketing budget is about $1.2 MILLION. Corbett callsthat “a pittance.” He points out that Governor Vilsack and his republicanchallenger spent over 13 MILLION dollars marketing themselves during thejust-concluded gubernatorial campaign. Corbett says there are all sorts ofassets the state should be advertising. Corbett’s list includes Iowa’swell-educated workforce, Iowa’s single-factor corporate income tax, jobtraining programs, no property taxes on machinery and equipment. He says ifIowa doesn’t get out and tell it’s story, “we’re missing the boat.”