Economic opportunity tools for the Ardennes!

Ardennes Development’s missions include raising awareness of and appreciation for the competitive advantages of the Ardennes, in terms of economic opportunities and prospects. A range of monitoring and communication tools has thus been created to facilitate access to the area.

Since Q2 of 2015, the economic development agency of the Ardennes has invested heavily in regional marketing with the creation of dedicated tools, emphasising the area’s reputation (knowledge and expertise) whilst focusing on attracting companies and offering them direct assistance with their projects.

As a result, this range of tools includes  a showcase site (more than 9,000 page views), a weekly blog (more than 18,000 articles read), a bi-monthly newsletter and information feed on social networks (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn). These tools are available in several languages, including English (along with German and Dutch for the main site). An AdWords campaign strategy has ensured stronger performance in terms of SEO, building on and optimising visibility.

To encourage the setting up of business projects in the Ardennes, the agency wanted to highlight the BER (“Bassin d’Emploi à Redynamiser”) system, practically unique in France, which allows companies, under certain conditions, to benefit from tax breaks and social security exemptions for 5 years. To develop and demonstrate its effectiveness, Ardennes Development has created an online simulation tool at the end of 2015, which allows users to evaluate the potential savings offered by the REM in just a few clicks. Project developers who use it can take advantage of having direct contact, allowing them to brand their project and to enjoy support or help making contacts.

An English version of the simulator was created in January 2016.

To date, the simulator's home page and the simulator itself have received 10,000 and 700 hits respectively since their launch.

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By Ardennes Développement, the Ardennes economic development agency - ardennes-developpement.com