Falling on

the heels of a recent article in the Boston Globe and MACOC ads run in

Rolling Stone magazine, the COMDEX trip should attract even more media

attention, says Chris Clark, president of the Fayette County Chamber of

Commerce. Having worked the exhibit booth, Clark maintains a positive

attitude about the hard work involved with the trip and its logistic challenges.

Touted as regional

cooperation at its highest level, the Joint Development Authority of Metropolitan

Atlanta, which represents Clayton, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton and Rockdale

counties, along with Metro South (composed of Fayette, Clayton, Coweta,

Henry, south Fulton and Spalding counties) pooled resources for the second

year to attend an event that most of the counties would be unable to attend

on their own.

National media

attention has focused on the marketing efforts of the Metropolitan Atlanta

Chamber of Commerce and other regional economic developers, particularly

after the launch of a $2 million "Industries of the Mind" campaign

recently that included ads in the Boston Globe and Rolling Stone magazine.

Last night,

a VIP reception was attended by more than 50 prospects the group invited

to the event; some were visitors to the booth and others were targeted

exhibitors invited electronically prior to the trip. While they enjoyed

a buffet, guests networked with the Atlanta economic developers, giving

them a chance to ask questions and learn more about why their businesses

should locate in the city.

Premium gifts

calculators with rotating covers and imprinted with the group's logo and

URL were a big hit with attendees, who received them as they left the

gathering. One lucky guest left with a deluxe wireless telephone donated

has offices in Atlanta.

"We're

extremely pleased with the success of our mission so far," said Maria

Mullins, vice president of economic development for the DeKalb Chamber

of Commerce. "Our booth immediately tells people where we're from

and why we're here, and the level of interest is encouraging. My prediction

is that we'll meet our goal of bringing back 500 good leads."

According to

Mullins, it became obvious Monday that the popular letter openers would

need to be replenished, although booth visitors also were offered a luggage

tag laminated with their own business cards.

"As guests

waited for their promotional items, we had ample opportunity to chat with

them, as well as to swipe their floor pass," explained David Luckie,

former Metro South chairman and the executive director of the Griffin-Spalding

County Development Authority.

Going on to

say that each card swiped left the group with full contact information

for the guest's business, he reiterated that each participating county

would receive the information for future recruitment efforts. As chairman

of the Georgia Economic Developers Association this year, Luckie emphasized

the importance of the COMDEX exhibit as both a recruitment tool and an

example of regional cooperation.

Dr. Clayton

C. Powell, who chairs the Fulton County Development Authority and attended

the event, noted that the entire business community had supported the

effort and that several Atlanta firms including Turner Properties, Coca

Cola, Delta Airlines and Ernst & Young had contributed.

"We especially

would like to thank Alec Fraser, president of Turner Properties, who flew

out specifically for our reception and greeted our guests," he added.

A Cox Communications

technology reporter interviewed several members of JDAMA and Metro South

Tuesday; describing Atlanta as "an attractive alternative to California,"

Steve Rieck(president & CEO of the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce

and a member of both organizations) explained that Atlanta's economic

development program is among the nation's longest running.

Mullins added

that the city is "redefining what we thought of as industry and how

we label or target companies," in reference to technology firms.

She mentioned several that had moved into non-traditional spaces in DeKalb

County, and that recruitment efforts were utilizing new ways of thinking.

Pointing out

that his own county has been thought of primarily as a supplier of textile

goods ("The sheets you slept on here in Las Vegas may have a tag

that says, 'made in Griffin, Ga.'"), Luckie told the reporter that

the reasons his authority became involved with the larger groups are subtle.

"There

are no chip factories in Georgia, and we asked ourselves why; we know

they're looking. Chip factories utilize a great deal of water as a 'clean'

industry, and they're always looking for incentives.

"Sometimes

they're looking for commuter rail, and Spalding is on the schedule for

that. What we need is exposure."

His organization

hopes COMDEX and other cooperative projects will supply it.

Scheduled to

close Friday, COMDEX was projected to attract more than 200,000 visitors

to meander around its one million-plus square feet of high-tech exhibits

this week.

In the company

of such technology giants as Microsoft, Palm, IBM and others, Atlanta

participants say that if all goes as planned, at least a small percentage

of those visitors will know about Atlanta.

Some of them

may even wind up there.

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