September 23, 2013Andrew Levine, President/Chief Creative Officer &

Erin Bodine, Account Director, DCI

EXECUTIVES’ PERCEPTIONS OF

CANADA’S BUSINESS CLIMATE

A View from the Lower 48…

About DCI

1. The Leader in Marketing Places: Served 400+ cities, states, provinces, regions and countries since 1960.

2. In-depth Knowledge of Canadian Landscape: Recent/current clients include Calgary, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Montreal.

3. Broad Range of Economic Development Marketing Services: Media relations, lead generation, digital/social media, talent attraction and research.

About DCI

Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing

Sixth Edition of Survey in 2011 (previous studies in ‘96, ‘99, ‘02, ‘05, ‘08)

Survey Audience: U.S.

1. Corporate executives with site selection responsibilities

2. Location advisors

Methodology

• Online survey with 10 questions conducted in August, 2013

• Sent to 621 SSCs, corporate executives in U.S.

• 105 responses received for response rate of 17%

• Even split of responses (54 executives, 51 SSCs)

• Respondents offered $10 Starbucks/iTunes gift card

Geographic Distribution of Respondents

Can you guess what the respondents said?*

What are the first 3 words or phrases that come to mind when you think of Canada?

1. _______________________2. _______________________3. _______________________

* Whoever gets closest wins $25 gift card to Tim Hortons for a double-double

List of Top 10 Words/Phrases

1. Cold2. Hockey 3. High quality workforce 4. Natural resources5. Friendly

6. Socialized Medicine7. Expensive 8. Clean9. Diverse10. French

Top 3 Words or Phrases

“Please describe your perception of Canada's advantages (or value proposition)

for U.S. companies looking to relocate or expand?”

Sample Responses for Canada’s Value Proposition for Businesses

“Western Canada (British Columbia) is an Asian gateway.”

“Canada has always maintained a neutral stance on most political and economic issues.”

“Business-friendly, R&D tax advantages, reasonably priced real estate.”

“Good access to many US major markets.”

“Cost –competitiveness”

“Very strong base for educated technical employees.”

“Tax reform has made Canada much more competitive for North American projects.”

“No health care cost to employer.”

“Proximity to oil and gas.”

“Well educated labor force and a good business climate.”

“Ability to recruit overseas talent without red tape of U.S. Immigration Policy.”

Top 5 Themes of Value Proposition

1. Stable, neutral and business-friendly government

2. Well-educated and quality workforce

3. Potential for lower business costs (labor, taxes)

4. Access to new markets

5. 15% of respondents indicated “none or don’t know”

“Have you considered Canada for a project in the last two years,

or are you currently considering Canada

for an upcoming project?”

Executives Regularly Consider Canada for Projects

Site Selection Consultants Corporate Executives

Overall, a majority of decision makers (53.3%) had considered Canada for a project in the last two years or were currently considering Canada

Ontario Leads Overwhelmingly for Project Location Consideration

Types of Projects for which Canada is Most Often Considered

“From your perspective, has Canada's business climate improved,

declined or stayed the same in the past five years?”

Decision Makers Believe Business Climate has Improved

Most executives surveyed believe Canada’s business climate has improved in the past five years.

“Let's compare Canada and the United States.

For each of the following factors, which country has a more favorable business environment.”

Canada Compared to United States

Ability to

Recruit

from O

utside N

.A.

Availabilit

y of Skille

d Work

force

Availabilit

y of Work

er Tra

ining Prog...

Business-

friendly G

overnment

Competitive Ince

ntives

Competitive Labor C

osts

Efficient T

ransp

ortation Syste

ms

Low O

verall O

perating Costs

Low O

verall T

ax Burd

en

Prese

nce of R

esearch

Insti

tutions

Proxim

ity to

Customers

Quality of L

ife

Quality/A

vailabilit

y of Site

s & Build

ings

Utility co

sts0.0%

10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%90.0%

100.0%

United States More Favorable

Canada More Favorable

“Please rate the business climates of the following Canadian provinces

on a scale of 1 (Poor) to 5 (Excellent).”

Ontario Leads Pack for Favorable Perception of Its Business Climate

High Number of “No Opinion” Responses Among Provinces

Toronto Edges Out Other Cities for Best Business Climate

High Number of “No Opinion” Responses Among Cities

“What are the top three marketing tactics Canadian cities/regions should use

to promote their business advantages to corporate executives?”

Face-to-Face Reigns as Best Marketing Tactic

Marketing Approaches Broken Down by Subgroup

One-o

n-one m

eetings

Familia

rization (F

am) Tours

Media re

lations/public

ity

Inte

rnet/w

ebsite

Trade Shows/C

onference

s

Special e

vents

Adverti

sing

eNewsletters

Social M

edia

Webinars

Dire

ct M

ail0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Overall Site Selectors Corporate

Marketing Preferences Vary Among SSCs and Executives

Top 5 Tactics for SSCs1. Familiarization Tours2. One-on-one Meetings3. Special Events4. Internet/Website5. Media Relations/Publicity

Top 5 Tactics for Executives1. Trade Shows/Conferences2. Media Relations/Publicity3. Internet/Website4. One-on-one Meetings5. Special Events

“In your opinion, which of these economic development organizations

market their region effectively tocorporate executives and location advisors?”

Site Selection Consultants Consider the Country’s Best EDOs

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

55.8%

32.7%30.8% 28.8%

26.9% 25.0%21.2%

5 Key Findings

1. Executives Associate Canada with a “High Quality Workforce”

• Among top words or phrases associated with Canada• Common theme for Canada’s perceived

value proposition• Key asset as talent increasingly drives

location decisions

2. Canada Regularly Considered as a Project Location But…

• Ontario overwhelmingly leads the consideration set (80.4%)

• Followed by British Colombia (30.4%), Quebec (28.6%) and Alberta (19.6%)

• All other provinces at 5% or less

3. Much of Canada is a “Blank Slate” to U.S. Executives

• Ontario/Toronto are well known • Quebec/Montreal and British Colombia/

Vancouver have mid-level recognition• For the remainder of regions/cities, a large

number of executives had “no opinion” of individual business climates

4. Perceptions of Canada’s Business Climate Improving

• 44.8% of the respondents perceive an improvement in the country’s business climate vs. 6.7% that saw a decline

5. Different Marketing Tactics to Reach Different Audiences

• Best tactics for reaching corporate executives: 1) trade shows/conferences, 2) media relations/ publicity, 3) internet/website • Site selection consultants are best reached via: 1)

familiarization tours, 2) one-on-one meetings, 3) special events

Questions… Comments… Discussion…

Thank You!