Bromstead to promote Escondido's economy

By: DAVID FRIED - Staff Writer | Tuesday, April 18, 2006 8:46 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- When Michelle Bromstead came across a job announcement to handle public relations for the city's Economic Development Division last November, she knew "not a thing" about Escondido.

But as she started to research the city's offerings to tourists and businesses, she discovered a city similar in size and demographics to Sunnyvale, where she had spent the last four years as a community outreach coordinator.

"It was a perfect fit," said Bromstead, who joined the economic development staff five weeks ago.

Both Escondido and Sunnyvale are located roughly 35 miles from a major metropolitan city, San Diego and San Francisco, respectively. Both boast populations of roughly 140,000. And like Escondido, Sunnyvale is working to revitalize its downtown as a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood for work and living.

Now Bromstead, 33, will take charge of promoting Escondido's attributes to potential visitors and coveted businesses in order to get more feet on the city's streets. It's a newly created job.

Key to it will be selling the staples of Escondido's commercial and cultural landscape, including the Westfield North County mall, the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, and the many galleries peppered around downtown Escondido.

Not that the enthusiastic newcomer is worried.

"Escondido has laid a lot of groundwork in terms of marketing the city," Bromstead said. "(My role) is kind of another piece of the puzzle."

The creation of a public relations post in the division stems from a 2001 survey that showed Escondido ranked eighth among 11 similar cities in San Diego and Los Angeles counties in arts, entertainment and shopping. Since then, the economic development team has redesigned the city's logo and promoted Escondido as North County's artistic and shopping gem.

Having a new set of eyes on fine tuning the city's image is a welcome addition, said Jo Ann Case, the division's manager and Bromstead's boss.

"A lot of us have been working in Escondido for a long time, and you can lose your objectivity," Case said.

The position pays $53,500 annually, and responsibilities include managing the city's facade improvement grant program and handling local business liaisons.

Bromstead graduated in 1997 with a degree in English from Cal State Chico, fully prepared to follow her chosen career path of teaching. But after a year teaching high school in San Jose, Bromstead was lured away by the call of the computer revolution and took a job with Senior Surfers, a start-up company that fell flat with the dot-com bust of 2001.

"It was hard to live in Silicon Valley and not be a part of the tech boom," she said.

In the end, however, the experience with a fledgling company provided valuable training for how to make the most of limited resources, Bromstead said. That skill will come in handy, she said, when looking for effective ways to spend the initial $56,000 city officials set aside for marketing in 2002, when they redesigned the city's logo.

Aside from advertising opportunities, part of Bromstead's job will be working to boost the city's image by pushing Escondido stories in specialty and business-to-business publications, such as those that cater to retail outlets.

She will also become the new face of Escondido's economic development, meeting with local business owners and working with the Chamber of Commerce and other groups for promotion campaigns.

Already, Bromstead has implemented a key marketing tactic for an organization watching its image, compiling a list of news clips that focus on or mention Escondido and sending a weekly recap out at the end of each week.

"Sometimes you're shocked at how broadly (news articles) show up," Bromstead said, citing a recent New York Times article about beer that featured Escondido's Stone Brewing Co.

The added marketing push for the city can only mean good things for the city, said Cami Mattson, president and chief executive officer of the San Diego North Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"You can never have too much," Mattson said, adding that her organization will be working closely with Bromstead and the city's Economic Development Division.

Contact staff writer David Fried at (760) 740-5416 or dfried@nctimes.com. To comment, go to nctimes.com.