City of Concord creates ad campaign to bring in business

CONCORD, Calif. -- An East Bay city is hoping to cash in on businesses that can't afford to open in some of the most expensive parts of the Bay Area.

Downtown Concord sparkles, but that's not how economic leaders are selling it. They're running advertisements on the radio that say, "Silicon Valley and San Francisco made the Bay Area overpriced with no place to grow. Fortunately, the City of Concord opens up a refreshing amount of space to build to suit properties."

They've launched a $160,000 PR and advertising campaign aimed at rebranding the city. "Concord: a better fit for business."

"We're seeing a lot of interest to our website," said City of Concord Economic Development and Housing manager John Montagh. "A lot more hits to our website, a lot more interest from the brokerage community calling, asking us questions about the opportunities that we have in Concord."

There's commercial space, retail, and restaurants like Peruvian hotspot Lima.

Chef and owner John Marquez worked at the French Laundry in Yountville and currently owns Artisan in Lafayette.

Marquez saw potential in Concord and opened in November. "I've seen a lot more traffic, a lot more people saying, 'Thank you for coming to Concord.' It's something we needed and I heard a lot of lately."

Poster advertisements along the Embarcadero BART station also try to lure entrepreneurs to Concord.

"We thought we'd do something a little bit different," added Montagh. "Be a little more aggressive."