HomeMy WebLinkAboutStart in Hampton RoadsJanuary 13, 2026 - City Council Briefing
Nancy Grden, President & CEO – Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable
Drew Lumpkin, Vice President of External Affairs – Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable
Lauren Roberts, Vice President of Marketing and Communications – HR Chamber of Commerce
REGIONAL TALENT
MARKETING PILOT-OVERVIEW
Project Background: This pilot program grew from the Fahrenheit Study, a talent retention/attraction study
sponsored by the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable and the Hampton Roads Workforce Council. The
Hampton Roads Chamber is the lead regional partner for the landing page and future engagement initiatives
ahead, with all member of the Regional Organizations Presidents Council in support
Project Partners: This pilot is also in partnership with VEDP and DCI, the talent and economic development
marketing agency contracted to develop the landing page and implement the earned and paid media campaign
Project Goal: Attract and retain top talent in Hampton Roads through paid and earned media strategies promoting
our assets to a broad yet targeted audience
Regional Goal: Pilot the promotion of our talent opportunities in the region. Additionally, this project provides us
the ability to test having a regional marketing initiative with a focus on talent
Regional Stakeholders: Organizations, businesses and/or individuals that are regionally focused are invited to
participate in this initiative in many ways which also includes the region’s young professionals organizations,
tourism and economic departments & startup communities
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BACKGROUND
•Started with the Fahrenheit Study
•Commissioned by the Hampton Roads Executive
Roundtable and the Hampton Roads Workforce Council
•2025 data shows Virginia remains flat with talent growth
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W H Y A R E T H E Y L E A V I N G ?
Top factors driving outmigration from Hampton Roads
SAFETY: Respondents overwhelming agree that a sense of security is a bedrock issue when it
comes to their satisfaction with life here
COST OF LIVING: Perceptions around affordability and availability of housing, as well as other
cost of living expenses, contribute to quality of life and are widely viewed as important
JOB/CAREER OPPORTUNITIES: Career and job potential are top-of-mind for respondents who
indicated they hold full-time employment; negative perceptions about the availability of sufficient
career opportunities is correlated with increased likelihood of outmigration
AVAILABILITY OF HEALTHCARE: Satisfaction gap was not as large as with other factors, but
still significant; ranked nearly as important
W H Y A R E T H E Y L E AV I N G ?
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•Younger, non-military, remote workers, who moved to the area as adults,
without children in the home most likely to leave
•Cost of living, safety/crime, career opportunities, and availability of
healthcare most impactful levers
•Those with roots here are our biggest cheerleaders; place making
influences more people to establish roots here
•We still have a regional identity crisis
•Entrepreneurs challenged by fragmented political geography, regional
branding / awareness, and access to later-stage growth capital
S U M M A R YFa h re n h e i t S t u d y S u m ma r y
PAID & EARNED
MEDIA STRATEGY BY DCI
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Me d i a S a m p l e s
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Woman on tablet
2025 Initiative Data
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•1.8 million impressions in 5 months
•25,000 visitor sessions on landing page
•1363 leads via forms & find a job links
•964 email subscribers
•Cybersecurity, energy, engineering & maritime were the top
performing ad groups
•Top metros included Los Angeles, NYC, DC, Raleigh, Charlotte
•“Jobs in Virginia Beach” top searched keywords with 13k
impressions and more than 1k clicks
•$0.52 CPC for Google Display Ads with over 450k impressions
D ata O v e r v i e w
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Woman on tablet
2026 Next Steps
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•Go Virginia Region 5 grant (application submitted by the
Hampton Roads Chamber Foundation-HRWFC providing match)
•“Start” work group formed and meeting monthly
•Continued regional briefings
•Outreach session on January 20 for stakeholders
•City of Virginia Beach follow up-funding request for future
marketing content and outreach
W h e re a re we h e a d e d i n 2 0 2 6?
Thank You!
Other members of the Regional Organization Presidents Council (ROPC)
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