ICSC New York: Branding and positioning OKC for growth on national level

Tammy Fate, left, and Marcus Elwell from the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber stand in front of OKC’s booth at the ICSC New York show last month.

Team members from the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s economic development division will be gearing up for a busy start to 2023 as they make follow up phone calls and correspond with developers and prospects they met while attending ICSC New York in December, an annual two-day gathering of dealmakers and industry experts within the retail industry.

Marketed as the premier event for ICSC, which stands for Innovating Commerce Serving Communities, ICSC New York is the second largest show the organization hosts annually. Only ICSC Las Vegas has more attendees and is typically held in May.

Tammy Fate, the Chamber’s senior manager of retail development and recruitment, said ICSC New York is an opportunity to brand Oklahoma City as a destination to out-of-state retail brokers and developers and keep OKC front and center among those individuals that may be looking for other places in the U.S. to relocate or expand.

“There are a lot of companies from the East Coast looking to invest in growing markets,” Fate said. “Highlighting the success and opportunities is key in attracting more development to your city. We want developers to be excited about the friendly business climate and success happening in Oklahoma City.”

Oklahoma City’s exhibit booth was well positioned to attract attendees during the two-day show. Whether through the daily interactions at the booth or attending the variety of breakout sessions, receptions and other networking events, the Oklahoma City Chamber crew was able to engage with new companies, highlight development opportunities and share the latest retail announcements coming to Oklahoma City. Some of those interactions included discussions with a couple of out-of-state developers as well as retailers that are actively looking for sites in OKC, including a fitness company that wants to build two locations in Oklahoma City.

“We start laying the groundwork and planting seeds early to make sure that Oklahoma City is on their radar and top of mind,” Fate said.

“Attending ICSC New York and other similar events are all about connections and relationships, and the more people we can be in front of to tell our story, the better,” she added.

This article originally appeared in the January 2023 issue of the VeloCity newsletter.