Hanover Park launches radio ad campaign to attract business

Commuters got their first taste of Hanover Park’s new advertising campaign during Friday morning’s rush hour.

The village board the night before approved a $171,400, six-month contract with WBBM radio to promote its tax increment financing districts and other development opportunities.

“In this crazy economy, it’s one of the things we’re trying to do to build ourselves up,” Mayor Rod Craig said.

The 60-second spots will air at various times of day throughout the week, including during the station’s morning drive business report and noon business hour.

The characters in the radio ads talk about the village’s Metra train station as one of the busiest on the lines, and urge people to “ride the gold train” into town.

“We just need to tell them how fast we’re growing,” a man in one of the commercials says. “We have skilled labor right here, 20 shopping centers. And don’t forget there’s TIF money available.”

Ads will finish with the tagline, “Hanover Park — where you want to be.”

The commercials underwent some tweaking in recent weeks after officials said they felt the village was portrayed more as a place to pass through as opposed to a destination. But they were pleased with the revisions.

The WBBM contract comes a couple months after a $10,000 deal with a TIF consultant and a $30,000 national print campaign, all aimed at attracting business and revitalizing the village’s three stagnant TIF areas, in which additional property tax revenue is reinvested into the project area as the value of the property increases.

Craig acknowledged the hefty price tag but said he believes the benefits will pay off as the economy rebounds.

“We’re in the shadows of some heavy duty communities like Bloomingdale and Schaumburg, and we have to raise our hand and say, ‘Hi, we’re here too,’” Craig said. “There’s no doubt that’s a chunk of change, but I don’t think we’ll fail.”