More than 100 cities are vying for Amazon’s attention. How does Birmingham stack up?

Well, for starters, we’ve been ranked number one.

So far, so good, ya’ll. When it comes to Amazon, Birmingham delivers. The Washingtonian ranked cities’ appeals to lure the $5 billion warehouse, and we came in at number one.

The company’s new $5 billion campus means 50,000 direct jobs, indirect employment by 53,000 and $38 billion in economic activity, according to the BBJ.

Birmingham’s Bid For Amazon

Birmingham and Jefferson County leaders teamed up to build three huge replicas of an Amazon box and placed them around the city. You’ve probably seen them! We’ve posted about them here and here.

The Magic City’s personalized bid invites folks to pose for photos with the big boxes while sharing the #bringatob hashtag on social media.

You can check out the website, too. Oh, and these huge Dash buttons are fun! Here’s what the Seattle Times had to say about them.

The outreach also includes this video on a BringAtoB Twitter page, along with sharing stories about Birmingham like this one in the Washington Post.

You can thank a county-wide collaboration of mayors, along with Big Communications for the #bringatob media campaign.

Other Cities Want Those Headquarters, Too

What are other cities doing to attract Amazon? A lot.

The blog Geekwire rated the top seven “stunts from cities vying for Amazon’s second North American headquarters,” and we’re not the only place going all out.

• Tuscon sent a giant cactus to Jeff Bezos, but he rejected it.
• Philly put their best and brightest to work via a pitch competition.
• Detroit set up a “war room” with over 50 strategists on hand.
• New Jersey promised a $5 billion tax break to Amazon.
• Stonecrest, Georgia approved a plan to give Amazon its own city.
• Chicago put a whopping 600 “corporate chiefs” on the Amazon bid.

Check out what all these other cities are doing, too. It’s wild!

What’s Next In The Race For Amazon

Cities’ face a deadline of October 19, so there’s a little over a week left to see how many bids roll in. Do you think Birmingham has what it takes? Stay tuned. I’m asking our city leaders the same question. Let’s see what our new mayor and city council have to say about the possibility.