Whether the goal of local economic development is business attraction or increased tourism, marketing is a crucial part of the overall strategy. ICMA has helped cities worldwide identify their assets, implement "branding," and market themselves to potential investors.

• With ICMA assistance, partner cities in Bulgaria established a consortium of municipalities (Bulgarian Partnership for Local Economic Development, BPLED) to lead joint marketing efforts, including a Web site (www.invest.bg) that serves as a source of information and a point of contact for prospective investors.
• In addition, ICMA worked with all member cities of BPLED in Bulgaria to develop marketing materials. Haskovo's package entails a catalog of firms, a brochure, a DVD presentation, and a tourist map of the city, and Blagoevgrad developed and launched an electronic marketing profile and created a video promoting the city’s strengths and business opportunities.
• Faced with a declining fishing industry and a corresponding loss of population, the port city of Nevelsk, in the Russian Far East, identified tourism as an opportunity for development and began marketing its unique natural, historical, and recreational resources with the help of expertise shared by ICMA partners; the result was an increased number of visitors.
• ICMA designed and implemented the LED component of the Municipal Economic Growth Activity (MEGA) program in Serbia, which included identification of investment opportunities, information dissemination to potential investors, and other marketing and promotion outreach.
• In Bolivia, ICMA worked with highland municipalities (Curahuara de Carangas and Turco) to organize municipal fairs to market regional and nationwide livestock production (llamas). The fairs were organized by the municipality with participation of the communities that represent the private sector in that area of the country.