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There has been much ado about the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) hiring an out-of-state public relations/marketing firm, Burson-Marsteller, for a very large contract instead of choosing one of the Iowa-based contenders.

Basically, Iowa ad agencies and the local advertising club (American Advertising Federation of Des Moines) are calling foul because the IDED didn’t buy local.

In theory, I get it. The Greater Des Moines Partnership is working hard to get us to buy local. We’ve got the “I believe” campaign that just launched as well. I applaud both efforts, and as an Iowa-based business owner, I certainly hope many heed the call.

But I don’t think the call should be “No matter what, even if they are not the best choice, buy local.” I think the urge to buy locally means, give the hometown teams a fair shot. Don’t assume the “all experts must live in a big city or at least 100 miles away” attitude.

But that wasn’t the case. The IDED did actively solicit and receive many proposals from Iowa-based agencies. It just didn’t pick one of them.

Buyers have to be allowed to choose the candidate based on its merits, not its ZIP code. So as much as I respect Iowa’s agencies, I also respect the IDED for having the courage to choose the partner best suited to help it achieve its goals.

After all, in the end, that’s what’s best for the state of Iowa.

Note: In an effort to stay transparent, McLellan Marketing Group was invited to pitch for the IDED business, but we declined.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2009 Drew McLellan