Michigan launches $20 million 'You Can in Michigan' ad campaign to attract talent
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials launched a $20 million marketing campaign geared toward talent attraction Tuesday, as the governor's office continues to focus on reversing Michigan's recent population decline.
The You Can in Michigan campaign is a national effort to bring more people to the state, with an emphasis on filling open jobs and sparking more economic activity. The talent attraction strategy will include television and radio advertising, social media marketing and the launch of a website called themichiganlife.org, which includes sections labeled "build your career" and "find your fun," in a nod to amenities around the Great Lakes and Michigan's "vibrant cities."
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) is spearheading the plan.
"'You Can in Michigan' is a new talent attraction marketing campaign, launching nationally to fill open jobs, grow Michigan's population and drive our state's economy forward," Whitmer said during a virtual news conference Tuesday. "Comprehensively, it's the largest skilled talent attraction campaign and effort in the United States."
The state will spend an initial $20 million on the "You Can in Michigan" campaign, to cover production costs for the marketing campaign for the first two years, as well as $3.5 million on advertising costs through the end of this year, officials said. Overall, MEDC is spending $59 million as part of its ongoing effort to attract talent to Michigan, said Michelle Grinnell, senior VP of marketing and communications at MEDC.
Boosting population growth is a key target for Whitmer, who in June announced the formation of the Growing Michigan Together Council. The council is tasked with identifying policy solutions to grow Michigan's population and will present its recommendations to Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature this December. Hillary Doe, Michigan's chief growth officer, said the council has been engaged with young workers and families in different parts of Michigan to identify potential solutions to issues like housing access and child care affordability that could help attract talent to the state.
In addition to the ad campaign, the marketing effort also highlights a Michigan career portal accessible through its website. The career portal is powered by FutureFit AI, an artificial intelligence platform. The news release quoted MEDC officials as saying that the platform is "one of a kind."
Quentin Messer Jr., MEDC CEO,, said the state is particularly targeting talent to work in the automotive industries, particularly as automakers embrace a transition to electric vehicles, biosciences, agricultural business and financial technologies.
"Simply put, Michigan is a ground zero for innovation," Messer said. "And if you want to innovate, if you want to be a part of changing humanity, I can't think of a better place than Michigan."
Grinnell said the campaign will initially target 12 markets, including New York; San Francisco; Austin, Texas; and Raleigh, N.C.
"(M)arkets where we know there is a density of tech talent, we know that there is overlay with a high density of Michigan alums or ties to Michigan," she said. "But also the industries that we're looking to grow a workforce in, like mobility, semiconductors, things of that nature."
The plan currently only targets U.S. markets, although Grinnell said officials will continue to monitor ways to make Michigan welcoming to international workers and students.
The campaign announcement was met with some criticism — state Rep. Bill Schuette, R-Midland, derided the campaign on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
"If giving companies more than a billion dollars in taxpayer handouts hasn't worked, a fancy taxpayer-funded ad campaign won't work either," said Schuette, referring to state-backed incentive packages given to companies like Ford in return for them locating or expanding economic development plans in Michigan.
"Instead of throwing money at band-aid solutions, let's get serious about improving our state's economic competitiveness," he added.
Currently, population trends in Michigan paint a negative picture — data estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show the state lost population in both 2021 and 2022. And while Michigan did grow in resident population between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, its growth was outpaced by the bulk of U.S. states. Among states that gained population in between the two most recent censuses, Michigan's percentage population change was the second-lowest, only bettering Connecticut, per census data.
Michigan's population grew by 2% from 2010 to 2020, a pace below that of the U.S. population, which grew by 7.4%. The sluggish growth creates problems for Michigan — the state lost a U.S. House seat in the most recent congressional reapportionment, dampening its total federal representation.
A recent survey conducted on behalf of the Detroit Regional Chamber and Business Leaders or Michigan also yielded results business officials called a "concern" — after more than 1 in 4 of Michiganders ages 18-29 surveyed said they didn't see themselves in Michigan 10 years from now.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer, MEDC launch 'You Can in Michigan' marketing campaign
