Dallas is sending 400 iPhones to CEOs across the country in a campaign to attract new companies to the city, Bloomberg.com reported.
“A lot of companies find that rather than restructure to cut costs, it’s cheaper to relocate,” Mayor Tom Leppert told Bloomberg. “If we get one relocation, it’s a major win.”
The iPhones contain messages from Leppert and other CEOs and information highlighting the city's lower tax rates and affordable real estate.
In the annual "state of the city" speech Tuesday Leppert told Dallas Regional Chamber members that the city has a superior business climate.
"We're doing things that allow businesses to be successful and that's not the case across the country," he said. "You look on the East Coast, you look at California, that's not the case -- and that's the comment I'm receiving from CEOs."
The Dallas Regional Chamber funded the $250,000 cost for the program, which was developed free of charge by Dallas-based TM Advertising.
AT&T, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone, recently moved its headquarters from San Antonio to Dallas. The company joins newcomers Tenet Healthcare Corp and Comerica in downtown Dallas.
Leppert told Bloomberg.com that AT&T and Tenet are each bringing about 600 new jobs and helping to expand the city's tax base.
Get more: Bloomberg News
