Have you ever tried to describe to a non-Colorado resident what the “it” factor is about living here?

The Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. suggests using the “elevation effect.”

Friday morning, officials are rolling out the new branding campaign to hundreds of area business leaders gathered for the group’s annual “site selector” event.

“This is designed to give our partners and our community an elevator pitch for why your company should relocate or expand to metro Denver. Or why should talent and skilled employees choose to work and to live in metro Denver? Why should our kids choose to stay when they graduate here?” said Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce CEO J.J. Ament, former corporation CEO.

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Officials have been working on the project for two years, deploying an investor brand survey, a workforce analysis by Myers Briggs that looked at Denver metro region’s collective psychological profile by using more than 30,000 samples, a “resident perception study” from more than 1,000 participants and competitor city analysis, according to Amy Guttmann, director of marketing and brand strategy.

Those cities included: Arlington, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Orlando, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Nashville, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, Salt Lake City and Seattle.

Guttmann said they’ve always been working with the 70 communities in the 9-county metro Denver area.

“We hear all the time from our companies that they can’t find the people they need in in Denver right now,” she said. “We needed to find a message that was relevant to businesses and the talent and the idea of going after your dreams and collaborating more. Of living in a place where you don’t have to choose between having an amazing career and an amazing life.”

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So, naturally, Colorado’s nature and mountains are the centerpiece of the new campaign. And it’s not just for out-of-state companies. It speaks to those looking to expand and stay in Colorado, too.

“It’s authentic to them as well because that private sector voice is part of what makes this different. It lasts too, very evergreen,” Guttmann said.

What bubbled up is phrases like: “Here at altitude, we’re surrounded by limitless trails, expansive skies, endless opportunity and people who are always ready to take on a new challenge. It’s in our nature to push one another to climb higher and achieve more.”

Catch phrases aimed at talent: “Startups, VCs and go-getters, oh my,” “Vacation in the same state you work,” and, “Less dog eat dog. More dog on hike.”

And businesses: “It’s like altitude training for business,” “Bring your business to life. And vice versa,” and “Elevate your SWOT” (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).

“It appeals both to the talent who says, ‘I want to be part of something bigger,’ and it appeals to companies saying, ‘You know, that kind of spirit right there is on brand with our company and our company’s values,” said Ament.

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Asked if the campaign is based too much on emotion or feeling, as opposed to the statistics and data that loads down economic development pitches, Ament said there’s room for both approaches.

“These jobs are not just widgets part of a machine. Each one of those jobs represents a person in our community and their career,” Ament said. “So where can acquire great talent? I think post-pandemic we will see additional — just like we saw post 9-11, post Great Recession — talented and skilled workers taking a little bit different assessment of their lives and how they want to live and who they want to be that benefits Colorado because we have that thing, this elevation effect.”

See what he did there?