Game on.
After Amazon announced it was planning to build a second North American headquarters, cities have taken a wide range of unique approaches to entice the online retailer.
Georgia has offered to create a new city called Amazon if they’re chosen. Basketball legend Michael Jordan wrote a personal letter to Jeff Bezos in a pitch for Charlotte, North Carolina. And a group of 60 tech hotshots are petitioning Bezos to choose New York City.
Now another city is getting in on the action. Kansas City’s mayor Sly James apparently really wants to get the retailer’s attention, so he bought 1,000 Amazon products on Wednesday, and reviewed each and every one of them.
Read: Amazon (Briefly) Lost Its Spot As the World’s Most Valuable Retailer
Not only did James give all of the products five stars, but he (or, more likely, a very clever intern) also wrote some colorful reviews, gushing about the products and then pivoting to describing qualities of Kansas City. On a set of “premium wind chimes,” James wrote: “When it comes to my house and my housewares, there’s nothing I value more than bang for my buck. I live in beautiful Kansas City where the average home price is just $122K, so I know luxe living doesn’t have to cost a ton. That’s why at $14.99, these wind chimes are music to my ears.”
Read: Amazon HQ2: St. Louis Has Sportscaster Joe Buck Make Its Pitch
But the Kansas City mayor didn’t stop there. He promoted his efforts on Facebook and Twitter in an “unboxing” video. Sly shared the video along with a tweet asking other residents, “What’s the best way to get Amazon excited about a new KC HQ? Amazon product reviews. Tell Amazon why you love KC with #KC5stars.”
https://twitter.com/MayorSlyJames/status/918205849520295937
With a promise of 50,000 jobs and a $5 billion prize for the winner, cities have a lot to gain from becoming the home of Amazon’s second headquarters. As the deadline approaches (October 19), perhaps we’ll be seeing a few more unique vies for attention like this one.
Oh, and in case you were wondering what James plans to do with the 1,000 products he bought on Amazon, they will all be donated to local charities.
