Background

As the son of Ted Levine, founder of Development Counsellors International, Andy was introduced to the world of economic development and travel marketing at birth. Since joining the firm in 1991, Andy has helped launch the company into a new era, advancing the quality of client work performed, growing the number of staff and adding to the range of client services offered.

Andy's Passion for Places

The Johnny Cash song, "I've Been Everywhere," could be Andy's theme song - and he has the frequent flyer miles to prove it.

For Andy, marketing places is dramatically different than promoting consumer products - and much more fun. Exploring entire communities, sorting out the most interesting stories and storytellers, and then communicating these unique offerings to the right audience are what make place marketing the perfect career for Andy. He believes every place with which DCI works - cities, regions, states and countries - has a unique story to tell - and the company's job is to dig in and find it.

Notable Results

• On behalf of the South African Tourism Board, Andy arranged for the Sports Illustrated "Swimsuit Issue" to be shot on location in South Africa. Accompanying the well-known photo essay were 16 pages of editorial content profiling South Africa's diverse tourism offerings.

• For the Greater New Orleans Region, Andy managed a highly successful editorial placement program with results in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Success, Forbes and CNN. In the program's first year, 76 placements were achieved with an advertising impact of $5.9 million.

• He developed and continues to direct DCI's "Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing." First conducted in 1996, this ongoing survey of corporate executives with site selection responsibilities has emerged as a valuable tool for economic developers seeking to understand the "customer's perspective" on what works in economic development marketing.