Amazon(NEW YORK) — When Amazon announced its plan to accept bids from cities for the location of its second headquarters, various U.S. cities developed elaborate plans to catch the attention of the e-commerce giant.
On Sept. 7 Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos first laid out the terms of the project called HQ2. On Thursday, the window for cities to submit those bids closed. Bezos has promised that 50,000 people will be hired to work at the new headquarters.
Amazon will announce the location of its second headquarters sometime next year. More than 100 cities submitted bids.
Amazon said it wanted a metropolitan location that had at least one million residents. Some cities put together buzz-worthy gimmicks to convince Bezos that their location would be the right choice.
Here are some of the cities that went all out in their bids:
Tuscon, Arizona Sun Corridor Inc., an economic development group, sent a 21-foot Saguaro cactus to Bezos as an Amazon headquarters welcome gift. Amazon refused the plant and instead donated it to a local museum, according to Laura Shaw, chief marketing officer of Sun Corridor Inc.
Thx @SunCorridorInc! Unfortunately we can’t accept gifts (even really cool ones) so we donated it to @DesertMuseum https://t.co/ZJPQfs44cq pic.twitter.com/Fot06Kgs9P
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) September 19, 2017
Stonecrest, Georgia On Oct. 5, Mayor Jason Lary and the Stonecrest City Council voted to de-annex 345 acres of land and officially call it the city of Amazon. “There are several major U.S. cities that want Amazon, but none has the branding opportunity we are now offering this visionary company,” the mayor said in a statement after the announcement.
Detroit, Michigan Two of the state’s biggest football rivals joined forces on the field in a show of support for the city’s bid to host Amazon H2Q. Head football coaches from the University of Michigan and Michigan State set their differences aside in their biggest game of the season and sported headsets on the sidelines with the text #AmazonDetroit printed on the earpiece and speakers.
They may be rivals on the field, but #AmazonDetroit is something we can all agree upon. #AmazonHQ2 pic.twitter.com/VLT4vX12zF
— Detroit Moves (@DetroitMovesHQ) October 8, 2017
Danbury, Connecticut and Frisco, Texas Mayors in both cities posted separate videos on social media asking Amazon’s voice control system, Alexa, where the best city for the new headquarters is located. The gimmick in both videos ends with a female voice answering the name of each respective city.
Hey @JeffBezos, we want you here in #Danbury! (Alexa, thanks for the help!) pic.twitter.com/4lhbmrqFM9
— Mayor Mark Boughton (@MayorMark) September 14, 2017
Birmingham, Alabama The city launched its campaign by setting up giant Amazon packages at three locations around the city. Residents posted photos on social media to draw attention with the hashtag “Bring A to B.”
A post shared by Keith C. // The Roving Photog (@rovingphotog) on Sep 30, 2017 at 7:02pm PDT
Birmingham submits ‘great road map’ for Amazon HQ2 https://t.co/DTvGGexaST pic.twitter.com/0FSGTH46u5
— AL.com Birmingham (@ALcomBirmingham) October 18, 2017
Amazon did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
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