Worcester, Massachusetts spent nearly on $10,000 on a promotional video for its #AmazonHQ2 bid

While high in production value, the faux-VR video does little to expand on existing Worcester proposal

With so much competition for Amazon’s second home, cities across the country are shelling out to stand out. In a request for HQ2 bids, Worcester Economic Development revealed they spent $9,800 to produce a promotional video for their headquarters proposal.

Created by a production house known as the Envision Digital Group, the 2-minute video of b-roll showcases various assets of Worcester seen through the lens of virtual reality glasses. The video is composed of a montage of local businesses, academic institutions, research centers and artistic endeavors as well as a few high definition drone shots of over the city. The only bit of voiceover that could provide the tech conglomerate with more practical information descends into yet another Alexa gag.

Other cities such as Boston, Detroit, and Pittsburg have attempted to appeal to Amazon through a more visually pleasing medium than PowerPoint by releasing their own video pitches. Worcester’s actual written proposal offers Amazon up to $500 million in local real estate tax savings. Whether Amazon will be swayed by millions in tax incentives or a love letter to Worcester remains to be seen. Regardless, Worcester has already made a $10,000 down payment.

View the rest of the bid requests via the map below.