THE regional development agency is committing £3m to marketing the West Midlands during the next 12 months.

Advantage West Midlands wants everyone in the region to work together to develop a regional marketing strategy to promote a consistent and positive image of the West Midlands at home and abroad.

Director of investment and marketing, Mary Harpley, said: "We have a lot to celebrate in our region.

"And yet, people in the West Midlands and those from outside have a very mixed picture of who and what we are as a region.

"So today, we are calling on all sections of the region - voluntary, private and public sectors, the media and politicians - to work with us to develop a regional marketing strategy that shows what the West Midlands as a whole has to offer people in the UK and abroad."