Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Dallas, the eighth-largest U.S. city by population, is sending 400 Apple Inc. iPhones to chief executives in New York, California and other higher-cost areas to encourage relocation to the city, Mayor Tom Leppert said.

Leppert, who plans to unveil the marketing plan Sept. 14 in his state of the city address to the Dallas Regional Chamber, said the city is trying to capitalize on the recent relocations of AT&T Inc., the exclusive carrier for iPhone, and Comerica Inc., and the scheduled move of Tenet Healthcare Corp. to the city’s downtown.

“A lot of companies find that rather than restructure to cut costs, it’s cheaper to relocate,” said Leppert, who moved his contracting company, Turner Corp. from New York to Dallas in 1999. “If we get one relocation, it’s a major win.”

The move of AT&T to Dallas from San Antonio, announced in June 2008, and Tenet are each bringing about 600 new jobs to the city and helping expand its tax base, Leppert said today in an interview. Dallas already is the home of Neiman Marcus, Texas Instruments,Blockbuster Inc. and Dean Foods.

The worst recession since the great Depression prompted Dallas to refocus its business recruiting efforts to appeal directly to chief executives and show them how the city could help businesses cut costs by touting lower taxes and real estate costs, said Leppert. The city is working with the Chamber, which funded the $250,000 cost for the program, Downtown Dallas, which promotes development, and Dallas-based TM Advertising, which developed the campaign at no cost to the city.

Contact Information

Starting earlier this month, chief executive officers of 400 targeted companies with $500 million in revenue began receiving the phone and other materials. About 25 more will be sent out every few weeks. Each phone contains an application with customized information about the city and messages from Leppert and other CEOs. The phone also comes with contact numbers and links to a Web site with additional information.

For example, the Web site might show an executive from California that Texas has the 43rd lowest overall tax burden and California the sixth-highest, citing data from the Washington- based Tax Foundation. The phone and Web site provide other data on the cost of living, housing costs, real estate, salaries and other data.

The city plans to follow up delivery of the phones with calls and emails from the mayor and others. The idea is to win over executives who might not have considered relocation to Dallas as an option, Leppert said. The city has targeted companies that operate in states with relatively high-tax rates and operating costs and industries that might be looking for ways to reduce costs, Leppert said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Darrell Preston in Dallas at dpreston@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 14, 2009 16:25 EDT