Branding ATL As An Innovation Epicenter- A Recap

At the final NexLabs event of the year, Isha Edwards of EPiC Measures gave the audience a rundown of Atlanta’s current position as a business, education, entertainment, government, healthcare, and media hub. Edwards then explained the need to “communicate a cohesive message” of Atlanta’s strengths to increase awareness of the opportunities the city has to offer. Her presentation closed with a the question to the panel of experts from key industries.

“Can ATL be positioned and branded as an entrepreneurship and innovation hub or epicenter?” 

Here are some choice takeaways from the panelists:

  • We’re a big city, but a small town. “Our biggest asset is that southerns by nature want to be together.” – David Hartnett, Metro Atl Chamber
  • “The biggest challenge that I’ve seen is bringing a different level of connectivity (to Atlanta),” but to a large degree the infrastructure is here to make that happen. – Jerald Mitchell, Atlanta Beltline
  • The relationships between universities and business are strong, but can still be strengthened. FinTech and HealthIT puts us as number one, but there’s nothing wrong with owning the idea of being number two in a lot of other things and branding it as a whole. – Phil Hudson, Atlanta Business Chronicle
  • We also have a lot of marketing here, specifically digital marketing companies. It’s important to let them know that they are eligible for tax credits. – Asante Bradford, State of GA Dept of Economic Development
  • People come here and you’re in. There’s no club you have to elbow your way into. We are the best in the country for global health, hip hop, and payment processing. “We have an embarrassment of riches” with all of these great things going for us. – John Stephenson, College Football Hall of Fame
  • “It doesn’t matter what your game is, there’s always room to play.” You can easily switch gears here, which can be tough in other cities. – Kent Spencer, Invest Atlanta

[Photo Credit: NexLabs]