Connectivity: Possible Central Marketing Theme for Northeast Ohio?

With the creation of Team NEO, the hunt will begin for a central marketing theme for Northeast Ohio. I think we need to develop some focusing ideas that capture the business imagination. I would like to test a few ideas with you. The first one is "Connectivity!" Let's sell our "connectivity advantage."

Where did this crazy idea come from? It occurred to me after a series of early morning email exchanges with George Nemeth and Craig James, who are business leaders behind Cleveland's new Connection Series.

As I look out over the next 5 years, a central challenge for economic developers in every region nationally and globally will be to maintain, establish and strengthen their connections to existing and new wealth-creating networks across the globe. Many of the worst problems in society are those related to major "disconnects", especially disconnections that result in loss. People losing their jobs. Communities losing their core businesses and industries. Neighborhoods losing their residents. Look at the education/workforce disconnect. Transportation disconnects. The list goes on and on.

Economic places must be highly "connected places" to provide the "functionality" required by people and businesses to adapt to their rapidly changing world. The region has many connections now, and many new ones will be needed in the future. We cannot make the claim of being the best or most connected place in the world, but we definitely have many powerful connections that we can use to increase regional economic development.

How might we develop this idea for NE Ohio? For one, we should emphasize how Team NEO will improve connectivity within the region. Youngstown needs a better connection to Cleveland. Lake County needs a better connection to Akron. Manufacturing needs a better connection to bioscience. IT needs a better connection to finance and insurance. Small companies need to connect better with each other and to large companies. Old workers need to connect with young workers. Students need to connect better with mentors who can help them find their way to viable future careers.

Secondly, we should emphasize connectivity to external places, people, activities, organizations, markets, information and knowledge and other things. NE Ohio needs a more active business and economic connection to Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Chicago, Munich, Hong Kong and many other places. Our industry clusters must connect to industry clusters nationally and internationally. Read my earlier Plain Dealer editorial about National and Global Partnerships. You can fetch it from my download page here.

A regional marketing effort focused on building the region's connections to these things could produce enormous pay-back on Team NEO's planned marketing budget. NEO offers strong and valuable connections to: 1) wealth-creating networks; 2) financial resources; 3) consumer and business markets; 4) technology; 5) industries and businesses; 6) people flows; 7) institutional resources (universities for one); and 8) knowledge and information; and many other things.

It has to be real! We need to prove that the region has a strong "connectivity advantage." That requires some solid research and effective communication. The perception we create must align with the reality.

It's a powerful theme that plays well locally (regionally) and nationally and internationally. How do we make the case? Talk about our connections, how local businesses and people have used existing ones and developed new ones to become successful.

The marketing message is this: "In this increasingly competitive and changing world, your business needs powerful working connections. NEO is the place where your business can find the "connection advantage" that it needs. If your business success depends upon connectivity, this is the place to be."