I am a person who is fiercely aloof from, yet stunningly loyal to, my place ”“ and since 2005, my place has been Fairfield County.
Taking a big step beyond loyalty, though, I want to help rebrand my place as a Creative Corridor that complements the creativity of its urban bookends of New York City and Boston. But I also want it to be a place of its own, derivative of nowhere.
Let”™s face it, Connecticut”™s image is staid ”“ focused on commuters and on the finance industry, which doesn”™t exactly welcome the “crazies,” as the famous Apple “Think Different” ads labeled those of us who prefer to zig and to zag. I am surely not the only person who thinks the state urgently needs to reveal, revalue and reboot the creative resources it has and to reel in creative types from outside. Us crazies truly make places better, richer and, yes, more colorful.
It”™s not without reason to imagine a time when Connecticut could be a nexus for all things PR, marketing and advertising ”“ NoMA (North of Madison Avenue)? ”“ after all, many “mad men” (and women), live there, even if they mostly work a Metro-North line away.
I”™ve spent my career (in advertising and PR) thinking of how best to brand products, people and companies. Now I”™m most intrigued by place as brand ”“ a 50-year-old concept known as “placemaking” that today is an international movement, one well associated with our state”™s economic development and tourism czar.
I want to help mold Connecticut, to boast about our talent pool and proximity, our lifestyle oasis, our community of collaborative spirits. That”™s why I helped pitch the Fairfield County Creative Corridor (FCCC) initiative, designed to turn the state from creative afterthought into creative dynamo.
But this isn”™t about me. And it”™s not about you, either. It”™s a community-driven, bottom-up approach that”™s about the place.
As soon as I raised my hand to suggest establishing this Creative Corridor, I was bombarded by response and excitement ”“ but mostly not the kind I”™d hoped for. I heard neighbors selling neighbors, people grabbing for bits instead of tackling big-picture challenges and opportunities, trade groups and agencies vying to own versus collaborating, people craving a high stature.
The FCCC isn”™t an opportunity for any one person or company to make it big. This is about Connecticut making it big. This is about a community working together to establish a vibrant creative economy, united around a larger vision for the place they love.
Now that we”™re drafting blueprints, I see a fivefold challenge for Fairfield County and its Creative Corridor:
Ӣ Can enough quality suppliers emerge and showcase their wares? And will their goods and services be enough to make a marketplace we can be proud of?
Ӣ Can we hold one another accountable for work of a global standard, even if it means that some businesses and businesspeople will win and some will lose?
Ӣ Will a university or college emerge as the engine that drives new thinking styles and the energy of the young mind into the local marketplace? ItӪs hard to know how excellence or true envelope-pushing will come from the current players, mostly because they seem to be in competition mode, versus having a collaborative mindset.
”¢Â How can Fairfield County and Connecticut inject the fast-paced reality of today into the future? Many people and companies who want to get involved haven”™t adopted new working styles and technologies or embraced the 24/7/365 commitment required of locations where placemaking has succeeded. In the world of genuine creativity, people thrive at hope”™s edge, fueled by java and passion; they don”™t use quality of life as an explanation or yank out a decade-old CV as a rationale for their stool at the bar, which is getting raised in real time.
Ӣ What kind of place do we really want, and can we agree on it? Small town, big city, hard-driving, collaborative, results-focused, communal? Before a place can be well sculpted, the artist needs a clear vision.
Placemaking is not about money. Truly great placemaking is the work of a community whose aim is true: simply, to create good public spaces that promote people”™s health, happiness and well-being.
It”™s about a place to call our own.
Marian Salzman is CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR and president of the Fairfield County PR Association. She can be reached at marian.salzman@eurorscg.com.
