This blog is written by one of 15 individuals attending the South By Southwest Conference in Austin with the intention to bring back ideas and to reimagine Richland County.
SXSW is marketing on steroids. Cities like Akron, Richmond and Tulsa are here showcasing themselves on a world stage. It makes me wonder: What if we marketed Mansfield at an event like SXSW?
Akron is well represented here with Mayor Dan Horrigan presenting during sessions along with an exhibit at the Trade Show.
Richmond has an interactive mural at the SXSW Trade Show to highlight its city along with a take-away coloring book doing the same. It was the brainchild of a group of students from Virginia Commonwealth University.
The Michigan House at SXSW is located in a church gym. This pop-up interactive experience utilizes nonprofits, corporations and government working together to pull it off. This is the third year Michigan has been represented at SXSW.
During a session at the Michigan House, panelists explained that to solve problems, legacy cities like Detroit (and Mansfield) will have to use their greatest resource, their residents. Marketing Mansfield will require us, the residents, to spread the word.
We will need a unified message and voice. What is our message? What is our plan to market our city? Plans TBD by the SXSW crew.
Stay tuned and follow the progress via #SXSW419. And watch for more blogs at richlandsource.com/rising_from_rust/sxsw.