Business & Tech
Marion's a Part of Iowa's 'Creative Corridor,' But Does it Feel Like It?
The organization, Corridor 2020, is aiming to brand the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area as a single "Creative Corridor," but as residents of this alleged "Corridor," does it feel like we are neighbors?
It seems clear that Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, two prominent Iowa cities surrounded by miles and miles of rural landscape, could use a prominent metropolitan identity to attract business.
Gregg Hennigan, a writer for Business 380, wrote an extensive story on the efforts of business leaders and officials to re-brand and conjoin the two areas as the "Creative Corridor."
Officials from the Corridor Business Alliance said the name was chosen to convey the diverse types of work done in the arts, sciences and technology.
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Though this wouldn't tangibly change the business that already exist in the area, it would create a narrative of success and diversity. The hope is to attract businesses that may be wary of moving to a place they perceive as being made up of rural farmers.
But this is difficult, careful work, according to John Murry, a brand expert at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.
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"Branding is not magic… What we’re trying to do is figure out what it is we need to put in the customer’s head that will give us the best chance to succeed," he said to Business 380.
The question I'm left with, aside from whether this initiative will be successful, is whether or not the residents of this area, us, actually feel this intangible sense of community.
But I'm just one person, what do you think? Do you feel like there is a shared culture and sense of community between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, or are we just two cities in Eastern Iowa that are grouped together for our geographical proximity?
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