They call it Life Works Here. It's the branding initiative developed by the Northwest Arkansas Council to raise awareness of the region and attract talent.
Research shows that since the campaign started, national awareness of the region has more than doubled from 30 percent in 2018 to 70 percent this year. The campaign has expanded its advertising into the Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Dallas and Kansas City markets. There was also a blitz in Silicon Valley in an effort to attract laid-off technology workers to Arkansas.
\r\nAn ad in the San Francisco Chronicle read: "Finally, a good tech headline: Northwest Arkansas has over 2,000 open tech jobs and 10,000 open jobs in total, including careers at Fortune 500s and disruptive startups. The region also offers world-class art, dining and 500 miles of bike trails."
\r\nAccording to the council\'s annual report: "Employers are competing for talent, and those workers are looking not only for a well-paying, rewarding job but a greater work-life balance. The campaign highlights the region\'s impressive career opportunities and lifestyle amenities to attract creatives, STEM and tech professionals."
\r\nSince the campaign launched in 2020 during the depth of the pandemic, the effort has been mentioned in more than 1,500 news stories with an estimated advertising value of $14.5 million. When it was announced that the council would offer money and a bicycle to those in certain professions who moved to northwest Arkansas, major news outlets ran stories. Here\'s a sample of the headlines:
\r\nUSA Today: "Move here, get paid: Small towns offer up to $20K just to get you to live there, work remotely."
\r\nThe New York Times: "Want to Move to Our Town? Here\'s $10,000 and a Free Bike."
\r\nThe Wall Street Journal: "Walmart Helped Put Northwest Arkansas on the Map. Now Everybody Wants a Piece of It."
\r\nForbes: "This U.S. Region Will Pay You $10,000 To Move There (And Give You A Bike, Too)."
\r\nA billboard in Dallas showed a mountain biker crossing a stream with these words: "Do go chasing waterfalls." A billboard in Austin showed four cyclists crossing a bridge with these words: "Careers (and mountain bikes) go further here."
\r\nIn Atlanta, a banner read: "Take a midnight train out of Georgia." In Boston, an ad showed a hip bar in northwest Arkansas with these words: "Sometimes you want to move where everybody knows your name."
\r\nIn addition to attracting needed tech workers for companies such as Walmart and Tyson Foods, the council tries to lure entrepreneurs to the region. The council\'s StartupNWA initiative brings together investors and entrepreneurs. The Walton Family Foundation provided a grant to transform StartupNWA.com into a searchable online tool. The project built a statewide database of entrepreneurial resources along with a directory of northwest Arkansas-specific support. The University of Arkansas\' Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation partners with the council to ensure the information is up to date.
\r\nMeanwhile, Northwest Arkansas Council and Tulsa Innovation Labs collaborated on an initiative known as the Future Logistics and Advanced Mobility Engine. FLAME seeks to transform eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas into the nation\'s leading center of advanced air mobility and supply chain innovation.
\r\nWalmart, Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt have joined forces with UA, Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa to align investments around a shared vision. The goal is to accelerate research, commercialization and workforce development. A study by the think tank Heartland Forward said the collaboration could be a blueprint for future economic development partnerships among states.
\r\nMore than 250 people came to Bentonville last year for what\'s known as the UP.Summit. The meeting attracts the CEOs of some the world\'s largest companies, start-up founders and venture capitalists. The summit is hosted by investment firm Up.Partners, Steuart Walton, Tom Walton and Ross Perot Jr. It rotates annually between Bentonville and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and focuses on the future of transportation and mobility.
\r\nThe Walton brothers are trying to make Arkansas a global leader in next-generation transportation by 2030. This includes drone delivery, autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles and flying cars. Other resources for the entrepreneurs the region is attracting include:
\r\n\xe2\x80\xa2 412 Angels, an investment program that supports startups in the corridor connecting Tulsa and northwest Arkansas. The program was launched by the Tulsa-based venture capital firm Atento Capital. It has held several investing summits and invested more than $1 million.
\r\n\xe2\x80\xa2 The Plug & Play Tech Center, a California-based venture capital firm and business accelerator that\'s focused on the supply chain and logistics. It expanded to northwest Arkansas in 2019. The organization announced a $25.5 million venture capital fund that will support startups working on warehouse automation, e-commerce, sustainability, artificial intelligence and other supply chain issues. It has hosted events focused on outdoor recreation, health care, inventory and supply chain innovation.
\r\n\xe2\x80\xa2 Entrepreneurship for All and Builders+Backers, which teamed up to launch accelerators designed to get startups launched. Participants receive intensive training and advising services. There are also grants so they can test out their ideas and products while creating long-term business plans.
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\r\nSenior Editor Rex Nelson\'s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He\'s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
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