Peter Kageyama

Peter is a partner with Creative Cities Productions (formerly Sextant Marketing Group) and the founder of the Creative Cities Summit.  He provides consulting and development services for the Creative Economy by focusing on entrepreneurs, arts and cultural organizations, cities, and technologies that impact peoples’ quality of life.  He works internationally on projects that have positive economic, social, cultural, and environmental outcomes.

Contact Information
peter@creativecitiesproductions.com

Monday

August 25, 2008

Why Detroit?

My name is Peter Kageyama and I am the founder and co-producer of the Creative Cities Summit 2.0, which is coming to Detroit October 12-15.  And why Detroit?  That is a question that I get asked a lot when I talk about the conference to my friends and colleagues.  And it is an answer that is at the very heart of my efforts and I believe, all of yours as well.

I had not been to Detroit since college in the 80s and it was just over a year ago that I came up from Florida to visit my friend Karen Gagnon from the Michigan Cool Cities program.  Karen had been asking me to come up and see what was on in Michigan and I finally made the time to do it.  And I am really glad I did.

The national media’s portrayal of Detroit really does not do justice to the incredible things that are happening on the ground there.  And that is shame, but it is also probably true of most places.  The market for “good news” is limited and we all know the  “if it bleeds, it leads” mentality of local media.  I found great projects going on in Detroit and I met some incredibly smart and passionate people who love their community.  And that is what I have been telling people ever since.  Don’t believe all the negative about Detroit–you really need to go and see how this city and its creative people are responding.  I know people will be surprised.

Detroit is the epitome of the American industrial economy.  The challenges it faces as the world’s economy shifts are the same challenges that cities and regions all over the US and the world are facing.  By addressing the issues and challenges Detroit and Michigan faces, we are addressing those issues for the world.

Detroit is the psychic center of Michigan and in many ways the psychic center of the American industrial economy.  We need places like Detroit, Cleveland, and Pittsburg to adapt, change and thrive in the 21st century.  And that is the mission and hope of the Creative Cities Summit 2.0.  To bring together the many thought leaders and change agents and let them be inspired and go on to discover their own solutions to these challenges. 

Please join us in Detroit, October 12-15:  www.creativecitiessummit.com

Tuesday

August 26, 2008

Marketing and the City

One of the key themes of the Creative Cities Summit in October will be how we talk about our cities; both to those who live there already and to those that we seek to attract.  “Marketing” is broadly used to describe this process, but it is not just a marketing problem.

I see places all over the US and the world and think that the solution to their problems is a better marketing campaign.  Millions of dollars are spent with ever-decreasing returns.  For every success like “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas,” there are countless other efforts that ring hollow and don’t move the needle a bit.  Why?  I’m sure all these efforts were well thought out, researched and creatively massaged, but they miss a key point.  We don’t believe marketing.  We may be influenced by marketing but fundamentally we are all marketing jaded and highly suspicious of being marketed to.  When every CVB, Chamber of Commerce, mayor or elected official tells you that their community is a great place to visit or relocate your business to, it becomes a complete non-message.

The Summit will address how to reach this jaded audience, how to talk to them, and show some examples of how some communities are using new and traditional means to connect.  We will show how “community storytelling” may replace our current notions of marketing.  We will highlight how local music scenes create true identity and how social media applications are changing the pace and the style of communications.  Are you ready to state your case in 140 characters?  Not 140 words–140 characters!  Do you have a long tail strategy to your media outreach?  And are you ready to acknowledge that we have far less control over our message than ever before? 

To find out more, please join us in Detroit, October 12-15:  www.creativecitiessummit.com

Wednesday

August 27, 2008

Talent War

Everyone is talking about talent attraction and retention.  Every city and economic development organization in the country now has a plan of some kind to attract and retain talent.  Richard Florida has been highlighting this issue for several years since the publication of his seminal work, The Rise of the Creative Class.  Everyone is talking talent and some of the strategies and tactics are really interesting!

Two weeks ago, the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, came to Tampa on a poaching mission.  The mayor and several large employers from Louisville sponsored a big party here in Tampa called the Louisville Reunion where they worked with their local alumni organizations to identify former Kentucky residents now living in Florida.  They brought Kentucky bourbon and the promise of jobs back in Louisville. 

Many here, including the mayor of Tampa, dismissed the event as a non-issue, but to me it was indicative of where things are going.  The “war for talent” is starting to turn into a shooting war!  We are used to having other communities court our major businesses, but this poaching mission from Louisville seems to signal a new openness towards going after the talented individual.

Historically the role of talent attraction and retention fell to the company.  It was wrapped up in your salary, benefits, working conditions, etc.  We all know today that that is only part of the total package.  Talented workers now want to know about he community and the local culture.  Today, our cities have a direct role to play in the process of talent attraction and retention.  What we need to do is create more partnerships and linkages between business and our cities and find new ways to go after talent.  The Louisville example may seem a bit extreme, but it at least shows that the city and their business community have hooked up and are aggressively looking to work together.  Is your city ready to defend its talent from the likes of Louisville?

There is a special session on the City’s Role in Attracting and Retaining Talent at the Creative Cities Summit 2.0, October 12-15 in Detroit.  www.creativecitiessummit.com

Thursday

August 28, 2008

Creative (Small) Cities

Just as most businesses are small businesses, most cities are small cities, especially when compared to mega cities like London, Chicago, or Detroit.  And inevitably cities are comparing themselves to the mega cities and that is unfair.  And among folks who think and talk about cities, there is a tendency to gravitate toward big cities.  I know I am guilty of it.   
 
Dave Ivan of Michigan State University Extension and a speaker at the Creative Cities Summit 2.0 in Detroit, authored a report asking the question “Can Small Towns Be Cool?”  Of course they can be cool but their cool will be a different cool than what a big city might offer.  Small places need to reorient their measuring sticks and learn how to better value and promote their “smallness.”  Those that are seeking the big urban experience will find their way to big urban centers.  Those that are seeking something a bit different need to be shown the unique benefits and opportunities that smaller places provided.  Celebrate your smallness!  Shout out your lack of size!  

Dave Ivan along with two others speakers from the UK and Brazil will speak on the subject of creative, small cities and how they can compete in the 21st century.  For more information, please visit www.creativecitiessummit.com and join us in October.

Friday

August 29, 2008

Music and Economic Development

I see cities happily supporting a certain class of arts and culture that we often refer to as the “SOB” or symphony, opera, and ballet.  I love these institutions (OK, I like these institutions) but I often argue that these groups do not really define the arts and cultural scene of a place.

Take music for example.  While the symphony is playing some new composers and pieces, most of the catalog is historic.  Yet every night, in cities large and small, local musicians are playing in clubs, coffee houses, bars and backyards—making new music and defining the “scene” with their efforts.  Do we see the same support for rock and roll or hip-hop or techno that we do for the symphony?  Never.  If we are to assess the ROI on our investments, we need to think about several factors.

Every community is talking about attracting and retaining young talent.  Young talent is far more interested in the local music scene than in the SOB.  And local music plays a huge role in defining a community’s identity.  Think about how places can become known for their musical ambassadors:  Athens, GA with REM and B-52’s, Seattle with Jimi Hendrix, Heart and later Pearl Jam and Nirvana, and Detroit with Motown and later the birth of techno, Eminem, the White Stripes and Kid Rock.   

With the tools of recording becoming ubiquitous and inexpensive, the main thing that musicians want is a network of places to play, an audience, and the opportunity to connect with other musicians.  So for small dollars compared to typical support for the symphony, cities could find creative ways to support this important sector.  For example, why don’t CVBs and Chambers sponsor touring musicians as they travel around the country or the world?  For a small investment, the CVB could include a short video on a local band’s CD, or have the band distribute tourist materials targeted towards that band’s demographic.  Think of what might happen if you see a great band and they tell you “come to our hometown for other great acts” or “come to our summer music festival.”  And who knows where the next star might come from and what halo effect.  The musicians are often ambassadors for cities and sometimes our first exposure to a place.  Most Americans never thought of Liverpool until the Beatles arrived, Motown’s sound was the soundtrack of Detroit and Dublin’s rise as a global city is mirrored by the rise of U2.  

Music has been a passion of mine and this connection of music and economic development really came together for me a couple of years ago.  I was in Manchester, England and had the opportunity to have lunch with the late Tony Wilson.  Tony was the founder of Factory Records and the Hacienda Club in Manchester.  That city never had a greater champion for music and the power it has to define a place.  Check out the movie, 24 Hour Party People, a great film about Tony and that scene.

He and I talked about having him come over to talk about this very subject and we started making plans to do so.  As with all busy people, the plans kept getting moved about and last year, Tony passed away.  To honor that meeting, we are bringing Tony’s wife and business partner, Yvette Livesey to the Creative Cities Summit for a session called “Making the Scene” which is all about music, economic development, and community identity. 

For more information, visit www.creativecitiessummit.com