Beginning this month and running through May, Imagine MKE will highlight artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and organizations to celebrate the vibrancy of the city’s creative culture. The multichannel campaign, Reimagine Milwaukee, will lead up to Imagine MKE’s annual Milwaukee Day video.
“The Reimagine Milwaukee campaign seeks not only to attract visitors to our city but aims to draw talent to and back to Milwaukee, combatting the trend of talent migration over the last decade,” Imagine MKE Executive Director Adam Braatz said.
The campaign will feature diverse individuals and organizations that help define Milwaukee’s culture through stories told in short-form media content, the Imagine MKE blog and through the Creative MKE podcast, which is syndicated with WUWM, Milwaukee’s NPR affiliate.
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“Through impactful storytelling, we are positioning Milwaukee’s creative class as the dynamic, empowered and inspired force that is charting the next 50 years of redevelopment and evolution that will be taking place in the Greater Milwaukee area,” Braatz said. “By placing the focus on our local talent, the narrative for how this community will evolve is in the capable hands of our creative community.”
This year’s Milwaukee Day video — Imagine MKE’s annual love letter to Milwaukee’s arts and culture scene — is produced by TankThink with Washington Park Media Center and MKE<->LAX. Subjects from the video will be highlighted as part of the Reimagine Milwaukee campaign.
A celebration and exclusive early screening of the Milwaukee Day video will take place at Radio Milwaukee’s headquarters on April 11. A microsite dedicated to the content of the campaign will go live in the early part of this year.
In November, Imagine MKE organized the Creative Economy Forum, which drew a crowd of about 100 people at a meeting room at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s Downtown office to explore how Milwaukee can increase its social and economic vibrancy through strategic investment in its diverse creative economy.
Braatz noted that National Geographic, the New York Times and Condé Nast are just a few of the major international publications that have recently featured Milwaukee as a destination for its arts and culture and how there is increased attention on the city in the lead up to the Republic National Convention.
Reimagine Milwaukee seeks to position Milwaukee’s creative community as the leaders who are making the city a desirable place to live, work, play and create while showcasing the successes of and opportunities embedded within the region’s creative culture.
Imagine MKE is receiving support from Associated Bank and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. for the campaign.
“We take immense pride in helping to advance our region’s creative economy,” Associated Bank Vice President and Chief Product and Marketing Officer Bryan Carson said. “Through our support, we hope to further empower Imagine MKE as they drive vibrancy in our communities through arts and culture.”
