Baton Rouge Bets Big on Retention

Talent Wars: A Podcast by DCI is back for season two with a story about what happens when a city stops chasing outside talent and starts investing in the people already there.  

Join host Patience Fairbrother as she sits down with SVP of Marketing Morgan Almeida from the Baton Rouge Area Chamber to explore how Baton Rouge is flipping the script on talent retention—and why authenticity might be a city’s most powerful strategy. 

Our national Talent Wars research finds that talent retention is just as critical as attraction, and Baton Rouge’s Better in BTR campaign is a standout example: a strategic shift from recruiting outside talent to retaining the 60,000+ college students and young professionals already in the region. 

Morgan offers behind-the-scenes insight into how this campaign works—from building a brand rooted in real stories to leveraging cross-sector collaboration and investing in quality of life. She brings unique insights as a former InternBR participant who once planned to leave Baton Rouge—experience that makes her the ideal person to lead the region’s talent strategy and champion efforts to keep young professionals rooted and thriving. 

Listen in to learn: 

• How the Better in BTR campaign evolved into a retention-first initiative 

• Why “telling the truth” is central to building community pride and credibility 

• How local partnerships with the chamber, tourism and industry leaders have strengthened the campaign 

• Ways to engage students and recent grads in building a future where they already live 

• How open-source branding can empower businesses and organizations to amplify your message 

For cities looking to turn local pride into long-term retention, this episode offers a powerful blueprint. 

Listen and subscribe to Talent Wars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. To submit guest or episode topic ideas, email patience.fairbrother@aboutdci.com.