Cincinnati Experience
Showcasing Cincinnati’s Purposeful Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Since 2003, Cincinnati’s Minority Business Accelerator has worked to make the city an inclusive, diverse and thriving place where all entrepreneurs and small business owners can succeed. After a wildly successful first 15 years, Cincinnati Experience turned to DCI’s public relations team to generate the media coverage and rankings the city deserved.
The Challenge
Cincinnati had long engaged in non-profit initiatives aimed at correcting the city’s economic and racial disparities, seeking to support its minority community by fostering an entrepreneurial and small business ecosystem to address their specific needs. With the MBA overshooting its goals of 3,500 new jobs and $1 billion in additional minority business spending revenue four years early, Cincinnati sought expertise in government relations and city reputation PR to elevate its public affairs to a national audience.
The Solution
Cincinnati’s economic development organization, Cincinnati Experience, turned to DCI’s years of experience in media relations and strategic communications to come up with a messaging campaign that would amplify the city’s groundbreaking efforts in supporting minority small businesses and entrepreneurs to its target audience. DCI’s online reputation management team leveraged the city’s highly successful initiatives and their results to craft a communications strategy that highlighted Cincinnati as a case study of a community building an inclusive and supportive startup environment for its minority population.
The Results
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placements in top-tier publications like The Economist and OZY.
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more coverage led to more funding opportunities for minority-owned small businesses and other stakeholders.
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communities kickstarted their own public relations-firm led reputation management initiatives through Cincinnati’s example.
