WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., July 13, 2006 -- Economic development partners across the Piedmont Triad have launched a new Web site to market the region's biotechnology assets.
The Web site, www.triadbiotech.com, dovetails with a 3 and 1/2-minute promotional video on the region's biotechnology strengths produced in May. Production of the Web site and the video were supported by a Regional Development Grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
The site will be live July 14.
"The development of these two new marketing tools will prove valuable to the Piedmont Triad as the biotechnology economic cluster continues to grow," said Gwyn Riddick, director of the Biotechnology Center's Piedmont Triad office.
The grant was awarded to a team led by John Merrill, director of the Greensboro Center for Innovative Development, Peggy Low, senior vice president of technology for the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce and Nancy Johnston of Piedmont Triad Research Park.
Marketing the region's biotechnology assets was one of 21 strategies for biotechnology development devised by the Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in the Piedmont Triad in the spring of 2005. The Advisory Committee is composed of 25 regional leaders focused on creating jobs around biotechnology.
"The grant was essential to helping us promote our region's growing biotechnology capabilities to the world," said Dr. Rosemary Wander, the Advisory Committee chairwoman.
Development of the Advisory Committee's marketing strategy was assigned to a Marketing Project Team, which further developed the ideas of a video and Web site and applied for the regional grant from the Biotechnology Center.
Joe Kronner of JFK Consulting Group Inc. acted as project manager, and Sam McCormick of SLAM Inc. was responsible for development and production of the video and Web site. "We were pleased that 45 of the busiest people in the Triad were willing to carve out large blocks of time on short notice to ensure the success of this project," Kronner said.
Kronner explained that the team's mission was to ground the video and Web site in what the region is actually doing. "There is so much exaggeration and aspiration in how other markets position themselves," he said. "We wanted to focus on being factual about what our region has to offer."
"The level of biotech and life science development in the Piedmont region is amazing," McCormick said. "This region does over $4 billion in annual biotech and life science revenue. Even more amazing was the consensus of the Piedmont biotech and life science leadership that we will only be successful if we work as a region to develop the opportunity."
Low said the video accurately portrays the strength of the region's biotechnology cluster. "We have successfully assembled data to showcase the quantity and quality of our biotech assets," she said.
"A high-tech image is a valuable asset to help attract and retain innovative entrepreneurs," Johnston said. "This new video and Web site set us apart by quickly capturing the intense energy and impressive knowledge base in our own region, which is very exciting."
Contact: Barry Teater, corporate communications director, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, 919-549-8814, or Gwyn Riddick, director of the Biotechnology Center's Piedmont Triad Office in Winston-Salem, 336-725-6671.
