"I don't think Clevelanders fully appreciate what we have in our backyard versus other cities because it's always been here," said Baiju Shah, president and CEO of BioEnterprise.
View full sizeBaiju Shah, CEO of BioEnterpriseMAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The biggest obstacle to marketing Cleveland is convincing local doubters that Northeast Ohio has assets people outside the region are looking for, said panelists representing the sports, healthcare and film industries at a Corporate Club Luncheon on Tuesday.
Clevelanders who talk about wanting to move to Boston, New York or Los Angeles forget that residents of those cities fly here for Cleveland's world-renowned medical care and cutting-edge research, said Baiju Shah, president and chief executive of BioEnterprise.
"I don't think Clevelanders fully appreciate what we have in our backyard versus other cities because it's always been here," he told an audience at Executive Caterers at Landerhaven.
The region had 250 healthcare companies in 2001, but now boasts more than 600 companies that employ tens of thousands.
"It's that spotlight that helps investors understand that this is a place that's on the cutting edge of innovation," Shah said.
Cleveland is expected to get a $10 million to $12 million shot in the arm this weekend from hosting the second and third rounds of the NCAA Division 1 basketball games, said David Gilbert, president and chief executive of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
View full sizeDavid Gilbert, CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Positively ClevelandTen major sports events are scheduled to come here in 2011, from the USA Hockey Tier 1 Championships to NCAA Women's Gymnastics to USA Track and Field Championships.
"We were chosen over other cities to have these events here," he said.
"People want to come to Cleveland, they want to invest here. It isn't a 'woe-is-us' place."
Ivan Schwarz, who moved from Los Angeles four years ago and is now executive director of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, said Cleveland has scenic buildings and venues available at such low production costs compared to other cities that "every single person we've brought out here in the past two years except for one group has ended up filming here."
With Ohio's new Film Tax Credit, the community's willingness to accommodate film crews and the fact that visitors can stay in much nicer hotels for less money, "Who wouldn't want to shoot here?" he asked.
When Marvel Studios starts filming scenes for "The Avengers" in Cleveland this summer, it will hire hundreds of local actors and crew members, use local suppliers and vendors, and spend an estimated $30 million dollars.
Success stories like these will bring more business here and change people's minds about Cleveland, Schwarz said.
Gilbert, who is also president and chief executive of Positively Cleveland, the local convention and visitors bureau, recently asked 14 convention planners in Washington, D.C., about the best white-glove service they'd ever received in another city, with the idea of creating a menu of "things you'll find only in Cleveland."
View full sizeIvan Schwarz, executive director of the Greater Cleveland Film CommissionIn the 1990s, when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum was built here and the Indians went to the World Series, everyone was writing stories about Cleveland's comeback, Gilbert said.
"We're on the cusp of it now and we can absolutely get there again," he added.
The key is changing the way local residents respond to newcomers, by getting them to say, "Welcome," instead of "Why did you come?" he said.
Perhaps a better question, Shah suggested, would be to ask newcomers what is it about the region that made it attractive enough to move here or do business here?
Schwarz agreed, adding that when he invites his Hollywood friends to Cleveland, "I'm very strategic about where we go out to dinner and who we meet, because I want them to be around people who are excited about the city and excited about what's going on here."