FORBES RECOGNIZES MADISON AS 'HOTBED OF BIOCAPITALISM'

Just days after Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz presented his plan for a "healthy city," ripe with well-paying jobs and happy citizens, Forbes magazine gave the city an unexpected salute, ranking Mad Town No. 1 in the country for business. Forbes focused on Madison's high proportion of college-educated adults and its 2.7 percent unemployment rate -- the lowest of any metro area studied.

Forbes' ranking gave Mayor Dave a boost just as grumblings from the business community were beginning to mount over the city's smoking ban and minimum-wage hike. It also meshed well with the mayor's "Biomedical Collaborative" plan, which aims to strengthen the ties between Madison's medical and biotechnology communities. It envisions a "Health Care Main Street" along Park Street and University Avenue in Madison not too far from Camp Randall. This "main street" would be created by focusing medical development near existing facilities like UW Hospital and Clinics, Dean Health System and Meriter Hospital.

The overall goal is to bring in outside capital and position Madison as a national biomedical leader, a plan that can only be helped by Forbes' recognition.

See background on the Forbes article

WisBusiness Event: STATE CAN BORROW IDEAS FROM SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE BRANDING

MILWAUKEE – "It's Miller Time" all the time in the auditorium at the Miller Brewing visitor's center, but on Wednesday afternoon about 60 people in the room seemed to reach a consensus that it's time to do a better job of branding Wisconsin.

The event was the second Branding Wisconsin forum. Hosted by WisBusiness.com, Forward Wisconsin, and the Small Business Times, it focused on branding success stories.

Panelists Mark Schmitz, Z-D Studios in Madison; Scott Silvestri, Kohler Company; Steve Flatt, Miller Brewing; Tom Farley, Chris Farley Foundation and Mark Vachon, GE Healthcare, joined Michael Armiak of Forward Wisconsin and audience members in discussing whether an entire state or region can adopt branding methods successfully used by corporations, unions and non-profit entities.

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STATE RANKINGS SHOW WISCONSIN SLIPPING

Recent studies point toward problems with promoting Wisconsin as a state on the nation's economic leading edge. Minnesota rose and Wisconsin fell in the Milken Institute's state-by-state new economy rankings. And Competitive Wisconsin's annual "measuring success" report suggests big hurdles must be overcome for Wisconsin to move quickly up the economic ladder. The annual "Tax Freedom Day'' rankings show Wisconsin isn't quite the "tax hell'' it used to be, but the state is still ranked 11th (and 6th in terms of paying off state-local taxes). Even when it comes to staples, Wisconsin is second in milk and might lose its preeminent ranking as the big cheese state soon. Cranberry now is the official state fruit, but how does that help Wisconsin become a new economic magnet? Some insiders are becoming gloomy over state economic prospects and wonder how the former "star of the snow belt'' has fallen. They murmur that a dramatic breakthrough is needed on the image front or that Wisconsin needs to partner with other Midwest states for more regional punch.

MILWAUKEE AREA SHOWS OFF ITS BIOTECH PROWESS

In late April this year, trade representatives from 15 Chicago consulates visited Milwaukee for a sampling of the area's biotechnology industry. They were given a tour of Prodesse, TeraMEDICA and the Medical College of Wisconsin as part of an effort to boost Wisconsin's international biotech image. The following consulates participated: Australia, Austria, the Basque region of Spain, Belgium, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Lithuania, Mexico, The Netherlands, Quebec, Romania, Spain, Switzerland.

See Wisconsin Technology Council President Tom Still's thoughts on the visit:
When its parts pull together, Wisconsin can tell a compelling economic story

WISBUSINESS SPONSORS BRANDING FORUM AT LAMBEAU FIELD

"Cheesehead" is cute, but foam hats are not the brand that's going to change Wisconsin's economy. That's the consensus of a WisBusiness.com branding panel convened in September 2003 to figure out how to turn Wisconsin into a marketable brand.

Panel members believe it's possible to develop a Wisconsin brand, with enough time and millions in a branding chest.

Read the WisBusiness story: Branding Wisconsin Idea Draws Backers, But Effort Could Take Years and Cost Millions

Other news from the event:

FREE BRANDING: STATE PICKS AGRICULTURAL THEME FOR STATE QUARTER

Shortly after the WisBusiness panel convened, the state had an opportunity for some free branding, courtesy of the U.S. Mint. Wisconsin's commemorative quarter comes out in October 2004, and the state had to send in its design by Oct. 1, 2003. Public Internet voters favored an agricultural design, depicting a cow's head, corn and a wedge of cheese, while a special committee favored an early exploration theme. Gov. Doyle sided with the public and forwarded the agricultural design to the mint.

Before the decision was made, Dick Bohling, government affairs manager for Verizon, echoed the concerns of some in the state in an e-mail to WisBusiness:

If you, and the other interested parties, are really concerned about the "Cheesehead" image, I recommend that you take a close look at the proposed Wisconsin "Quarters" that the Department of Financial Institutions is going to recommend to the US Mint very soon. If they choose the Agriculture model, it will brand Wisconsin as the "Cheesehead" state for years to come.

News:

I-Q CORRIDOR: THE MIDWEST'S SILICON VALLEY

Earlier in 2003, the Wisconsin Technology Council announced its own branding initiative for the state, dubbing the space between Chicago and the Twin Cities the "I-Q Corridor." The branding push will focus on Wisconsin but include Chicago and the Twin Cities, which are roughly the same distance apart as San Diego and San Francisco, the two endpoints of Silicon Valley.

The "I" in the title has multiple meanings, representing the interstate highways (I-90, I-94 and I-43) that criscross the state as well as the innovation taking place here, according to Tom Still, Tech Council president. The "Q" stands for quality, as in schools, workers, lifestyle and environment -- all factors that can draw people here. And taken together, "I-Q" is shorthand for the knowledge economy, reminding prospective investors that the upper Midwest can be an area to develop and grow so-called "new economy" companies.

See more: http://www.i-qcorridor.com/