The Alabama Department of Commerce has launched a marketing campaign to highlight the innovation-rich workforce and seemingly limitless industrial potential of the Yellowhammer State.
The digital marketing campaign called “Next” showcases the state’s contributions to fields such as space exploration, national defense, bioscience, advanced manufacturing and mobility technologies.
Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield says the campaign is designed to promote the state’s industrial might.
“We want to make sure the world knows about the exciting developments unfolding in Alabama that illustrate the extraordinary capabilities of our workforce and the next-level innovation taking place in our key industries,” said Canfield.
He added, “Inside our factories and laboratories and within our entrepreneurial ecosystem, Alabama is prepared for whatever is next because we are already helping to shape the future.”
Secretary Canfield on Monday promoted the campaign to the state’s top business recruitment specialists at the Economic Development Association of Alabama’s annual summer conference.
The campaign launches with a website – madeinalabama.com/next – built with 3-D animations that are responsive to the user’s cursor movements. The site’s experiential design is representative of the technological sophistication found in Alabama’s leading industries, with its purpose to showcase this talent to a national and international audience.
The site’s content captures a range of the advanced high-tech activities growing in Alabama, including additive manufacturing (3-D printing), electric vehicle production, digital smart factories and genomic medicine.
Soon to appear in digital and print advertisements, the futuristic aesthetic of “Next” will include QR codes to provide a three-dimensional experience for the viewer.
The Alabama Department of Commerce touted its marketing partnership with Birmingham-based Big Communications, whom it uses for all marketing campaigns.
Aaron Gresham, executive creative director of Big, lauded the firm’s work with Commerce and its mission to promote economic growth.
“Throughout our longstanding partnership with Commerce and Secretary Canfield, we have helped corporate decision-makers and site-selection consultants tune out undeserved static about Alabama and focus on its growth potential,” said Gresham. “With Next, we are reinforcing the same message by placing the impressive developments taking place in the state firmly on the radar screen for the world to see.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News
