Russ Williams, CEO of Archer>Malmo, made a presentation to the Downtown Memphis Commission about 10 days ago that should be a call to arms about the forces that will define in large measure whether Memphis will be economically competitive in the future – downtown vibrancy, a focus on the downtown core, and creative millennials.
It was one of the most compelling presentations made at the downtown development agency in many years and laid out what its priorities should be. What gave it special impact was that it was equal parts philosophy and action and it was based on Mr. Williams’ 15-year experience at the helm of the marketing firm that anchors a key downtown block.
In its way, Archer>Malmo has been the equivalent of the canary in the coal mine as it recruited more and more talent to downtown at the time that so many companies were moving out.
Three Truths
It was the convergence of talent and the downtown core in the life of his company that gave shape to Mr. Williams gospel of “three underlying economic truths”:
1) Millennials will transform our economy,
2) Creative millennials are essential to our ability to compete, and
3) Creative millennials are urban creatures.
He said that it is in acting on these fundamental truths that Memphis has its best opportunity of “accelerating the downtown office marketing with a vibrant creative core.”
What’s most exciting about Mr. Williams comments is that they don’t come from an expected source – an elected official, a researcher, a wonk, or head of a nonprofit organization. His comments have extra weight because they come from business experience and are derived from thinking about new product lines, more revenues, and the factors for success. Best of all, a business perspective brings with it a bias for action.
Getting Real About Vibrancy
It’s an emphasis on action that has been almost 13 years in the making, because it was in April 30-May 2, 2003, that Memphis was on the front lines of the creative class movement. That’s when it hosted the Memphis Manifesto Summit, a gathering of more than 125 creative workers from across the U.S. who wrote a manifesto for cities competing for them.
Unfortunately, the Summit did not set in motion a serious, business-driven comprehensive plan to keep and attract talented workers (most notably, because the percentage of college-educated workers is responsible for about 60 percent of a city’s economic success).
That was then and this is now. Today, a new generation – millennials – is driving everything in its path. There’s even more of them than the Baby Boomer generation, and they are already beginning to transform American society, business, and urban life. They are also showing a preference to live within three miles of downtown, but the key is that the most successful downtowns are those known for their vibrancy.
That’s the thing. Despite our hyperbole about downtown and our use of the word, vibrant, to describe it, downtown Memphis is anything but. There are nodes of vibrancy, there is vibrancy related to special events or tourist attractions, but they are not connected or programmed in a way that creates widespread, interconnected vibrancy.
As a result, we have islands of activity but they are largely surrounded by a sea of lethargy and missed opportunities. Downtown parks rarely attract more than a handful of people, the riverfront experience is as unfulfilled as its view is spectacular, and the public emphasis is on building projects rather than creating experiences.
The Right Focus
That’s why what we like most about Mr. Williams’ approach is threefold:
1) He’s not taking on all of downtown, and instead, he’s beginning with a smaller area bounded by Riverside, Madison, Second, and Gayoso;
2) He’s focused on the core, which is often overlooked in priorities that often put downtown’s border extremities first;
3) He’s building on the existing strengths of companies like Sullivan Branding, Red Deluxe, Startco, Lokion, Archer>Malmo, and others that have already attracted 350 creative workers to his area of downtown.
It is in building on that foundation “with intentionality” that Mr. Williams says Memphis can find its competitive advantage, and in explaining it, he channels his inner Richard Florida, economist and author of the seminal The Rise of the Creative Class, and Edward Glaeser, economist and author of Triumph of the City.
Mr. Florida, who co-convened the Memphis Manifesto Summit with urbanist Carol Coletta, has said that the power of cities is in bringing “diverse collections of talented people together, allowing them to combine and recombine their ideas and swiftly mobilize entrepreneurial resources.” Successful cities are those that can create the quality of life that attracts creative workers in an environment with a level of density that encourages collisions between creative people that produce innovations.
Putting The Chips On The Table
Speaking to Leadership Memphis several years ago, Mr. Glaeser said that successful cities in the future will be those with thriving startups. “Regional economic growth is highly correlated with the presence of many small, entrepreneurial employers – not a few big ones,” he said. “What’s more, large corporations often generate little employment growth even if they are doing well. Instead of trying to buy their way out of the recession with one big break to one big employer, politicians should reduce costs for start-up companies and small businesses. And a little work in that direction goes a long way. Research shows that once entrepreneurship gets established, it tends to be self-perpetuating.”
“There is much to be said for the strategy of focusing on the quality of life policies that can attract smart, entrepreneurial people,” he said. “The best economic policy may be to attract smart people and get out of their way. This approach is particularly appealing because the downside is so low. What community ever screwed up by providing too much quality of life?”
That principle is also at the center of Mr. Williams’ philosophy. He humbly summarizes his success at Archer>Malmo as hiring creative people and giving them the power to do what they do. “I know how powerful it can be when we give them the power, and we can apply the same principles to our city,” he said.
“I’m saying that as a community and as a city as we try to make the right decisions and place the right bets, we have to put our chips down on this strategy. I’ve built success in my company with this strategy and it’s up to others to decide what their chips are exactly.”
That’s why Mr. Williams said that downtown Memphis must have a bias for action. ‘We have to acknowledge the fundamental economic truths and then we have to start investing in a strategy. Place matters, design matters, and density matters,” he said.
Density and Design Matters
“Density matters. I see ‘creative collisions’ in Austin and San Francisco,” Mr. Williams said. “They prove why we need a dense urban area where creative millennials spill out of their offices into pubs and public spaces where they can collide with their peers and where they can bounce ideas off each other. It is happening spontaneously through the country and it will drive innovation but we have not intentionally designed our community.
“Design matters. We have to have walkability, greenspace, quirky speak easies, cafes and pubs, food trucks, and quirky work space.
“Memphis is poised to start attracting creative millennials because other places are overrun with these people. Memphis has affordability and accessibility and just the right amount of funkiness and eccentricity. Memphis is a great brand. We have the chance to be part of it. There is already early momentum and the tipping point could be closer than we think.”
But to succeed, Memphis has to also focus on attitude. Mr. Williams talks about the frustration that is expressed by millennials here: The vibe is good, but there is frustration when they get out and try to do something.”
Millennial PIpeline
To show how it’s done and to move toward the tipping point, Mr. Williams has proposed that Josh Horton of Creative Works should be hired to work fulltime to create co-working and meeting spaces where entrepreneurs, startups, and small business teams can create the creative collisions that drive innovative breakthroughs.
While traditional campaigns to increase office occupancy downtown have been limited, Williams believes that a downtown core-centric, creative millennials-centric approach is the way to “accelerate the downtown office market with a vibrant creative core.”
Due diligence for the concept has begun with Mr. Horton’s impressive work, and other cities have shown the power of a “work community” to stimulate creativity and vibrancy. One effective model is Pipeline in Philadelphia. There, the founders set out to create “the optimal workplace experience” in an “inspired work community,” motivated by frustrations there in breaking free of boring and dull corporate offices and executive suites.
There is clearly the potential to create such an engine of vibrancy and talent in downtown Memphis, but to change the Memphis frustration that confronts millennials, Williams said that the space and the work community have to be designed “by creative millennials for creative millennials.” “Action removes doubt,” he said. “We’re not economic development officials or real estate developers, but we are ambassadors for the creative community. It’s about the power of action and taking actions that inspire others. The things that follow become easier to do.”
Reversing The Trend Line
“We need to empower, encourage, and support creative millennials to activate the strategy and to get out of the way,” Mr. Williams said. “That’s been a big part of my success here and it can be the same for Memphis. If we build this community and move more people into the community and they are more visible in the urban core, and we have all these exciting young people filling up the core, it will get noticed and build on itself.”
In the end, it’s about making the most of this opportunity to build a vibrant creative community to move toward a more robust, vibrant downtown. “Do we really have an alternative?” Mr. Williams said. “We have to build a vibrant creative community in our urban core to compete in the new economy.”
There are so many reasons to be excited and supportive about Mr. Williams’ formula for the downtown core, but chief among them is to turn all of the talk about talent into a clear, practical business plan that can increase Memphis’ position in the sweepstakes for millennials.
In this regard, Mr. Williams’ call to arms could not have come at a better time. The Memphis MSA continues to lag in its ability to create, attract, and retain college-educated 25-34 year-olds. Between 2000 and 2013, the Memphis region added 5,445 in this demographic, an increase of only 2.4%, one of the three lowest rates of increase in a comparison of 28 Rust Belt cities. Among the 50 largest MSAs, the Memphis region ranked #48 in the percent of change between 2005-2013.
Keying On The Future
It is inescapable that Memphis’ lack of success in retaining and attracting talent is directly tied to the slow recovery of its economy from the Great Recession. As one of the regions taking the longest to return to pre-Recession levels – with predictions that it will be the end of next year before that happens – the Memphis MSA needs a jolt that can jump start serious positive momentum for the future.
In that regard, Mr. Williams’ proposal pushes all the right buttons.
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For what it’s worth, I’m a millennial trying to make it in Memphis for 3 years. Like 90% of my friends, we all plan to exit this city just as fast as possible. There is just not enough vibrancy and satisfying work to keep us here. Memphis is old school and backwards and that’s really embarrassing. People my age want to be part of something really dynamic and thriving. Sorry Memphis but you just don’t cut it as a place where we can thrive.
i.e. mom making me move out of my parents home.
I understand your frustration Jada. If you’ve grown up here probably the best thing is to go move somewhere else to expand your worldview and enjoy living in a new place. Or stay if there’s a problem you see in our community that you are passionate about providing a solution for.
Memphis does move quite slowly on projects but in the 10 years that our family has been here since relocating from California, progress has happened. And it appears that the rate of progress is also increasing.
Currently millennials can find other cities besides Memphis where change can happen at much faster rate and they have little patience for cities like Memphis where you feel like you must “wait your turn” and accrue so much credibility to be taken seriously. But our city is changing thanks to efforts like Start Co (founded by Eric Mathews) where you can walk in the door as an entrepreneur and be taken seriously regardless of your pedigree.
Thank you for the post SCM. As Aaron noted above, change is occurring and the rate of said change seems to be gathering speed. The rate of change may not be fast enough to retain Jada as many are not in search of necessarily participating in a process, but prefer to skip straight to the results/benefits. The good news is that every single year a new set of young professionals enters the national economy. Demographic research is showing that as one trends younger, the desire to invest in cities such as Memphis increases noticeably which is a positive indicator for the city and region. While losing individuals such as Jada to the national economy is not optimal, those who attribute adjectives such as embarrassing (a personal pronoun) to a place or make blanket statements are not those who are most likely create sustainable change in any community. As the process continues in Memphis, it will be able to retain and attract a larger percentage of this coveted demographic as long as individuals like Mr. Williams continue to push the needle.
This is so encouraging. Finally, a CEO fighting for the future. I’m signing on.
The number one advantage Memphis has in attracting creative millennials is that virtually every other major city has become too expensive for young people. But this is tied to the economy remaining so strong elsewhere that young people will be forced to move to affordable mid-sized cities. But we are in effect playing the low cost card that Memphis has resorted to so often. If Memphis is unwilling to adopt a progressive culture that prizes art and artists, LGBT rights and social justice then our run at becoming a creative center will be very limited.
I do also see the place where millennials will congregate won’t actually be downtown. Midtown is about to become “the place” for young creative people because that is what Midtown has always represented to our city. I guarantee to SCM that we will be discussing Midtown gentrification, evictions, and how Midtown is changing too quickly. It’s going to be an interesting next three years.
PT’s reply about Memphis not being progressive about LGBT issues is absolutrly correct. This city is very behind other cities and not at all a welcoming place for gays. It may be the African American bias against gays, but in this day, no city anywhere is going to progress with such prejudices. As for midtown, it’s always been the only part of Memphis where I would live, but it’s also very hit or miss, and not the open, progressive utopia many see it as being. I don’t see it changing too much. Wish I were more positive, but overall Memphis is not the place for young creative types to thrive in.
Sorry Gwyn, but my experiences here in Memphis, specifically Midtown, over the last year says you are dead wrong. I think your blanket statements are pretty dated.
…oh, I moved here after living another of Tennessee’s major cities and having worked throughout the southeast, and I can testify that while Memphis may lag other cities nationally regarding civil rights, it is light years ahead of what you find in most other southern cities.
Memphis will never reach it’s full potential as a place where creatives gather without becoming a more welcoming place for LGBT people. This is not new news. Richard Florida’s Memphis Manifesto made clear that cities that are welcoming of LGBT people will attract the young creatives we so desire. City leaders ignored the warning.
The fact remains Memphis is a dreadful place to be LGBT. All of our city peers have actual anti-discrimination laws on the books that were lobbied for by Mayors and the largest private employers in their respective cities. Just look to public policy in Nashville, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, ect ect ect to see how far behind we remain.
FedEx, Auto Zone , International Paper and their leaders have been known to support anti-gay policy. There is no major local power advocating for LGBT people, until that changes Memphis will not become a place that attracts creative young people.
For what it is worth. I’m 31 and gay. I can honestly vouch that Memphis is terrible for LGBT people. I live in the midtown area which is not always gay friendly. Other cities are way ahead of us. Nashville’s new mayor married same sex couples on the day the Supreme Court ruling was announced. That sort of thing would NEVER take place in Memphis. LGBT people almost universally seek to leave Memphis. This drain of creative youth does nothing but hurt the future.
Some of the voices here in no way reflect my experience in Midtown and in Memphis which has been nothing but positive. I would say that the lgbt community will continually be welcomed to ever greater degrees now and in the future. Im excited about how far we’ve come, the barriers that have been broken down and the friends i’ve made along the way. Saying the lgbt community “almost universally seeks to leave memphis” means that either this person is not being honest or does not spend much time in the community. Using some of the blanket comments under diferent names makes me wonder about whether they are who they say they are. Certainly makes for a good laugh! None of my friends are saying that and most are in 25-35 range. From where I sit, the big issues are coming out of Nashville as every time Memphis has tried to pass legislation cal equality measures it has been threatened by the state gov’t. All that says to me is I wouldn’t want to risk living anywhere in a state like this.
Come to think about it, it sounds like the same person posting negative stuff about the local scene under different names, which from what I’ve read, happens a lot on this blog.
Anonymous 3:27: FYI – None of the other commenters have posted twice under different names on this blog post. .
Mr. William’s words are hopefully being taken to heart and his very practical and realistic ideas and action points offer a clear path to focus the city’s efforts. There are a few positive points to note here: The first being that despite 2 decades of neglect, the population of this key demographic in Memphis has in fact continued to grow. Second, census data reflects that this group is already coalescing around the city’s most urban neighborhoods and addresses in absence of direction from civic officials, government plans or grand economic development strategies. Of course, this only further emphasis the known fact that this demographic overwhelmingly prefers more urban locations. We see the evidence of this reflected in real estate development. The approved and/or on-going construction of urban, mixed-use buildings be they Sears Crosstown, McLean & Union, the rumblings from the Edge district, South Main, Overton Square, Broad Ave, Highland, ect… is all in response to these growing numbers and their increasingly concentrated population density. It is even easy to see where some friction is beginning to occur- anxiety from local residents over Highland Row and the ongoing debate over Overton Park being prime examples. It might be hard to recognize these flashpoints as being “good” if passionate about their outcomes, but they are evidence that the market is evolving to meet the desire of those who prefer a more urban lifestyle.
As Mr. Williams noted, one very real physical investment the city should make to encourage this transformation and thus increase its appeal to millennials would be to invest in the cities infrastructure, namely transit and streetscapes. Once again, the timing could be seen as a positive variable as the lifespan of many of the streets and sidewalks has expired and thus reinvestment is in order as opposed to a condition where the city could be replacing streetscapes that are only 20 years old. Rebuilding right of ways in these areas to not just accommodate pedestrians and biking alongside vehicles but encourage these mixed modes of travel would go a great distance to support continued private investment in the types of neighborhoods that are being sought by this coveted demographic. We already have a development code (should the city choose to actually implement it) that shows preference to a more urban development pattern where buildings address the street and sidewalk and parking is shuffled to the side and rear. We also have arrived at a point where new leadership has been installed at MATA, one that recognizes that a change in their modus operandi is past due in order to provide the quality and level of service required to compete in the 21st century.
With Carol back in town, perhaps now is a good time for Memphis Manifesto 2.0
PT- I think that is a great idea.