‘I want to make Nottingham internationally significant,’ says new place maker

The head of the newly-formed Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire has told TheBusinessDesk.com that he wants to make the region “internationally significant”.

Brendan Moffett, who formally joined the place making organisation last month was speaking exclusively to us just weeks into his tenure.

He said that his first impressions of Nottingham were that it was “a place that has been undersold.”

“It’s important we get a story about the totality of the city and wider region out there,” he told TheBusinessDesk.com, adding, “There are some major names here such as Experian, Capital One and Speedo – pushing those kind of businesses to investors is the best way to sell the place.”

Moffett has responsibility for leading the operations of Marketing Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, comprising Experience Nottinghamshire, Invest in Nottingham and Nottingham Means Business.

Bringing these organisations together is important, he said: “These bodies haven’t all been in the same place before. I’m a big believer in the theory of 1+1+1=5. Bringing the three organisations together will be huge step change for Nottingham

“I want us to start by targeting some of the big events and bring them to the region. Bu doing this we can stimulate the local economy and utilise what we have in the city.”

Moffett said he was optimistic for Nottingham. “The city it well-placed,” he said. “It doesn’t have the issues that other cities have and that will bring future development forward.

“Nottingham has an attractive city centre and a strong cultural feel to it on which it can hang an identity. The place has depth to it, and has strong universities. The challenge now is to retain the talent that comes out of the universities.”

Moffett said that his new organisation has been working with place brand specialists and will be unveiling a new name and brand in January.

He added: “We’ll be carrying out some high profile marketing campaigns in collaboration with our partners. We want to create a narrative that will bring businesses to buy-in to how we’re trying to sell the city – especially to investors and businesses in London who are looking to expand.

“We want to create a legacy of strong, sustained economic growth for Nottingham – and to make it an internationally significant city; one that people want to come to, to work and study. We believe we’ve got the perfect package.”

The new organisation will come together later this year. The team of 30 will be based at Gothic House in the city centre.