Greater Raleigh Chamber Of Commerce "Work in the Triangle" Initiative Joins South By Southwest

RALEIGH, NC, March 07, 2013 (Press-News.org) Representatives from the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce's (http://www.raleighchamber.org) economic development team, Raleigh Economic Development (http://www.raleigh4u.com), Wake County Economic Development (http://www.raleigh-wake.org/home/) and Work in the Triangle (http://www.workinthetriangle.com) will be participating in the 2013 South by Southwest (SXSW ) Interactive Trade Show (http://sxsw.com/interactive) event in Austin, Texas, from Friday, March 8, to Wednesday, March 13. SXSW 's Interactive Trade Show showcases cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity, featuring five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology. In addition, scores of exciting networking events are hosted by industry leaders and the show provides an unbeatable lineup of special programs demonstrating the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the technology community has to offer. SXSW attracts 49,000 participants during the 10-day festival, and the Greater Raleigh Chamber's economic development team is leveraging the event to promote Raleigh and attract talent and technology companies to relocate to the area.

Work in the Triangle and Raleigh Economic Development will host a number of exciting contests, featuring local companies, #Raleighmakers, and products made and manufactured in Raleigh. Prizes will include items from local designers, breweries and companies such as Holly Aiken, Raleigh Denim, Feelgoodz, Natty Greens, Design Box, Escazu Chocolate, Red Hat and more. Other giveaways include musical triangle instruments, smart glasses and "Raleigh's for me" T-shirts. Attendees will be invited to perform their best triangle solo on their triangle musical instruments. The winner of the #trianglesolo contest will win a grand prize - a trip for two to Raleigh, including airfare, hotel accommodations and two VIP passes to Raleigh's own Hopscotch Music Festival.

Work in the Triangle will leverage social media to appeal to the Smarty Pants they are trying to attract. Triangle residents, referred to by the initiative as "Smarty Pants Ambassadors," are encouraged to join in their effort by following their activity and participating in the conversation on social media via Twitter and YouTube. A landing page, http://www.workinthetriangle.com/raleigh has been created to communicate the contests and the effort at SXSW and includes a photo gallery with links to the #Raleighmakers swag being given away at http://www.workinthetriangle.com/raleigh/popupraleigh-giveaways.

Throughout SXSW the initiative will host several contests and events driven by Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Events and contests include:

- "#PopUpRaleigh"
"PopUpRaleigh" is a contest designed to encourage spontaneous meet and greets while promoting local brands. This contest will take place throughout SXSW at random. Representatives from Work in the Triangle and Raleigh Economic Development will "pop up" at various locations with free prizes. They will post their location to the Work in the Triangle Twitter account (http://www.Twitter.com/WorkTriangleNC) along with a code word and the hashtag #PopUpRaleigh. The first few individuals to locate the representatives and share the code word will win one of the Raleigh-made prizes.

- "#TriangleSolo"
In September, Work in the Triangle will attempt to break the Guinness Book World Record for the largest number of individuals playing a triangle instrument at the same time. Work in the Triangle and Raleigh Economic Development will be giving away musical triangle instruments and smart glasses at the SXSW and will be encouraging attendees to perform their best #Trianglesolo to various songs of their choice. Attendees who participate will be entered to win a trip for two to Raleigh, including airfare, accommodations and 2 VIP passes to Hopscotch Music Festival to join Raleigh in their attempt to break the Guinness Book World Record. To enter the contest, individuals must record a one-minute video featuring their solo and send their video via Twitter to @WorkTriangleNC using the hashtag #TriangleSolo. The winner will be selected by a panel of Raleigh judges. The grand prize winner will be announced at the SXSW Block Party on Tuesday, March 12, at 5:30 p.m. Be on the lookout for these videos on the Work in the Triangle YouTube channel, (http://www.youtube.com/workinthetriangle), and help us decide the winner by weighing in on the best videos via Twitter, or by sharing the best videos with your social media networks.

- Work in the Triangle Block Party
On Tuesday, March 12, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Work in the Triangle and Raleigh Economic Development will participate in the Interactive Trade Show Block Party for SXSW attendees. Work in the Triangle and Raleigh Economic Development will serve participants complimentary craft beers and the grand prize winner of the #TriangleSolo contest will be announced.

Work in the Triangle and Raleigh Economic Development would like to encourage individuals and companies from the Triangle region who are participating in SXSW or interested in promoting Raleigh to visit http://www.workinthetriangle.com/raleigh, and follow Work in the Triangle @WorkTriangleNC and Raleigh Economic Development @Raleigh4u via Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/worktriangleNC and http://www.twitter.com/raleigh4u.

QUOTES:
"We are very excited to participate in the SXSW Interactive Trade Show this year to showcase the advantages that Raleigh and the Triangle has to offer," said Jennifer Bosser, assistant executive director for Wake County Economic Development and lead of the Work in the Triangle Initiative. "We are going to Austin with a dual initiative to recruit smart people and emerging technology companies. It is our ongoing mission to recruit and develop top talent to support our growing companies, and through this effort, we hope to increase awareness of all the great things Raleigh and the Triangle have to offer for smart people looking for a great place to work, live, play and learn."

NEW MEDIA CONTENT:
Work in the Triangle Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/WorkInTheTriangle

Work in the Triangle on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/WorkTriangleNC

Raleigh Economic Development on Twitter
https://twitter/com/#!/Raleigh4U

ABOUT WORK IN THE TRIANGLE:
Work in the Triangle is a regional talent attraction initiative that aims to connect and recruit top talent with employers and job opportunities in key industry clusters of the Triangle area of North Carolina. The initiative, led by Wake County Economic Development (WCED), is a partnership among the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Competitive EDGE4, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, Chapel Hill - Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, Orange County Economic Development, Research Triangle Foundation and the Research Triangle Regional Partnership. Though the Triangle has a high number of talented workers, the region launched Work in the Triangle to be proactive about continuing to recruit the best and brightest talent for the industries and companies in the region and position the Triangle nationally and internationally as a smarter place for talented skilled professionals to work, live, play and learn. For more information, please visit http://www.WorkintheTriangle.com.

ABOUT RALEIGH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WAKE COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
Raleigh Economic Development and Wake County Economic Development (WCED) are programs of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. Raleigh Economic Development is the primary economic development organization for the City or Raleigh. Wake County Economic Development is the primary economic development organization for Wake County and its 12 municipalities. RED and WCED host clients evaluating Wake County for possible facility locations each year and facilitate dozens of corporate expansions, resulting in new jobs and capital investment for Raleigh and Wake County. Services available to companies that are considering relocating or expanding in Raleigh and Wake County include economic and demographic research, site and building inventory searches, visitation itineraries, community tours, corporate executive and employee briefings, employee relocation assistance, and post-relocation services. For more information, visit http://www.raleigh4u.com or http://www.raleigh-wake.org/home/.

ABOUT SXSW INTERACTIVE FESTIVAL:
The 20th annual SXSW Interactive Festival will take place March 8-12, 2013, in Austin, Texas. An incubator of cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity, the event features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable lineup of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer. From hands-on training to big-picture analysis of the future, SXSW Interactive has become the place to experience a preview of what is unfolding in the world of technology. For more information visit http://www.sxsw.com.

Kathleen Donnelly
MMI Public Relations
(919) 233-6600
kathleen@mmipublicrelations.com
http://www.twitter.com/mmipr
http://www.mmipublicrelations.com