Lorraine Mirabella | Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE — Baltimore is poised to end the year with the fewest homicides in more than a decade, and nonfatal shootings have plunged from a year ago. But views of the city as unsafe persist.
Mark Anthony Thomas, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, believes the city and region need an economic brand reset to start to change the narrative.
The business advocacy group is close to completing an initiative with the help of place-branding agency Resonance Consultancy Ltd. and market research firm Ipsos to come up with a brand strategy focused on business sectors and quality of life.
Part of the effort is aimed at attracting entrepreneurs and other businesses to the city and region. Improving crime statistics, and factors such as energy costs, the tax environment and availability of talent and sites will play into that, he said.
“A one-year milestone is not enough in itself,” Thomas said of what he called a significant reduction in crime. “But it gives you a sense that there is a concerted effort to address what is one of Baltimore’s stagnant issues.”
“The message that we can then send to the broader investment community and to businesses that are looking for new markets is that we’re trending in the right direction,” Thomas said.
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