BUSINESSES, community groups, committees - really, anyone with an interest in promoting the Hunter - can download and use a new free video made by Newcastle-based creative agency Out Of The Square Media as part of its ongoing Region Ready project.
The agency, which describes itself as a group of "passionate regional advocates", will launch a new Region Ready website and the third version of its video today - a celebration of the region aimed at showcasing the Hunter's natural environment, world class infrastructure, diverse capabilities, economic strengths, and livability.
"When you boil it all down, we've got the best of a lot of things," Out Of The Square managing director Marty Adnum told the Newcastle Herald yesterday.
"The fact we've got so much, so close - I think that's the biggest thing. We might even out eventually [with larger cities] on housing or potentially even wages, but the geographical benefits we've got of a harbour, multiple beaches, Port Stephens, The Watagans, the Hunter Valley - that, to me is the lifestyle ... and that's really hard to replicate."
Since the project began in 2019, previous versions of the video have been shown to delegates from Asia, been used by Business Hunter, and have been played on a loop inside the terminal at Newcastle Airport.
Out Of The Square fully funded and created the project in an effort to drive "positive awareness".
"We tried to take the Switzerland approach by showcasing a cross section of attributes, putting aside individual needs to lift the region as a whole. By showcasing the region in this user-friendly way, we aim to foster regional pride and inspire further innovation, investment and collaboration," Mr Adnum said.
"Whatever people use it for, it's entirely up to them.
"The idea was if we just give it to everybody, everyone will lift."
The video is being promoted as a free tool that can be used by local businesses, people looking to attract investors, community members and groups, and covers a broad range of selling points for the region.
The new website is also home to the firm's other initiatives including Innovation Ready, Healthtech Ready, and Hunter Energy Evolution.
Mr Adnum said he believed "smarts and arts" had emerged in recent years as the key economic driver for the Hunter heading into the future.
"Our evolution towards being a clean energy, advanced manufacturing [region] has probably been the biggest ramp-up over that four to five year period," he said.
"I think that's our vehicle for future success.
"We've got a lot of innovative, clever-thinking businesses. There's businesses, you know, in a shed in Cardiff [for example] and you wouldn't even know what they're doing, yet they're contributing to something globally. When you look at these as a group, holy dooley we are punching above our weight.
"We're really embracing being a clever region."
