For millions of technology workers and hundreds of new economy companies that dot Southern California’s shores, the Tech Coast already is a place bristling with economic activity. But can it become a brand name, too?
Southern California businesses and economic development groups have spent money promoting the concept, taking out advertisements in area publications, sprinkling the term in conversation and persuading media types to use it in stories.
Their goal: to create an investor-friendly shorthand describing the swath covering metropolitan Los Angels, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego.
So far, though, tangible results are hard to come by. And some of the area’s most prominent technology companies are raising questions about the efficacy of and need for trying to sell the area as a concept.
“I really don’t think it’s all that valuable,” said a spokesperson for a large Orange County chipmaker who asked not to be named. “This is one more place to put money, and I think companies are better off putting that back into their own businesses.”
While Tech Coast boosters have made strides promoting their own efforts, the bid to brand Southern California’s tech-led economy hasn’t fared as well.
The Tech Coast Partners, a “fund of funds” designed to boost Southern California technology start-ups with venture capital, recently changed its name to Global Financial Group because potential investors thought the local focus was too narrow.
Tech Coast Corp., a for-profit entity that has been one of the most vocal proponents of the Tech Coast, has yet to develop its long-promised technology company incubator, though organizers insist the project is on track.
In Search of Companies
On a recent visit to the group’s highly visible TechCoast.com center near the San Diego (I-405) and Costa Mesa (55) freeways, the facility appeared closer to completion with office networking equipment, cubicles and furniture set up. But no incubator companies had taken up space.
Even the Tech Coast Angels, a group of individual investors who provide early stage capital for tech start-ups, weighed changing the group’s name to avoid confusion with other groups that used the Tech Coast name.
Complicating the issue, at least three groups have trademark or copyright claims on iterations of “Tech Coast,” including Tech Coast Corp. and the Orange County Business Council. Both, however, have promised to allow others to use the name freely.
The Tech Coast marketing effort got started two and a half years ago at the suggestion of then-Business Council executive Tim Cooley, who got the idea after talking with high-tech marketing guru Regis McKenna.
McKenna early on worked with companies such as Apple Computer Inc. and Intel Corp. and coined a recognizable name to the area they occupied: Silicon Valley.
Those who champion Southern California argue that the area is in some measures already bigger and wealthier than Silicon Valley, lacking only a definable image that draws in venture capital and tech-savvy workers.
“The size of the region requires a more structured marketing initiative,” said Chip Parker, founder and chief executive of Tech Coast Corp. “There’s a lot of competition out there for identity.”
Singular Identity
By giving the sprawling Southern California metropolis a singular, approachable identity, proponents hope outsiders will equate the area with technology rather than the languishing defense industry that made up a big part of its economy during the 1980s and early 1990s.
In addition to the Tech Coast Corp., several groups have taken on the moniker, including the Tech Coast Venture Network, an offshoot of the Orange County Business Council.
The idea isn’t unique. Nearly every area with a cluster of tech activity is marketing itself with a catchy name tied into some geographical distinction, from New York’s Silicon Alley to Arizona’s Digital Desert.
According to Intersil Corp. spokesman Brent Dietz, parts of Florida also are using the “Tech Coast,” term. Intersil moved to the Irvine Spectrum earlier this year from Palm Bay, Fla., but Dietz said Tech Coast effort had little to do with the decision.
“I don’t think we had heard the name Tech Coast before we decided to open an office in Irvine,” he said. “It was more of a business and strategic decision than because the area had a certain name or weight about it. It takes a long time for a community to gather momentum to a point where they could actually brand themselves.”
Location Still Main Concern
Most companies, he said, look at things such as proximity to customers and available workforce, not an image.
Whether a moniker influences venture capitalists remains to be seen. Orange County and the rest of Southern California have been attracting more venture capital every year, but with investment booming nearly everywhere in the country, it’s hard to credit the growth to a publicity campaign.
In the second quarter, venture capital firms poured a record $303 million into OC companies, plus another $1 billion into counterparts in Los Angeles and San Diego.
And while the Tech Coast phrase is showing up in more local news stories, it’s virtually unknown in the national press.
In a recent newspaper and magazine database search of the phrase, the term “Tech Coast” appeared almost exclusively in regional publications. Other than the Los Angeles Times, only a couple of national publications have used the term. To the credit of Tech Coast backers, they include the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
“People are using it, just not as much as I’d like them too,” said Tim Cooley, who’s heading up Global Financial Group. “It hasn’t taken off like I thought it would.”
Tech Coast Corp.’s Parker said his group is only in year three of a five-year plan, and it will take time for the name to catch on. Tech Coast Corp.’s Web site touts a stable of companies for its incubator, though none are yet under the group’s roof. Parker calls them “virtual.”
Privately, some familiar with the Tech Coast push say the effort has been hampered by squabbles over how the name can be used.
In the meantime, sibling rivalry could dilute the Tech Coast concept before it has much of a chance to start. Under Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, Orange County’s northern neighbor is increasingly using the term Digital Coast, which some feel better describes that area’s entertainment-oriented technology sector.
That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Tech Coast organizers, who say rival efforts are undermining the Tech Coast concept. That’s part of the challenge in trying to tie together an area as large and diverse as Southern California, they say.
And even the most vocal proponents admit that they have a long way to go. After all, says Burt Weinstein, a co-founder of the Tech Coast Venture Network, Silicon Valley has had a 20-year head start.
“There’s not as much recognition as we’d like, but we’re getting there,” he said. n
