Swindon businesses are being urged to join a campaign to put the town in the national spotlight as being a great place to live, work, invest in and visit.
Called Switch On To Swindon, the campaign – which is launched this evening – aims to change perceptions of the town and raise its profile. 
Around 300 members of the business community are expected to attend the launch at the Swindon Audi dealership on the Delta Business Park, where they will be joined by community and civic leaders.
The campaign is the latest to challenge Swindon’s image among business decision makers and commentators.
Despite the town’s ranking as the UK’s seventh most productive economy as well as having its fifth highest employment rate, it lacks a positive identity on the national scene and, according to those behind Switch On To Swindon, say its wealth of possibilities for businesses and individuals are often overlooked.
To fight back against this image, local business ‘ambassadors’, supported by Swindon Borough Council, have come up with the Switch On To Swindon campaign.
It is being spearheaded by Nicky Alberry, pictured, the leading Swindon businessperson who sits on the board of a number of local businesses and has been involved for more than 20 years with business organisations such as Business West – formerly Great Western Enterprise and the body behind the Swindon Initiative – the local enterprise partnership (LEP) and Influence, the town’s economic partnership.
She said: “Swindon performs well in many of the key economic indicators of successful towns but the perception of Swindon makes it harder for the town to fulfil its true potential and achieve its economic, regeneration and development goals.
“Through the Switch On To Swindon campaign we are inviting people to come together to change these misconceptions and show people how great it is to live, work, invest in and visit Swindon.
“Our network of ambassadors made up of businesses of all sizes and industries, community leaders and individuals will be the champions of our town and the catalyst for our future.
“By showing people, both inside and outside of Swindon, just how positive doing business and living here can be, we can shout about the Swindon story and help ensure it prospers.”
Switch On To Swindon is based on a tried and tested model which has been used in large towns and cities across the country and has already been instrumental in securing significant investment for their regions.
Doncaster Council chief executive Jo Miller will attend this evening’s launch to explain how its own campaign – called the Doncaster Story – changed perceptions of the South Yorkshire town.
