A major campaign is underway to change perceptions of Swindon and put it in the national spotlight as being a great place to live, work, invest in and visit.
Switch On To Swindon was launched on Tuesday night to an audience of nearly 400 business people – a turnout that amazed organisers. 
Its first step will be to recruit ‘ambassadors’ for the town from the local business community who can spread the word about Swindon’s attractiveness as a business location.
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 is widely seen as lacking a positive identity on the national scene and, according to those behind Switch On To Swindon, its wealth of possibilities for businesses and individuals are often overlooked, despite being home to scores of blue-chip companies such as Honda, Zurich, Nationwide, Intel and BMW.
The campaign is being spearheaded by Gavin Calthrop, Swindon Councils’s head of place marketing, and Nicky Alberry, 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. 
Nicky told the launch event at the £16m Swindon Audi dealership on the Delta Business Park: “The start of Switch On To Swindon is major milestone in the success story of our town.
“Now the time has come for every business, whatever the size, to sign up to supporting Swindon as a great place to work, live, do business in, relocate to, and where ideas and innovation thrive.”
Speaking at the launch Gavin said: “I’ve worked in Swindon for 15 years and I can say Swindon has been really good to me.
“Many people have said the same thing to me. It’s a common theme. Switch On To Swindon is about harnessing that. Tonight is just the start.”
The project was tapping into the “plethora of skills and talent” in the town, he said, with the campaign film made by Create Studios and website by Hot Pepper Design while Old Town’s innovative Desk co-working space set up a small shared workspace in a corner of the Audi dealership at the launch in what he described as “a demonstration of the energy here”.
Doncaster Council chief executive Jo Miller spoke at the launch about how its own campaign – the Doncaster Story – was changing perceptions of the South Yorkshire town.
She said it had to be relevant to local people. “This isn’t the council’s story, it’s Doncaster’s story,” she said.
And she warned that a big hurdle was getting the local community on side.
“People in Doncaster were the best in talking it the town down,” she said in a view that many believe also applies to Swindon.
But she said the campaign was galvanising the positivity in Doncaster and showcasing its good points along with bringing people together with a shared vision.
Switch On To Swindon is seeking ambassadors from all ranges of business and community organisations to join the campaign to show people inside and outside of Swindon what the town has to offer.
For more information or to sign up as an ambassador click here.
Click here to watch the Switch On To Swindon video.
