Amazon launching two headquarters in Northern Virginia and New York City is very positive news for the advertising talent pool, marketers have said.
The marketplace ended its year-long public contest that began with nearly 250 potential locations this week. Amazon’s HQ2 was not initially thought to be split.
Campaign US heard from several industry experts who welcome the announcement.
David Gong, head of marketing at PMG
Amazon's move to the East Coast will attract talent who don't want to live in the tech bubbles of Silicon Valley or up in Seattle. Both New York and the D.C. area have long-established cultures that go well beyond who's getting the biggest round of funding. Long-term, having developers within more diverse environments can only mean good things for the company as it builds a future of greater international reach.
Alex Sturtevant, global director of brand at Stink Studios
Obviously we are thrilled to have another innovative company such as Amazon set up in NYC, but perhaps what's most exciting is what it means for the local start-up ecosystem. The major tech companies are proving grounds for young talent, and many of the most exciting new companies are founded by people who have put in time at a place like Amazon. We can't wait to see how this impacts the ever-growing tech space in NYC not only in the short term, but in the coming years as well.
Michelle Edelman, chief strategy officer at Peter Mayer
We’re all battling to obtain digitally-forward, entrepreneurial talent, while placing HQs in a market where talent lives and wants to live. Amazon’s HQ2 decision points to the development of "urburbs" – suburbs that are close to the cities and feel more urban in nature – as Millennial tech and creative talent want to move and build families in these markets, getting the best of both worlds.
For smaller, up and coming agencies like Peter Mayer, we try and build a new creative and tech hub in an unexpected market that’s ripe for it, such as New Orleans. However, Amazon's HQ2 choice makes sense for their larger size and scale of growth, and it’s also going to mean growth for the outlying areas of those cities.
Joanne McKinney, CEO of Burns Group
As a company that works and collaborates with startups, many of them NY-based, we love seeing tech companies invest in NY. You don’t have to be in Silicon Valley to innovate — NYC is home to so many incredible programs and schools and talent at every level. Amazon will offer more opportunities to keep that talent working in NYC.
Emma Armstrong, managing director of iCrossing New York
One of the things I love most about New York is how diverse it is. I see Amazon bringing both skillset and mindset diversity in addition to economic growth. Any time we can bring people with different backgrounds and expertise together, brilliant ideas come about. With so many people working in what we call "everywhere commerce" headed our way, our industry and the incredible talents that support it will be challenged to evolve. While there are likely to be paint points in the beginning, in the mid-to-long term, this has got to be a good thing for our city.