• April 2, 2013

It's Rocky Mountain High, as Colorado launches its largest ever brand campaign, "Making Colorado." The campaign isn't for tourism so much as a pitch for the state as an entrepreneur's paradise. 

The campaign was commissioned by Gov. John Hickenlooper and led by Colorado's CMO Aaron Kennedy, founder of Noodles & Company, Making Colorado aims to uncover and showcase the best talent, ideas and creativity from every corner of Colorado.

Internally, the campaign is directed at pulling statewide programs together and will get a full airing at the Colorado Innovation Network Summit in August.

The campaign also has a public input element where, at www.makingcolorado.gov, Coloradans can submit ideas and opinions through a five-month vetting process. The ideas go to a group of collaborative teams, including the Making Colorado Creative Team, comprising 10-12 designers, copywriters and technologists chosen by Made Movement founder Dave Schiff.

There's also a "Making Colorado Brand Council," comprising business and organization leaders with clout in the state who have a say in the campaign's direction. Among them are Hikmet Ersek, CEO of Western Union; Kim Jordan, president of New Belgium Brewery), and Larry Drury, CMO of First Data.