Unprecedented Partnership Changes the Way People Think About Boston
In the fall of 2013, KP Strategies was retained to assist the Office of Mayor Menino, Boston Redevelopment Authority & the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce to build an idea-sharing series that sought to celebrate what was happening in and around Boston’s vastly expanding innovation community. In its inaugural year, Boston Idea Week focused on showcasing Boston as a city where ideas happen. With its inaugural success underway and a dedicated group of influential Boston business leaders — brought together by KP Strategies — in 2014 the Walsh Administration decided to not only continue, but vastly expand the Boston Idea Week platform.
Boston Idea Week (BIW) was designed to serve as a platform to lessen the burden on government by bringing together the region’s change-makers, creative thinkers, entrepreneurs, cultural enthusiasts & civic leaders in order to foster, collaborate and celebrate new ideas. BIW was designed to ‘challenge the everyday normal’ by experimenting with new ways of activating public space, interacting – a truly revolutionary collaboration that celebrated exceptional, outside-the-box ideas, such as the transformation of the Courthouse MBTA Station into an Idea Lab/night club.
KP Strategies designed, built, and managed all aspects of Boston Idea Week. From the strategic partnerships and event sponsorships, messaging, public relations and community engagement as well as the social and digital components, graphics, and beyond. We created immense buzz and through conversations we challenged policies and successfully identified opportunities where technology could assist in better delivering City, State and MassDOT services.
Select Media Coverage
Boston Globe – “Party at a T stop? Not a bad idea.“
Boston Magazine – “The MBTA Is Embracing Boston Idea Week.“
Boston Business Journal – “Wayfair turns MBTA bus into chic living room for Idea Week Boston.”
BostInno – “My Morning Commute with Mayor Marty Walsh.”
CBS Boston – “Boston Mayor Joins State Transportation Chief On T Red Line To Promote Idea Week.”
Boston Herald – “Boston Idea Week got us thinking outside the box and partying in a T station to boot.”
City of Boston – “Boston Idea Week Launches Today at MassChallenge.”
MassDOT – “MassDOT and MBTA think “Outside the Bus” to celebrate Boston Idea Week.”
The effects of Boston Idea Week continue today. Policy discussions led to the development of programs such as Acoustic on Main. This legislative challenge is using the city as a living labs to test and experiment with new and less restrictive entertainment licensing policies and procedures. Working alongside the community, this grassroots efforts has successfully demonstrated the positive impact that music can bring to urban environments.
Transformative change is underway and for the first time in history, entertainment venues, bars and restaurants located in Boston’s business districts are being filled with local talents, artists and musicians as the licensing red tape is being eliminating. In no time, a less restrictive entertainment licensing policy will be drafted and no doubt adopted by civic leaders. It was the Boston Idea Week platform that brought about such ideas, our civic leaders engaged in those conversations were listening and the combined efforts are turning them into reality.