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STAMFORD -- More than 100 public relations, communications, marketing and advertising professionals crowded into a conference room at 3001 Summer Street in Stamford on Wednesday morning to discuss the possibility of starting a "Fairfield County Creative Corridor" that would connect and engage their industries in Connecticut.

The Corridor would increase awareness of the high quality services offered in those industries in Connecticut and, hopefully, stop much of that business from going to New York City firms. Those involved with creating the Corridor have already set up a "hybrid" marketing communications agency in Stamford to provide the framework for the initiative.

"It's not about location -- it's about a mindset. We have to change how we think about ourselves," Marian Salzman, CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, said. "Perception is reality in our business. You have to have the steak and the sizzle.

"Once we figure out how to work together we'll realize the one plus one plus two can equal 35," added Salzman, who is also the president of the Fairfield County Public Relations Association (FCPRA). "We need to get beyond the sense of being proprietary and closed. There are benefits to working together."

Salzman also encouraged those in attendance to be creative instead of "complacent" and to not be "content to be a suburb of New York City."

The program was presented by FCPRA and the Business Council of Fairfield County, sponsored by @erwpr, and hosted by Ashforth. Attendees received a copy of a "The Case for a Creative Corridor," a 138-page booklet with research supporting the creation of the Corridor.

The corridor would create and retain jobs in those industries and also attract businesses to Fairfield County, according to those involved with the research. It would also go a long way toward changing the perception of Connecticut as "staid and stuffy."

Kip Bergstrom, deputy commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development for Connecticut, encouraged the idea and said state government would support the initiative with money. He added that government would stand back, however, as the process evolves creatively.

"The first step would be to have a conversation and see what ideas we have, then put state money behind it," he said. "I think this is correct. The state will support this, but we don't want to stifle creativity as it evolves. The key is not to be prescriptive. Let it evolve."

Connecticut recently announced that it would spend $15 million to brand itself in the hopes of attracting tourism. That money, Bergstrom said, will also be used for business development in the state, which will benefit the Creative Corridor. Bergstrom said Fairfield County compares favorably to the other business areas surrounding New York City, such as New Jersey.

"We're more like Manhattan than the other business nodes in the area," he said.

He said the most important step to take to get the ball rolling on the Creative Corridor is an "intentional fostering of networks."

Chris Loynd, marketing director at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, attended the event and walked away impressed with the concept. He previously owned an advertising agency in Connecticut and felt the work done locally stands up to the work done in New York City.

"There are strong creative resources here now. It's a matter of marketing that because the talent is already here," he said. "Norwalk is in a very strong position to take advantage of this."

The Aquarium, he said, already uses local resources as much as possible for its communication and marketing needs.

"We think Norwalk first and Connecticut next," he said.

Chris Bruhl, president of the Business Council of Fairfield County, called the initiative a "broad economic and social vision. It's the idea that we are in it together, but we're not yet working together."

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