Content marketing -- creating and distributing content (not ads) to drive customer action -- is big business. And in the healthcare field, it's even bigger, with nearly 90 percent of all healthcare businesses leveraging content marketing. In preparation for the upcoming Content Marketing World Health Summit (November 7-8, 2012 in Cleveland), event organizer Chris Seper explores the trend with Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute.

Thanks to Northeast Ohio's collaborative medical startup community, one fueled by forward-looking economic organizations and angel investors, entrepreneurs with viable ideas are making waves. Here are five Cleveland and Akron healthcare companies poised to be the Next Big Thing.

Whether it is health care, information technology, clean tech or business and consumer products, our region’s increased level of startup activity is attracting funding from venture capital firms both here in Northeast Ohio and beyond. But experts say there's a ways to go before the Silicon Valley comparisons stick.

A parent can cover their child's eyes when there is violence on television, but who will do that for a child when they're exposed to real-life trauma? That is the question United Way is answering with its 2-1-1 community access line, a 24-hour help number that's part of Cuyahoga County’s Defending Childhood initiative.

United States Attorney General Eric Holder and Cuyahoga County Executive Edward FitzGerald hosted a news conference September 28 at Martin Luther King Jr. High School to announce a $2 million Justice Department grant that will aid Defending Childhood programs including the community access line.

The phone line is manned by United Way staff members. These trained staffers determine if Defending Childhood services can help a child who has witnessed violence or experienced trauma. Diagnosing and treating children who have lived through violence can be a significant step in helping them avoid trouble later in life, says Stephen Wertheim, president/CEO of United Way.

 "The trauma a kid goes through can impact their function in society," Wertheim says. "We're trying to get to these problems at the root."

While at the high school event, Holder participated in a round-table discussion with students and teachers. He later met with a group of law enforcement officers and social workers that were also on hand.

The impact of violence on children has reached "national crisis" proportions, Holder told the audience during the Sept. 28 conference. Assessing and screening the young people victimized by violence must take precedence over merely prosecuting those perpetrating the trauma.

Studies have shown how post-traumatic stress can negatively effect children, says FitzGerald. 

"If a child witnesses horrific acts of violence, they're more likely to be involved in the justice system themselves," says the county executive. Through a preventative measure like the 2-1-1 help line, "the idea is to increase public safety rather than just incarcerating everyone."

 
SOURCE: Stephen Wertheim, Ed FitzGerald
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

The way Beachland Ballroom owner Cindy Barber sees it, Cleveland's music glory days are far from over. Yet our music scene could use some better amplification. That's why Barber has created a new nonprofit, Cleveland Rocks: Past, Present and Future, to preserve the legacy of the city's rock-and-roll history while also promoting and shaping its future.

"The past is the legacy project of capturing Cleveland music history, the present is documenting what's happening now, and the future is figuring out what we need to do to grow it," says Barber. "There's already a huge amount of music business here. We need to take stock of what we have and what we're missing."

Barber cites music business startups like Gotta Groove Records, Fortune Drums, Audio Technica and Dr. Z Amplification as success stories. She also wants to highlight the local bands that are touring and getting signed nationally.

"The plan is to create a website to highlight the bands that are getting attention," she says. "If they're out touring the world, they can bring that energy back to share with other people in Cleveland and grow the music business here."

To kick off the project, Barber and others are organizing a series of live interviews with local legends that played a role in Cleveland music history. The first event is scheduled to place on Saturday, November 3rd at 1 p.m. at the Beachland Ballroom. Tickets cost $15 and include lunch and the opportunity to participate as Larry Bruner, former booking manager for the 1960s folk music venue La Cav, is interviewed by Steve Traina, DJ for the WCSB radio show "Steve's Folk."

Future plans include working with the Rock Hall to preserve oral histories and promote live music, helping musicians identify investment sources for growing their bands or recording albums, and marketing the music industry here.

"All the clubs that came together as part of the Cleveland Music Coalition [to challenge the city's admissions tax] are part of this," says Barber. "We want to use the nonprofit to support what they're doing to create live music in Cleveland."


Source: Cindy Barber
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Lindsay Sims has been a lifelong renter and knows the headaches involved with trying to reach a property management office for leasing information. She also knows that property managers are not using social media effectively to promote their properties.

So, in 2011 Sims founded Renter’s Boom, a resource for property managers to use sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as leasing portals.
 
“We are a software and service company smashed together,” says Sims. “We offer three apps: refer a friend, a listings app, and a make an appointment to see an apartment app. It makes it easy because that’s where some users spend five to 10 hours of their day.”
 
Sims originally designed a maintenance app where renters could text the property managers. But after going through the Bizdom U program, she refocused her businesses. “I figured out what business was going to work,” she says. “The feedback was property managers wanted to know how to handle social media.”
 
With that feedback, Sims developed Renter’s Boom. “For the past six months we were really running as fast as we can, figuring out the silver bullet that works,” she says. Originally working out the Beta Space at MAGNET, Sims recently moved into new offices at E. 55th and Euclid.
 
Business is good. Sims has a solid client base and hopes to start hiring around the first of the year. “I want to make sure our revenue strategy is okay,” she explains. “But I’ll be looking for people to get our clients serviced -- sales and marketing people.” In the meantime, Sims is looking for a fall intern to help with the daily operations.

 
Source: Lindsay Sims
Writer: Karin Connelly

For the next three months, artists from Sri Lanka, India, Armenia, Mexico and Chile will bring their talents, experiences and cultures to Cleveland through The Cleveland Foundation's international artist-in-residence program, Creative Fusion.

"The Cleveland Foundation does have a globalization agenda for Cleveland, and we think it's important for Clevelanders to see the city as a global, international city and that the rest of the world see us that way, too," says Kathleen Cerveny, Director of Institutional Learning and Arts Initiatives for the foundation. "The arts are a great tool to promote international understanding and exchange."

Creative Fusion brings in five international artists for a three-month stay in Cleveland. The program has been in the pilot phase for the last three years, and this year's roster of artists represents a complete relaunch for the initiative.

"Traditionally, arts organizations will bring in international artists, but there's very little lasting impact," says Cerveny. "We wanted to bring artists here for a longer period of time, especially cultures that are not represented in Cleveland."

While Creative Fusion artists are embedded within a cultural organization, they are required to complete community engagement activities and interact with the local artistic community. Cerveny says that the artists have gotten right to work.

"There's an Indian choreographer at the Rainey Institute who has been here a week and a day, and he's already taught two classes at Hathaway Brown and worked with inner-city kids at Rainey. This program has a significant impact."

Many of the artists consider Cleveland "a second home" after living here, she adds.

The artists are being hosted by Inlet Dance Theatre, Rainey Institute, Trinity Cathedral, Young Audiences and Zygote Press. More information about the Creative Fusion artists can be found on the Cleveland Foundation's website.


Source: Kathleen Cerveny
Writer: Lee Chilcote

When it comes to attracting talent from outside the city, Cleveland "has room for improvement," according to recruiters and other pros tasked with the job. But numerous developments currently taking place in the city are major steps in the right direction, say those same pros.

Chamberlain College of Nursing has announced plans to open a new campus in the MidTown Tech Center amidst Cleveland's Health-Tech Corridor this January. The new school will offer an accelerated, three-year Bachelor of Nursing degree program.

"Chamberlain is sensitive to the nursing shortage and the need to create nurses at the bachelors level to provide care where there's high levels of need," says Adele Webb, President of the new Cleveland campus. "We're a three year program, so within three years, we can contribute nurses to market."

According to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, there is likely to be a deficit of 32,000 nurses statewide by 2020. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Ohio turned away more than 2,300 nurses last year.

Chamberlain's new Cleveland campus -- its 12th in the nation and second in Ohio -- offers several innovative features. The school's SIMCARE Lab gives students a chance to work on mannequins that simulate real-world situations such as labor, birth and when a patient stops breathing. The school also will include a Center for Academic Success to help students get the resources they need to stay in school.

The rising demand for nurses due to health care reform, an underserved market in Cleveland and the opportunity to be a part of Cleveland's medical community were all factors driving Chamberlain's decision to locate in the city, Webb says.

"As the City of Cleveland is trying to develop the Health-Tech Corridor around major institutions, this was an opportunity for us to be a part of it," Webb says.

The new Chamberlain School of Nursing facility will be located at 6700 Euclid Avenue.


Source: Adele Webb
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Giancarlo Calicchia, the Italian-born sculptor and artist who has been a fixture in the Cleveland art scene for decades, is opening a new gallery and offices in a historic, restored building at 4600 Carnegie Avenue in the Midtown neighborhood.

Calicchia still owns a large building at 6550 Carnegie Avenue, where his studio is currently located. However, he may be selling it to Fred Geis, who is developing space for high tech and biomedical companies along the Health-Tech Corridor.

The building at 4600 Carnegie will soon become home to Artisan Direct, a company that represents over 1,000 artists from around the world. Artisan Direct helps artists to market, show and sell their original work to a diverse audience. Previously, the company was headquartered in Rochester, New York.

"One of my dreams has been to establish Cleveland as an international center for the arts," says Calicchia, who adds that Cleveland's artistic community and central location make it a natural fit for Artisan Direct's headquarters. "Cleveland is already a mix of ethnicities, so we just have to revitalize what's already here."

Artisan Direct helps artists to gain access to valuable new markets. "We give artists exposure to shows and galleries they might not otherwise experience, and we also publish our own magazine and marketing materials," says Calicchia.

The new Artisan Direct gallery will officially open for business on October 26th.

Like many foundations, the Saint Luke's Foundation in Cleveland has emerged from the recession with a narrower yet deeper approach to grantmaking. Beginning this year, the foundation has eschewed responsive grantmaking for targeted grants in three primary areas: health, communities and families.

"This year our foundation turned 15, and as we thought about what our successes had been and how to serve the community in the best way possible, there was interest in focusing more narrowly," says LaTida Smith, Vice President of Programming, Outcomes and Learning at the foundation.

The change has been both challenging and rewarding. "This year, we're narrowing and doing responsive grantmaking at the same time," says Smith. "There are some projects we've funded in the past that we won't be able to fund anymore, and even though we've narrowed to three areas, those challenges are still broad."

One area where Smith says the foundation has been innovative and successful is in advancing the understanding of community health. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health was awarded a grant to develop its capacity to complete health impact assessments -- basically, determinations of how planning and redevelopment decisions impact neighborhood health -- while the "Place Matters" speaker series at the City Club prompted a broad discussion of place-based health disparities.

Examples of the foundation's changed grantmaking strategy include an increased emphasis on strengthening families -- as opposed to simply helping kids or adults in isolation -- and a strong commitment to the neighborhoods around the former Saint Luke's Hospital (Buckeye, Larchmere and Shaker Square in particular).


Source: LaTida Smith
Writer: Lee Chilcote

In recent years, Cleveland Municipal School District has opened 14 new high-performing public schools rated Excellent or Effective by the State. The Cleveland Plan, approved this summer by state legislators, will pave the way for even more improvements to the district's schools, making it more likely that urban parents will choose to remain in the city.

An innovative software program developed by the Center for Urban Poverty at Case Western Reserve University is helping Cleveland neighborhood development practitioners reinvent their urban communities in strategic, data-driven ways.

NEO CANDO, a publicly accessible database, provides one-stop-shopping for anyone looking to research property information in their neighborhood. The site allows users to go beyond researching individual properties and look at snapshots of neighborhoods -- including which properties are at risk of foreclosure and which have been condemned. The site also contains social, economic and census data.

"In the past, information was collected from multiple websites, and by the time it was assembled, it was out of date," says Mike Schramm, a Research Associate in the Center on Urban Poverty in the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at CWRU. "We bring data together across domains. Our mission is to democratize data and to create data-driven decisions by both nonprofits and government."

In practice, NEO CANDO is used by foreclosure prevention agencies to research which properties are in danger of going into foreclosure. Armed with this info, grassroots groups can knock on the owner's door and attempt to intervene, thus hopefully preventing another vacant, bank-owned home in the neighborhood.

The information is also used to focus on areas with strategic assets in an effort to better protect them. "You need to know that the house across street from that recently rehabbed home is in foreclosure -- and then do something about it."

Projects like NEO CANDO are helping to facilitate a shift within the community development field towards creating more strategic, placemaking investments.


Source: Mike Schramm
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Justin Coulter, a sculptor, bartender and rock band frontman, was elated when Beachland Ballroom owner Cindy Barber suggested that he craft an original piece in tribute to Harvey Pekar.

When the offer was made, he was outside smoking a cigarette during a 2010 memorial for Pekar at the Beachland. Barber, who had only just learned that her employee is a talented sculptor whose work can be found all over Cleveland, was suddenly inspired by the idea of hiring Coulter.

"I said, are you kidding? That's the biggest honor in the world so far," says Coulter. "Let's do it! Two years later, we raised $38,000, and the biggest donation was about $500. It was all from people who just wanted to see this happen."

The bronze sculpture features a rendition of Pekar walking out of one of his own comic books -- from "2D" to "3D," as Coulter describes it. It also includes a desk where participants will be encouraged to pen their own masterpieces. The piece will be installed at the main branch of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights library, and a public unveiling is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 14th.

Coulter is creating the sculpture in his studio on East 36th Street. First, he made a model out of hard clay, incorporating suggestions from Harvey's widow, Joyce Brabner, along the way. Next, he will create a hollow mold, heat the bronze to more than 1000 degrees, pour it into the mold and then pack it in sand to keep the heat in. Finally, he will chip off the mold to reveal the long-awaited sculpture.

"The library is the perfect spot for him," says Coulter of the location. "So much better than being next to a politician like Elliott Ness at Lakeview cemetery."

Coulter, who is also working with other artists to create a website of Cleveland craftspeople that will help to highlight and connect customers to their work, never met Pekar. "I had to create that experience out of my imagination," he says.

With bronze lasting an average of 10,000 years, the sculpture creates near immortality for the famously cantankerous working-class writer, who has become a symbol of Rust Belt authenticity.

"When the library collapses and everything is covered in dirt, there will still be an awesome sculpture of Harvey."


Source: Justin Coulter
Writer: Lee Chilcote