Queen City Mobile Summit brings national recognition to local app developers

On Wednesday, Feb. 17, Cincinnati will play host to the Queen City Mobile Summit, a collaboration among national and local players to spark discussion about the state of mobile app technology and where it’s headed.
 
This will be the fourth such mobile summit organized by ACT: The App Association, a national organization representing the app industry through education and advocacy. Previous summits were held in Salt Lake City; Eugene, Ore.; and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to bring attention to the great app development going on where it might not be typically expected.
 
“It’s really about highlighting and getting to know the community outside Silicon Valley,” says Courtney Bernard, Communications Manager for ACT. “Contrary to popular belief, most of the highest grossing apps are not from Silicon Valley.”
 
A few of those have even come from Cincinnati, a market that seemed like a natural fit for the association’s next summit. The event will be co-organized by Possible, the global digital media and marketing agency with its second largest office in Cincinnati, and The Brandery.
 
For Possible, a major international player in the digital media and app technology world, the summit will be an opportunity to connect with the local technology and app ecosystem.
 
For The Brandery, the connections to the national app economy will come with a significant recognition: The startup accelerator will be the second ever recipient of ACT’s App Economy Spotlight Award. The award recognizes companies and organizations that foster a culture and community of entrepreneurship in the app technology economy. It will be presented at the Wednesday event by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman.
 
Bernard says that ACT chose The Brandery for the honor because of the exceptional level of support it provides to startups in their accelerator program, which includes successful apps like Roadtrippers and ChoreMonster, and the way it’s fostered a supportive culture of innovation in Cincinnati.
 
It’s that culture of entrepreneurship and encouragement in the Cincinnati ecosystem that both ACT and Possible want to highlight in Wednesday’s event.
 
“One of my hopes is that this event helps people recognize what a strong mobile app economy we have in Cincinnati,” says Brian Le Count, Executive Vice President for Strategy and Insights at Possible Cincinnati. “This is not only a great place where advertising happens but where mobile tech happens.”
 
“Cincinnati is a model for how cities can really have a community that fosters entrepreneurs and innovation,” says Bernard, who is a Cincinnati native herself and made sure there would be some local touches (like Skyline for lunch) at the summit.
 
The Queen City Mobile Summit will take place at The Brandery’s Union Hall in Over-the-Rhine at 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 17, with a press event and award ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Registration is free; you can sign up online here.