Austin is experiencing unprecedented growth and there is no end in site. Austin in being recognized as one of the fastest growing cities in the United States and the growth is not due to a particular industry, but rather a combination of the three P’s; people, purpose and partnership.
Back in the 50’s and 60’s city growth was due to a certain industry that drove economic activity that in turn grew population growth. With the world quickly changing and growing from its first two waves of the internet, and moving into the third wave of the internet city growth has changed from economic and industry stimulus to now what is being seen as cities that offer open collaborative environments where social and economical avenues are open to foster an environment of innovation. The first wave of internet growth shows the likes of AOL, IBM and AT&T that were the beginning of the internet. Then came the second wave that saw the like of FaceBook, Uber, Airbnb and other Start Up’s that introduced software that drove more innovation. The third wave will bring further innovation such as the self driving cars, cure for disease such as cancer, and innovation of drones and robotics. Marketing has played a role in the second wave of the internet as analytics and big data drove direct online marketing techniques that better understand the buying needs of the consumer.
What will the third wave of the internet bring? Marketing techniques will change as more analytics and big data plays a deeper role in our buying habits.
The cities that are seeing the same sort of unprecedented growth are cities like Nashville, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans. These are cities where not a particular major industry is driving the population growth but rather the 3 P’s are playing a major factor.