Columbus’ Creative South on Forbes top creative conferences for 2018

Every spring, Columbus is the home of an internationally renowned creative conference.

Creative South takes place in downtown in April, and hosts entrepreneurs from around the world. The conference covers all areas of development for creative entrepreneurs and brings in keynote speakers who are at the top of their respective industries.

Creative South’s audience primarily travels to attend the conference. In 2017, Creative South’s attendees came from over 35 states and 7 different countries, but locals comprised less than 20 percent of those who attended. According to the conference’s website, the target audience is mainly professionals between the ages of 21 to 35, most of whom specialize in design, web development, digital strategy or freelancing.

The conference has been well-received across the industry for its events, speaker lineup, workshops and networking opportunities. In January, Forbes named Creative South as one of the top creative conferences to attend in 2018.

Mike Jones is the co-founder of Creative South, and he’s expecting to have a crowd again this year.

“We expect to have 700-900 attendees from over 30 states and at least 7 different countries,” he said.

Due to its popularity and increasing attendance annually, Creative South has gained support from major sponsors such as Aflac, Realtree, Mailchimp and Troy University. In addition, local sponsorships continue to roll in from places like Iron Bank and Uptown Columbus.

Jones and his team work to establish a clear tone for Creative South that he views as essential to the conference’s success. Creative South’s tagline is “Come as friends, and leave as family” and Jones says this is not by accident.

“It’s all about how you treat people — we Southerners know how to do it right. I build relationships like I tell my attendees to build them — by Huggin’ Necks and Breakin’ Bread. There is something powerful about a hug and the best way to get to know a person is over a meal. Especially in the South.”

Creative South is good at making people feel welcome, and Jones says he can’t wait to greet everyone again this year.

“I am stoked! Every year I get to hang out with some of the top talent in the world. It’s refreshing to be around so much creativity,” he said. “At our core Creative South is about relationships, fellowship and inspiration with some southern hospitality thrown on top. We want people to have face-to-face conversations they normally only have online.”

Creative South 2018 is titled “The Year of Wonder” and will kick off with a carnival on the first night of the conference.

“We are changing things up to kick-off Creative South 2018, the Year of Wonder,” the website states. “This year, we are opening the show with an all-new one-time event, The Carnival of Wonder. We don’t want to spoil the fun so show up and be ready for an all new wonder-filled experience.”

The next evening Creative South continues with their famous Bridge Party. This kickoff mixer boasts fireworks, food, networking and live music.

This year’s conference offers a diverse and talented group of keynote speakers. Jones said he’s built these relationships over the years with southern hospitality.

“I have been a designer for over 17 years and I follow a lot of other amazing creatives and I just pick up a phone and call them,” he said.

In addition to the conference’s keynote speakers, Creative South’s 2018 lineup of workshops offer a wide array of topics ranging from web design and illustration to mental health. It’s good to know that while keynote speeches are included in the Conference Pass, workshops are not and must be purchased at an additional cost.

Jones took time to explain Creative South’s ticketing options clearly.

“The conference pass includes access to the Thursday kickoff party, Friday speakers, Friday night party, Saturday speakers, Saturday special event this year, Sunday’s Creative by Design Service, and the vendor village for all those days, as well as some cool limited edition swag.”

Workshops are a different set of tickets altogether.

“Workshop are addition fees but are not required for attendees — they are extra nuggets to help creatives build a stronger skillset,” Jones said. “So an attendee can just buy the conference pass, and for that matter, another person could also just buy a workshop pass but would not have access to the conference.”

According to Creative South’s shared web statistics, the conference’s Facebook page has over 4,000 followers, and over 5,000 followers on Twitter. Last year’s conference trended for over 15 hours at No. 1 on Twitter and the conference’s website averages over 10,000 visitors a day.

It’s no question that Creative South positively impacts Columbus’ creative community and the local economy.

“We impact the community by bringing top talent here to see what Columbus has to offer, giving them an idea of what it could be like to come back and visit or possibly move here,” said Jones. “I would love to see Columbus become the Southern Hub of creativity. As far as the economy — we sell out a few hotels and push serious business to the Uptown area. We have calculated that we generate around $850,000 or more in revenue for the city in five days.”

Creative South is unique and Jones is confident as to why.

“I think its a mix of my personality coming out in a conference setting, and keeping the size manageable so everyone has time with everyone,” he said. “I love people and at Creative South we want people to connect and form lasting relationships, not come here to network. I think we have created a setting that fosters that type of community.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Columbus’ Creative South on Forbes top creative conferences for 2018."