Atlanta-born advertising agency Fitzgerald & Co (Fitzco) is curating the community celebration to showcase its home of 34 years to visitors seeking a unique destination.
On March 4 and 5th, the “Life the 5th” event will celebrate a weekend soiree, designed to showcase the thriving culture, business environment and diverse neighborhoods of Atlanta’s 5th District.
“This is personal for us—our people live in the 5th district, and we’re excited to be moving our agency to the heart of it this summer,” noted Matt Woehrmann, Fitzco’s CEO. “We’re throwing this event because we believe the vibrancy of the 5th contributes to our city’s creative culture, and we want to share this progressive, diverse, thriving cultural and economic capital with the outside world, whether you’re elsewhere in Atlanta or far away.”
The agency is working with local personalities, landmarks and businesses such as restaurants and nightspots to create tours, entertainment and other experiences. Confirmed Live the 5th participants include: Lyft, Monday Night Brewing, Choose ATL, Torq Cycle Atlanta, and more.
DIVERGE spoke to Matt Woehrmann, Fitzco’s CEO to find out more:
Fitzco created Live the 5th to celebrate and showcase Atlanta’s diverse culture, neighborhoods and business scene. While planning the festival, was there anything you learned about your city that surprised you? What would surprise Americans from other places?
It’s not a surprise, but it just reaffirmed our belief that all Atlantans have one thing in common: A chip on our shoulder when it comes to the perception of our city. It is not given the credit it deserves when it comes to art, music, food, business and civic awareness. And Atlantans love stepping up and proving that people are wrong about our city.
The diversity of the art scene would surprise people from other places. Atlanta gets a little credit for music, food and sports, but doesn’t get it’s due when it comes to art. That is one thing that I am most excited about at the event. Fahamu Pecou is curating open studios for some of Atlantas great artists. It will be a great opportunity to see some of the amazing cultural commentary taking shape in the form of art that was created right here in the 5th.
Did you encounter any challenges while planning for the marketing your home town?
The biggest challenge was, and still is, the timing pressure. We were purposeful in planning the event in a ‘shotgun style’ in order to authentically represent the activity in the 5th District rather than manufacturing programming. This approach adds a tension to the planning, but ultimately has created a great deal of enthusiasm with our partners. Everyone is embracing the timeline and using it as inspiration to be a little fun and spontaneous.
Atlanta seems to be experiencing a bit of a renaissance: Statistics show that business is growing and crime is shrinking? What do you attribute that to?
I wouldn’t exactly call it a renaissance. This is something that has been happening for a long time, but people nationally are just starting to catch on. I think at the heart of it is the mentality of people in Atlanta. There is an ambition in Atlantans that is unique. It is very different from the ambition in other major cities. The difference is that the ambition is not one with the goal of individual success, but instead group success. You see it in the chef community, the hip-hop community, the startup community, the dance community and many others. Individuals are not only in it to be personally successful, but to make their communities successful and Atlanta successful. You don’t get that mentality in a lot of cities.
With these positive changes is there a fear of gentrification? Of the city losing its diversity? As an employer, is that something you are concerned about, and if so, how do you counteract it?
Gentrification is already happening. Our best way to respond to a changing city is to shed light on our culturally rich history while embracing the new. The reality is that Atlanta always has been a forward looking city and with that continual renewal comes a diverse range of perspectives that ultimately gives depth to our business.
