KC’s Not-So-Quiet Industry
Kansas City has provided valuable support for several economic clusters: life sciences (BioNexus KC), logistics and distribution (KC SmartPort), and animal health (KC Animal Health Corridor) to name a few. It is ironic that Kansas City’s digital media industry—an industry known for voice and publishing—is one of the “quieter” economic forces in Kansas City’s industry landscape. Missouri’s Department of Economic Development conducted research in March that revealed that Kansas City employs 32,782 people in digital media occupations. This is a sizeable workforce that gets little attention in regional economic development discussions.
Let’s take a closer look to learn more about this workforce. First, let’s define what jobs fit within Kansas City’s digital media industry. The Kansas City Institute for Media, Animation & Graphic Innovation in Education (KC IMAGINE) defines digital media as occupations that require the use of digital technology to develop and/or produce content that informs, influences or entertains others. Here are some key findings from the March research conducted by the Missouri Department of Economic Development:
· Kansas City has a high level of specialization in advertising, specialized design services and marketing consulting
· 47% of Kansas City’s digital media professionals do not work for a digital media company
· The KC metro has seen 24% growth in occupations related to digital media between 2011 and 2021
Here’s a look at how the digital media jobs are concentrated in the KC Metropolitan region:
From Missouri Department of Economic Development, March 2024
KC IMAGINE has been working since 2018 to grow the industry by connecting the stakeholders of KC’s digital media industry. Since that time we have enjoyed growing participation from digital media firms, digital media professionals, educators, workforce professionals and civic leaders. Fifteen regional colleges and universities have aligned with our efforts to collaborate on ways to improve the talent pipeline for Kansas City’s robust digital media industry. We encourage stronger networking among digital media professionals by co-sponsoring the DIGITAL SCENE KC series with KC Digital Drive. This program highlights best practice KC digital media firms by inviting digital media professionals to visit their facilities. Each session is themed according to the business of the hosting firm. For example the DIGITAL SCENE KC: Animation networking event was hosted by Trinity Animation in Corporate Woods. These networking events feature free food and drinks and the opportunity to connect with professionals in an after-hours setting. We also feature “guest experts” at each event who have distinguished themselves in the discipline related to that event’s theme.
On September 24th, KC IMAGINE will host its annual conference “Building KC’s Digital Media Future” at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center from 9:30 – 3:30. Thoka Maer, the Art Director for Google Doodles will be our keynote speaker. A distinguished panel will discuss the skills-first training and hiring trend in digital media. Breakout sessions will be offered on a wide range of topics including AI, Shifting from Print to Digital, Web3, Government Funds for Training, The Making of Make48 and more. Registration for this conference is available at this site.