Digital Media
Courtesy of Cartoon Network, Atlanta GA
A Top-Growing Industry in Georgia
Why Georgia for Digital Media?
• Young population – Georgia’s median
age is 36.0 (ESRI, 2015)
• Leading destination for young,
college-educated professionals
• Low cost of living and high quality of life
• Georgia ranks seventh in the nation for tech
employment growth, adding 6,700 jobs in 2014
(TechAmerica Foundation, Cyberstates 2015)
• Gerogia ranks fourth in the nation for
telecommunications services
(TechAmerica Foundation, Cyberstates 2015)
• Georgia ranks 11th in the nation for overall
high-tech employment, and second in the
Southeast for overall high-tech employment
(TechAmerica Foundation, Cyberstates 2015)
• Atlanta ranks third for the highest STEM
employment growth (WalletHub, January 2015)
• The Southeast’s largest concentration of
telecommunications companies sits at the
heart of Downtown Atlanta
Entertainment Tax Credit
The state of Georgia offers up to a 30 percent
tax incentive to digital entertainment
companies doing business in Georgia.
Cost of Doing Business
ATLANTA
Dallas
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Washington, D.C.
Boston
New York
0
20
40
60
80 100 120 140 160 180
Source: Moody’s Economy.com, May 2014 (2012 data)
Cost of Living
Dallas
ATLANTA
Los Angeles
Boston
Washington, D.C.
San Francisco
New York
0
50
100
150
200
Source: ACCRA Annual Average 2014
250
World-Class Education
Georgia is home to a multitude of universities that
offer digital entertainment programs, including Georgia
Tech, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD),
Georgia Southern University, Southern Polytechnic,
Kennesaw State University, Art Institute of Atlanta,
and the University of Georgia.
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech is one of the nation’s top research
universities. Georgia Tech’s campus is in the heart
of the city of Atlanta, where more than 21,000
undergraduate and graduate students receive a
focused, technology-based education.
Georgia Tech has eleven different degree
programs that produce graduates in the digital
entertainment space, including a Masters and
Doctorate of Science in Digital Media, and a
Master of Human Computer Interaction.
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
With more graduate and undergraduate degree
programs and specializations than any other art and
design university in the United States, SCAD is uniquely
qualified to prepare talented students for careers in
digital entertainment. SCAD is also among the elite in
national and international recognition, rankings and
career placement, and has been named one of the
nation‘s “Most Interesting Schools” and one of “25
cutting-edge schools with an eye toward the future”
by Kaplan-Newsweek.
Major University & Company
Digital Media Research Facilities
• Georgia Tech Research Institute
Information and Communications
Laboratory (ICL)
• Georgia Institute of Technology
GVU (Graphics, Visualization and
Usability) Center
• Georgia Institute of Technology
Augmented Environments Lab
• SCAD-Atlanta
SCAD Digital Media Center
• SCAD-Savannah
Savannah Film Studios
• University of Georgia
New Media Institute (NMI)
A Sample of Digital Media Employers
Digital Media Employers
§
¦
¨
85
¬
«
400
§
¦
¨
75
§
¦
¨
285
§
¦
¨
20
ATLANTA
§
¦
¨
20
§
¦
¨
85
§
¦
¨
75
Esri, HERE, DeLorme,
MapmyIndia,Development;
© OpenStreetMap contributors,
and the GIS
Source: Digital Media Database, Georgia Power Community
& Economic
Gwinnett
user community
Chamber of Commerce (August 2015)
Online game developer Hi-Rez Studios will expand
its Alpharetta Headquarters.
“We continue to find exceptional engineering and creative
talent in metro Atlanta. Compared to alternate locations
for game development like California, metro Atlanta
provides a recruiting and business advantage primarily
based on its affordable cost of living.”
Todd Harris, Chief Operating Officer of Hi-Rez Studios
Source: “Hi-Rez Studios to Expand Alpharetta Headquarters, Adding 50 Jobs,”
Georgia Department of Economic Development press release, 3.27.2015
•Artistic Digital
•Bento Box Entertainment
•Big Nerd Ranch
•Blue Mammoth Games Inc.
•Cadillac Jack Inc.
•Cartoon Network
•CCP North America
•Cox Media Group
•Digital Roar Studios
•Dragon Army
•Eyes Wide Games
•Floyd County Productions
•Games That Work
•Gideon Games
•Hi-Rez Studios
•Kaneva Inc.
•Macquarium Intelligent Comm.
•Moxie USA
•OgilvyOne
•Persuasive Games
•Primal Screen
•Pulseworks
•Razorfish
•Rockfish Interactive
•Silly Monkey
•Soverance Studios
•Tapjoy
•Thrust Interactive Inc.
•Trick3D
•Tripwire Interactive
•Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
•World Touch Gaming
•Xaviant LLC
Georgia: Host To High-Tech Innovation
Existing companies and new arrivals have access
to cutting-edge technological resources offered by
renowned universities such as Georgia Tech. Qualcomm
Inc. recently announced the opening of reality game
studio in partnership with Georgia Tech. Georgia also
offers networking opportunities through the Georgia
Game Developers Association (GGDA). For more
information, visit www.ggda.org.
• Renowned research universities, offering reality
game studios and cutting-edge programs
• A center of innovation, start-up activity and
technology employment
• Georgia is home to a creative talent base of
54,594 workers that include multimedia artists,
animators, and software engineers. (EMSI, 2015.2)
• Georgia produces more than 6,598 graduates in
computer design, programming, engineering and
digital media-related programs. (EMSI, 2013 Program
Completions, July 2015)
Critical Mass of Computer IT Graduates
Austin
San Francisco
GEEK WIRE/MOVOTO
“Top 10 Cities for Gamers”
1. ATLANTA, GA
2. Seattle, WA
3. Denver, CO
4. Portland, OR
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Long Beach, CA
7. Sacramento, CA
8. Mesa, AZ
9. Kansas City, MO
10. San Jose, CA
Source: GeekWire, 3.26.2013
“Georgia’s schools and
universities have fostered an
outstanding curriculum around
video games, digital media, music
& sound, art, and technology. So
you have top schools like Georgia
Tech and SCAD providing a steady
supply of raw talent.”
Chris Klaus, CEO of Kaneva
Dallas
Boston
ATLANTA
Los Angeles
New York
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
Source: EMSI, National Center for Education Statistics, 2013 Completions
CONTACT US
Georgia Power has been helping companies locate in our state for more than 85 years. We offer a full array
of products and services available at no cost. To receive confidential assistance please contact one of our
experienced professionals. Partnering with state and local agencies, Brenda Robbins and Nicole Pearson
specialize in digital media as one of their target industries.
Nicole began her career with
Southern Company in 2001,
working in communications.
She later moved to Southern
Company’s supply chain
management organization
before joining the Georgia
Power economic development
team in 2007. Nicole is currently working with
numerous digital media projects.
Nicole Pearson
404-506-1460
npearson@southernco.com
Brenda began her career with
Southern Company in 1982
in the Information Systems
division of Southern Company
Services. Joining Georgia
Power’s statewide projects
team in 1996, Brenda brought
a strong background in
information technology and human resources.
Brenda Robbins
404-506-6617
bkrobbin@southernco.com
Georgia Power Community & Economic Development
75 Fifth Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30308
econdevga@southernco.com
www.SelectGeorgia.com
8.20.15