Brand Muscle CEO Philip Alexander freely admits that he was initially opposed to moving his firm to downtown Cleveland because he didn't want to give up his breezy, 17-minute commute to the office.

Research studies have shown that the most powerful predictor of a firm's location is where the top executives live. For Brand Muscle's leadership, it was convenient to commute from the east-side suburbs to their offices in Beachwood, where the software firm has grown to 150 employees.

But as the firm outgrew its suburban offices and launched a search for a location that would facilitate its expansion, what happened next was not quite according to script. Brand Muscle's younger employees launched a campaign to encourage Alexander and other leaders to consider downtown Cleveland.

"There was quite a bit of lobbying, actually -- many of our employees are younger, and I was surprised by how many of them wanted us to move downtown," says Alexander. "The increased vibrancy of downtown made us take a look."

In November, Brand Muscle expects to move to freshly leased offices at 11000 Superior Avenue in the Nine-Twelve District. Initially, the firm will lease about 40,000 square feet, but it has the option to continuously expand as needed.

Alexander says that Brand Muscle's new downtown location will allow the firm to better attract younger employees, facilitate networking with other software companies, and provide entertainment options when clients are in town.

Brand Muscle sells software that helps businesses customize marketing materials for local audiences in order to optimize their sales and improve revenue growth.

Source: Philip Alexander
Writer: Lee Chilcote