RALEIGH — “Raleigh — East Coast Made Easy.”

That’s the catch phrase for the city’s collaborative campaign to be showcased at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Trade Show (SXSW) in Austin from March 15-18.

It includes a 20-foot booth installation by local artist Gino Reyes unveiled today at Raleigh Union Station, aiming to depict Raleigh as “a community with big city hustle without the hassle.”

“We wanted to let the public come and take a look at it before we pack it all up and take it down there,” said Scott Peacock, Visit Raleigh’s director of Public Relations and International Tourism.

“It’s effectively Raleigh’s ecosystem — all of the great things that make it a great place to live, work and play brought to life in one mural in a fun, playful, ‘Where’s Waldo’-type way.”

The initiative is a partnership between Wake County Economic Development, the City of Raleigh Office of Economic Development and Innovation and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh).

The team comprised of Wake County Economic Development, the City of Raleigh Office of Economic Development and Innovation and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh).

For the last seven years, the group has sent a delegation of about 20 economic development partners representing Raleigh and Wake County to the four-day summit that attracts business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world. More than 250 exhibitors are expected from across a slew of industries, ranging from startups to established leaders in their space.

“We have an incredible talent pool, but we have a lot of growing companies and we constantly need to be attracting new companies and new talent,” said Rafael Baptista, Economic Development and Innovation’s senior community manager, who attended the launch on Tuesday.

“They’re all hanging out at SXSW. This is an opportunity to go there and speak to them.”

Local companies Trophy Brewing Co., Slingshot Coffee Co. and Videri Chocolate Factory will also attend. Founders will talk about the innovation behind their products and processes and what makes Raleigh such a great location for small businesses and start-ups.

Other well-known Raleigh personalities expected to attend include Igor Jablokov, CEO of Pryon, who will be  speaking in a panel session titled, “Democracy in the Era of Disinformation,” and Thayer Lavielle, The Collective’s executive vice president of Talent Marketing & Operations, who will appear on a panel session titled, “Creating Safe Spaces: Self-Empowerment is a Team Sport.”

“We are counting down the days to showcasing Raleigh as the inclusive, international community,”  said Veronica Creech, director of economic development and innovation at the City of Raleigh.

“The interactive trade show offers us a strategic opportunity to share what makes Raleigh an engaging community for all people and businesses.”