TYPES OF DOWNTOWN PROMOTIONS

May 2014 Main Street Matters

Promotions help re-establish downtown as the center of social activity and excitement. Promotions can take many forms, the goal is to bring people (residents and visitors alike) downtown to shop, have fun, work, and invest. Promotion means selling the positive image and promise of Main Street to all prospects. Promotions showcase why your downtown is unique—it highlights your historic buildings, local businesses, downtown activities, amenities, and creates pride in your community. 

• Business/Retail Promotions: An activity that will have an immediate impact on the downtown business cash register—business-generating. Attracting people to shop and spend in the district.
• Special Events: A high-quality event worth your trip downtown as well as something in which you want to be involved. Attracting people and exposing them to what you have to offer.
• Image Building: Sets a positive expectation when you see the Main Street name and/or logo. Attracting people by influencing attitudes and action

Above: "Love Downtown" shop local campaign in downtown San Marcos

This month, Main Street Matters  highlights three promotions that are happening right here in Texas Main Street communities. San Marcos coordinated a “LOVE Downtown” campaign and used “Cash Mobs” downtown as a retail promotion and a way to inject money into local businesses.  Waxahachie holds a quarterly special event called “Junk in the Trunk” as a way to attract more people downtown to showcase their downtown square and to shop. Nacogdoches partners with the Stephen F. Austin State University for an image-building promotion. Here are their stories, told by the local Main Street managers.

Shop local campaign shows the love to downtown businesses in San Marcos

Kayli Head, Main Street Coordinator, City of San Marcos 

Local businesses are the heart of every downtown, and the friendly faces of shop owners and employees brighten the day of locals and visitors alike. To give back to these ambassadors of downtown, the San Marcos Main Street Program created a successful month-long shop local campaign called “LOVE Downtown” that encouraged shoppers to “show the love” to downtown retailers. 

The “LOVE Downtown” campaign started as a way to get local community members to appreciate the diverse offerings in their own backyard, especially while a much-needed downtown reconstruction project has caused obstacles and traffic delays in the area. Though San Marcos is known as a shopping destination because of the outlet malls in the city, many small businesses downtown are overlooked by visitors. This campaign sought to change this, and to show support for retailers at a time they needed it most. 

The campaign featured several aspects to engage the community. Through the month of February, shoppers could take a photo of their $25-plus receipt from any business downtown and submit it to the contest via email, mail, or social media by using the hashtag #LOVEsmtx. The entries poured in from shoppers with many of the fan pictures featuring kind remarks about their favorite local stores. A downtown screen printer also provided “LOVE Downtown” T-shirts, and the advisory board sold them to raise funds for downtown improvements. 

Additionally, on Valentine’s Day, San Marcos Main Street hosted a “LOVE Downtown” Cash Mob, which encouraged shoppers to patronize businesses on one of the main retail corridors which had been affected the most by construction. For purchases of any amount on that block during lunchtime, shoppers could show their receipt at the Main Street booth to enter to win cash prizes and downtown gift cards. Shoppers also wrote “love notes” to their favorite downtown businesses, showing their gratitude and appreciation. 

Pedestrian traffic filled the streets, with shoppers of all ages participating in the event. More than 200 entries were received over the course of a month, which created a lot of buzz in the media and online because of the social interaction the campaign encouraged. One of the best parts of the experience was hearing the feedback from shoppers who discovered new stores, and were surprised by the unique and eclectic shops in the downtown district. Businesses also got in on the fun, promoting the event via social media in hopes of being voted “Favorite Downtown Business” by participants. The business with the most votes on social media or at the cash mob received a cash prize, so the competition was fierce (but friendly). 

This campaign helped build appreciation and support for downtown businesses, as well as encouraging business owners to promote their local roots. Building awareness about the importance of shopping local was one of the main goals and is imperative for keeping the downtown district relevant and thriving. 

Waxahachie Downtown Merchants Association - JUNK IN THE TRUNK

Anita Williamson, Director  of Downtown Development, Heritage Preservation Officer, City of Waxahachie

About two years ago, the Waxahachie Downtown Merchants Association was brainstorming ideas to raise funds for projects and “Junk in the Trunk” was born.  The idea came from one of the merchants who has ties to England where they have what are called “boot” sales where people pull up in a field and sell merchandise out of the trunk (in England “boot”) of their cars. Living in Texas, “Boot Sale” was not really an option for the name of the event as the organizers feared everyone would come either selling or expecting to buy boots.  Many names were suggested, but the merchants settled on “Junk in the Trunk” for its fun and catchy feel.

“Junk in the Trunk” is one of the simplest events to put on, and it has proven to be very lucrative. Parking spaces around the courthouse square are sold for a minimal fee.  Vendors can either pull up into the space and sell directly out of their vehicle, or they can unload their merchandise and display it in the space.  The event runs for five hours and requires little more than barricades and a check-in point once the street closures have been approved by the city council.  Few rules have been imposed, which makes it easier for all concerned.  From the start, vendors and customers have loved the event and it has really taken on a life of its own. Since it is a fundraising event for the Merchants Association, everyone has been supportive of the event.  Many merchants even rent spaces themselves to bring awareness to their merchandise and direct people to their storefronts.  

The event is held quarterly and has grown in participation and popularity each time. Some vendors have participated every time the event has been held, and at every “Junk in the Trunk” people who came to shop inquire about participating in the next one.  The event has drawn participants from all over the Metroplex, including Dallas, Arlington, and Irving. “Junk in the Trunk” has proven to be a great, fun, community event that has exceeded all expectations.  It is easy to organize, fun to work, and drives lots of traffic to downtown in addition to achieving the goal of raising funds for the Merchants Association! What could be better?

“Welcome Week” Promotional Event in Nacogdoches

Sarah E. O’Brien Communications and Main Street Director, City of Nacogdoches

We are always looking for ways to reach out to students at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU), and we found a perfect opportunity in Autumn 2013 to expand our efforts. SFA’s Office of Student Affairs started hosting “Welcome Week” events a few years ago on campus to welcome freshmen to SFA and Nacogdoches. 

We partnered with the Welcome Week coordinators and came up with a great plan to bring students downtown and expose them to our downtown merchants, a total win-win! The best part about working in conjunction with SFASU staff is they have access to BUSES — FREE BUSES! That’s right, they can actually bus students downtown, even though it is just about a mile walk, the buses ensure that the students get down here!

We were excited to launch our first “Taste of Downtown Nacogdoches: SFASU Edition” last fall. We recruited about 10 restaurants and asked them to provide 300 samples of their favorite menu item. We encouraged them to bring bounce-back coupons, swag, menus, etc. so they could showcase what their restaurant offers to 500 SFASU Freshmen. We then partnered with our downtown retailers, and allowed the restaurants to set up INSIDE the stores. The only expense that Main Street incurred was the cost of table and tablecloth rentals inside the merchants’ doors. We also encouraged our retailers to give away coupons and to place merchandise that appealed to college students up front.

We only have a few restaurants downtown, so we reached out to restaurants all over town, and had a waiting list for restaurants to participate. This year we will expand to approximately 15 locations and hope to get about 500 students downtown. SFASU provided volunteers to man each of the locations, and we set up tents in our city parking lot, where the buses dropped off the students and provided water and downtown shopping guides. We also printed maps in-house to be distributed highlighting the retailers and restaurants. 

The only downside to the event was the confusion with the community about Main Street hosting a Taste of Downtown. This event was not open to the general public or advertised or promoted through our normal avenues. We relied on SFASU to do all the promotion, as this event was designed strictly for SFASU students. We had to do some education with our merchants about the aspect, but they are already asking when the next Taste of Downtown Nacogdoches is.