Strategy > Special Programs
We’d branded Downtown Mooresville and things were working pretty well. Their event schedule (Art Walks, Live Music, etc.) was bonkers (so many) and they kept people streaming Downtown, but shop traffic was still lagging. People liked the events, but didn’t really feel like exploring. We had to figure out a way to pull them into the shops, if not to buy, to at least bookmark Downtown for the next time they needed something. We also needed a way to figure out how many people were using Downtown on the steady already. Are the people at these events from across town? Are they from nearer by?
If you’ve heard me say this in another post, sorry (not sorry). It’s how I tackle assignments and I don’t think I can say it enough - When you try and solve a marketing problem, consider all the other problems around it. Focus, but stay open minded. Solve the problem at hand and then step back and ask, “Can this solution also help solve any of these other problems over here?”. If it can’t, well, maybe that ain’t the solution. I find more often than not, it can. People called the Downtownie Program a loyalty program, but it was much more than that.
FINAL: You’re entry point to become an official, card-carrying member of Downtown Mooresville – a Downtownie!
The best way to describe it is by how you’d experience it as a consumer. Say you’re at the Festival of Food Trucks. You’re waiting for your artisan grilled cheese sandwich when a nice lady in a bright orange Downtown t-shirt gives you a Downtown Passport. She tells you that when you fill in all 20 sticker spots in the Passport and mail it in, you’ll become a card-carrying, lifetime member of Downtown Mooresville – a Downtownie! You’ll get unique, special discounts whenever you show your Downtownie Card in participating businesses Downtown. It’s all free. Next time you’re in a business Downtown, just ask for a sticker. The nice lady then gives you a sticker to start you off. It’s got a little flag on it, signifying an event.
FINAL: Inside your Downtown Passport.
You finish your grilled cheese sammy and notice you’re in front of a big frame shop/art gallery. You see the Downtownie sticker on the door and walk in. You’re looking around when someone asks if they can help you. You say you’re fine, but can you get a Downtownie sticker for your Passport? The sticker they give you has a little shopping bag on it.
Before you leave that event you have 5 stickers - a flag, three shopping bags, and the fork and knife sticker you got in that little craft beer place (Restaurant). It was fun and you’re halfway done. Next time you’re Downtown you notice that virtually all the shops have Downtownie stickers in their window. You stop for lunch and see that there are other people getting stickers and the waitresses are handing out Passports with each bill. Before you know it, all your sticker spots are filled so you write in your info and mail it off to the Downtown Commission.
A week later you get a letter from Downtown Mooresville. There’s a personal letter from the Executive Director of the Mooresville Downtown Commission and a hot tip - the steakhouse is treating Downtownie diners with a free bag of their house coffee this week. Oh, and they gave you a window sticker for your car so you can flout your love of Downtown and identify your fellow Downtownies all over town.
FINAL: Your Downtownie card finally arrives!
You start using your Downtownie card, and find it’s sort of like a treasure hunt. The breakfast spot is giving Downtownie’s 15% off their famous Eggs Benedict. The sushi place is giving Downtownies a free Edamame appetizer. Even the insurance place is offering something special, even if it’s just a lollipop. All the merchants are in charge of their own Downtownie specials so some keep their offers the same all the time and some switch it up every season, month or week. You know who’s doing what each month when you get the Downtownie email newsletters that spotlight events and specials going on. Every Downtownie card was numbered too, and you read in the email that the shoe store picks a random number every week to win a free pair of socks. You ask yourself why it took you so long to discover Downtown Mooresville.
FINAL: Window clings Downtown tell you who’s celebrating Downtownies, while car decals help visitors show their love of Downtown Mooresville.
Easy, right? Wrong. Any Downtown director will tell you (with a small tear welling up in their eye) – getting merchants on the same page is akin to herding bi-polar tigers on crystal meth. It took a LOT of presentations, to both groups and one-on-one, in order to get everyone on board. And then it took even more hands-on education to get them all (and their staff) to use the system in their shops. But once it was going, it got going fast. My favorite part was when a restaurant owner came to me, really upset, and said he saw some people cheating by asking for extra stickers. He was so mad. But I laughed and told him, look, if people are willing to cheat at this free game by getting free stickers to join your free secret club, stop worrying. It means it’s working!
So what were all the problems this program solved?
we found a way to get people to sample different shops when they were Downtown
when the sticker books came back, we knew how many people really enjoyed being Downtown, who they were, where they lived, and what their email address was
by the type of stickers in the completed Passports, we could see what they liked doing most Downtown - shopping, dining, events, services
we knew what their favorite thing was Downtown, and what they wished was Downtown
by keeping track when restocking merchants with stickers, we knew who was pushing the program the hardest and who wasn’t
merchants felt like a cohesive unit for once because they all had something they could rally behind that didn’t take much effort
for all you Downtown Directors out there, this is the best part. The Downtown Commission finally had visitor data they could use to get more funding from the town
You might say, jeez, why didn’t you just make an app? It’s a good point, but it wasn’t realistic for this client’s budget or the tech sophistication an app requires. And I guess that’s another good point to make. If a client cant afford a smart idea because it’s too fancy, complicated, or expensive, then give them the smart idea in a way they can use it. People forget, that’s a good chunk of what being a good creative is.
DAVE SOPP – Creative
Yep, that’s me. I’ve got over 20 years of marketing strategy, graphic design, advertising art direction, and illustration experience. Want to use some of it? Email me at dave@davesopp.com
