Shop Small for the Holidays

Download
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-1.46.50-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-1.01.01-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-1.51.06-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-1.57.25-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-1.51.37-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-2.00.13-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-1.58.45-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-2.03.42-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-2.03.54-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-12.55.02-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-12.56.37-PM
Screen-Shot-2020-01-01-at-12.57.47-PM

Holiday Gift Guide

This campaign took a multi-pronged approach, bridging online and in-person activations to foster interest in shopping Downtown Harrisonburg for the holiday season. The tentpole piece was the holiday gift guide, an eight-page booklet distributed in the Daily News Record newspaper, online, and during the Cookie Tour event.

Role

  • Identified downtown business participants
  • Coordinated photography sessions with businesses and volunteer photographer
  • Gathered entry descriptions from businesses
  • Edited content
  • Laid out print-ready file based on existing template
  • Coordinated with newspaper to print and distribute
  • Published digital version on HDR’s website
  • Strategized and executed digital marketing campaign, including email, press release, and organic and paid social media

Results

  • Circulation of 22,000 in the Daily News Record
  • Circulation of 200 at the Cookie Tour event
  • 2,587 landing page views

Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday is a nationally-recognized shopping holiday, held on the Saturday after Black Friday. I leveraged both the Holiday Gift Guide campaign and unique content to raise awareness of the day and encourage shoppers to come downtown.

Role

  • Ran Small Business Saturday variations on Holiday Gift Guide ads that ran on or before 11/30
  • Created a Downtown Harrisonburg Small Business Saturday Facebook event and promoted it organically and via paid boost
  • Reached out to businesses to gather information on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday promotions
  • Published comprehensive BF/SBS shopping guide blog post and promoted via email and social
  • Wrote and distributed press release to over 100 local news and media outlets

Results

  • 982 Facebook event RSVPs
  • 925 blog post views

Thankful Thursday

A review-soliciting campaign had been on my to-do list for much for 2019, after hearing many small business owners report that they struggled with finding ways to earn more online reviews. I decided to capitalize on the giving-back spirit of the end of the year with a campaign called Thankful Thursday.

Role

  • Created recurring Thankful Thursday Facebook event, reminding visitors to spend a moment each week giving back to their favorite Downtown businesses
  • In response to feedback, created a blog post with step-by-step instructions for leaving reviews on popular sites

Results

  • 124 Facebook event RSVPs
  • No confirmed review increase numbers, but much positive feedback from business owners

Winter Wonderfest

The annual Winter Wonderfest event, including the locally-beloved Cookie Tour, is owned by the Friendly City Merchants. Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance has always supported the event via marketing and promotion efforts.

Role

  • Created Winter Wonderfest landing page on the HDR website
  • Created Winter Wonderfest Facebook Event
  • Promoted both via email and paid and organic social media
  • Supported quick action on proposal to extend downtown shopping hours after Winter Wonderfest via a “Last Call” Facebook event

Results

  • 3,300 Winter Wonderfest RSVPs
  • 107 Last Call RSVPs
Back to CAMPAIGNS