Welcome to our final Main Street March Monday! This series covered the structure of community revitalization and how Building a Better Boyertown interprets Main Street America’s “Four Point Approach” to improve and maintain Boyertown’s Historic District! This week we’re looking at our last point - Promotion.
The job of the Promotions Committee is to promote! They promote the downtown as the center of commerce, culture, and community life for residents and visitors. We do this by identifying key features: culture, flair, the built environment, the people, history, unique products, and services -that create our image. We then find creative ways to present this image to visitors and potential investors, as well as use it to foster community with residents and employees. This can be done by Marketing our Main Street, Special Events, and Retail Promotions.
Marketing our ‘Main Street’
As you may have learned throughout this series, ‘Main Street’ is less of a specific place and more of a concept. It’s pretty synonymous with ‘Downtown’ in that it represents our historic attributes, our commercial corridor, and all the people that live, work, shop, and invest here. By creating a cohesive brand to use when inviting others to our town (whether it be in a print advertisement, on our website, or through social media for example) visitors are ‘sold’ on what kind of experience they’ll have in our town. With our industrious history, wonderful architecture and museums, and unique shopping and dining experiences, Boyertown presents a charming Hometown American experience perfect for families of all ages.
Special Events
Special Events can accomplish a few different goals. Perhaps the most obvious would be ‘traffic -building’. Events like festivals and street fairs bring in new visitors that generate future sales for downtown businesses. These events also bring a positive experience for residents where they can come together with their neighbors to celebrate lasting memories and annual traditions. Niche market events are another example, where something like a car show or movie screening could create ‘spin-off sales’ for related businesses.
Retail Promotions
Retail Promotions are targeted events that are planned with merchants in mind. These could be cooperative – where stores in the same category can be promoted together, or cross-retail – where complementary goods are promoted together or tied together with coordinating displays. Alternatively, niche promotions focus on the consumer, such as a cross-sector “Dad’s and Grads” promotion or Appreciation Days for Seniors.
Events are the fun part! However, they’re only a portion of Promotions, and Promotion is only a portion of being a Main Street Program! If Coming Out of Hibernation, Oktoberfest, and Chillin on Main are what has come to mind when you’ve heard ‘Building a Better Boyertown’ in the past, we trust you now have a more rounded idea of what exactly a Main Street Program is and how they operate in a community! Of course, if you have any questions, would like to learn more, or would like to become a part of the revitalization movement please contact us! Main Street is not temporary – it’s a life-long commitment to a vibrant and welcoming downtown!
Thank you for joining us in this educational series!