A Buy Local campaign that rocks

by Cinda Baxter on March 6, 2009

in Local, Marketing

sholoNow this is what I’m talkin’ about, folks.

Remember my earlier post listing ten ways to set yourselves apart from home based resellers? Take another look at number three on the list. The one about banding together with fellow retailers, combining your resources to gain better visibility. Yeah. That one.

Well, lemme tell ya, there’s someone out there doing it, and doing it well.

A group of sixty-—yes, sixty-—independently owned businesses in South Bend, Indiana have created visibility and buzz behind the moniker ShoLo (short for Shop Local). They have a terrific website, window decals for each participating business, and digital ShoLo logos for use on each member’s website. The branding behind this thing rocks.

The ShoLo Campaign moves beyond just specialty retailers; it embraces restaurants, hair salons, art galleries, clothing stores and professional services too. The site’s home page clearly states the goals of the campaign, and includes easy navigation to a list of participating businesses (where you’ll find links to their websites), an application for membership, and a plethora of media sponsors who promote the campaign.

The financial buy in? A whopping $20.00. That’s it. That’s all. Twenty bucks to get this kind of visibility and recognition while simultaneously promoting their businesses.

This is exactly the kind of project I’d like to see popping up all over the country. The keys to ShoLo’s success are (a) great branding, (b) great media support, and (c) no false promises of top Google pages, rivers of income, or other pie in the sky glories. It’s reality and retail at its best.

Kick this idea around, then do something. Pick up the phone. Call a few folks. Figure out a way to create your own campaign. With some ingenuity, little expense, and a group of business owners determined to make a difference, you too could be at the center of your own buy local success story.

In the meantime, visit ShoLo.org and take a peek.

Editor’s Note: Stay tuned. I’ll be interviewing the co-founders of ShoLo next week about how they got off the ground and what advice they have for fellow retailers wanting to start their own Shop Local project.

Eric March 6, 2009 at 12:55 pm

Re “This is exactly the kind of project I’d like to see popping up all over the country.”

They are.

The American Independent Business Alliance is the national network of at least 60 such local alliances.

Edit: To see a map of AMIBA chapters, visit amiba.net.

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