For the past couple of years, I’ve heard Groupon extol the virtues of their daily deals email system, repeatedly waving the “we’re all about locally owned brick and mortars” flag. Well folks, my blood’s boiling right now–that flag needs to be planted on someone else’s planet.
From Saturday’s Groupon email for the Minneapolis-St. Paul market (click the image to see full scale):
Strike one: Redeem online? What happened to Groupon’s claim they’re all about driving traffic through local doorways?
Strike two: The merchant is located in El Segundo, California–half way across the country from Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Strike three and call-your-agent-you’re-finished: The presumed storefront retailer actually isn’t. The street address given on her website points to a printing company, showing her as an “affiliate.” The phone number on her website is located in Redondo Beach, five miles from where the printer is—and not associated with any physical storefront I’ve been able to find after exhaustive online searching.
Translated? I’ll bet my bottom dollar this California e-tailer is a home-based business. Not exactly the local brick and mortar flag Groupon likes to wave.
Making matters worse, check out the side bar offer for the custom alphabet frame. Yup. You guessed it. That one’s located in Tennessee.
Groupon didn’t just drop the flag. They tore the thing to shreds, then buried it in the back yard.
As for where that back yard’s located, well…. The definition of “local” is apparently up for negotiation.
If you read my blog, hear me speak at an event, or know me even a little bit, you’re aware I’m a Seth Godin fan. The guy is just plain smart. An out-of-the-box marketing guru. The guy at the top of my “must see” short list.
And our paths are about to cross.
Seth is the keynote speaker at this year’s “Future Conference,” held on opening day of the National Stationery Show in New York. Last year’s event featuring Paco Underhill was such a success that the fine folks at George Little Management decided to keep feeding juice into the concept, this time opening the doors to all badged attendees, as well as moving the conference to Sunday so more of them could attend (last year’s Saturday event was problematic for those of us who booked air and hotels months in advance, to arrive later that day).
Also different? This time, you need to buy a ticket. Seth ain’t cheap, but he’s worth it. Tickets are $75 per person, available through the NSS website. Heads up, though—you must be a badged, registered show attendee to get ‘em.
When “buy local”/”shop local” messaging hit its stride two years ago, big boxes and national chains quickly realized their corner on marketplace visibility was being eclipsed. Cost-conscious consumers were not only thinking about the price of an item, but the impact of where they purchased it. Before long, we saw mega-retailers repackaging the “buy local” message to include themselves—they’d procure broccoli from a nearby grower, then advertise themselves as part of the “local” movement. Carry meat packaged by a company located in a nearby town, then tell consumers they were buying “local.”
Uh yeah…not so much.
Well, Chapter Two of The Repackaging of Buy Local has begun to roll out, and it’s even more troubling. [click here to continue…]
Once again, the creative juices have been flowing…which means The 3/50 Project just launched another campaign, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
It’s called “We Love You More,” reminding consumers that locally owned, independent brick and mortar businesses return (on average) 68% of their revenue to the community, as opposed to a paltry 43% from the big boxes and chains or (gasp!) nothing at all, from online purchases.*
To get the word out, there are two free downloadable PDF files on our website: [click here to continue…]
One of the bonuses to attending the A.I.R. (Advocates for Independent Retail) Summit is that we were among the first to see Civic Economics’ latest study, the Indie City Index. Based on their always-thorough methodology, CE was able to rank the top 363 metropolitan regions (not cities, since many MSAs are in extremely rural areas) according to how “independent brick and mortar healthy” they are. The more active and supported local independent businesses are in an area, the higher the score; the less active and supported, the lower the score. Here’s how the overall list shook out: [click here to continue…]
Just learned about this from a couple of retailers I met during The 3/50 Project Northern California Tour earlier this year. The fine folks of Willows, CA put on an annual holiday parade, which Holly and Dolores, owners of Gathering Better Junque, saw as an opportunity to remind residents to support their local, independent brick and mortar merchants.
Gotta tell you, when I put the graphics together for the Big Things campaign, it never occurred to me just how creative you’d get with the theme. From Atchison, KS Chamber adorning an entire stage in purple and gold packages to the Gathering Better Junque Danali (complete with a fully lit Christmas tree and our Big Things posters), well…color me impressed.
And proud.
And touched.
You folks are what makes the Project sing. Thanks for your glorious voices and unbridled enthusiasm; that’s what makes this work!
Another one of the interviews on Small Business Saturday…. Big thanks to Jimmie at Diamonds and Dials on Harold Square for allowing us to turn the store into a pop-up television studio. We had fun!
Please note: As of summer 2011, neither I or The 3/50 Project support SBS. For an explanation, please see this.
If you read my blog, hear me speak at an event, or know me even a little bit, you’re aware I’m a 
When “buy local”/”shop local” messaging hit its stride two years ago, big boxes and national chains quickly realized their corner on marketplace visibility was being eclipsed. Cost-conscious consumers were not only thinking about the price of an item, but the impact of where they purchased it. Before long, we saw mega-retailers repackaging the “buy local” message to include themselves—they’d procure broccoli from a nearby grower, then advertise themselves as part of the “local” movement. Carry meat packaged by a company located in a nearby town, then tell consumers they were buying “local.”
Once again, the creative juices have been flowing…which means 
One of the bonuses to attending the 
Just learned about this from a couple of retailers I met during 
