[OMS_MANAGERS] Holiday Shopping Promotion

[W Darin Rutledge, Executive Director]

Some thoughts from KFDA: 

 

Small Business Saturday has always been our “kickoff” for the holiday shopping season, and we generally just let the rest work itself out. I don’t have any time-tested strategies to share with you – this year is obviously off-the-charts different in terms of business tactics and visitor/consumer behaviors. That said, we’re adjusting our approach a bit this year … below are some thoughts that are guiding us. 

 
Start earlier. Our Scarecrow Row event (10/24) will be an unofficial kick off for the holiday shopping season. 
Reinvent (or at least retool) our existing events. For example, Scarecrow Row will emphasize the engagement of our downtown businesses and getting downtown visitors into those businesses. The scarecrow decorating contest will be the focal point this year. In the past, the major draw ahs been the trick-or-treating and the costume parade. We don’t want it to lose its character as a fun event for kids to celebrate Halloween, but we also can’t responsibly host trick-or-treating and a costume parade for 2,000 visitors in a 3-hour window. Beyond that, Small Business Saturday and the Snowflake Festival will also shift a bit – at least from our perspective – to make our business community the focal point rather than simply letting the theme of the event lead people to holiday shopping. This is a win-win, we think. It allows us to press forward with events that people look forward to every year, reestablish some normalcy for the public who is just dying to experience something normal, and we get to stretch out the footprint of our events and show the downtown business community that we’re doing everything we can to support them even if we can’t do large, concentrated events. 
Spreading out the crowds. By starting earlier and inventing some new (smaller, easy to manage) events between now and the end of the year, we’re hoping we can get the same number (or more) people in our businesses in a sustained campaign vs. a couple “big hit” events. In the long run, I think our businesses will benefit. I’ve heard many of them say in the past that we need to do some other events between SBS and Christmas … it seems people get crazy for a weekend, then it slows right back down until Christmas Eve. 
 

Looking forward to hearing how everyone else is approaching this challenge!

D

 

From: OMS_MANAGERS <oms_managers-bounces at omls.oregon.gov> on behalf of Liz Hannum <liz at downtownoregoncity.org>
Reply-To: Oregon Main Street program managers <oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov>
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 3:26 PM
To: Oregon Main Street program managers <oms_managers at omls.oregon.gov>
Subject: [OMS_MANAGERS] Holiday Shopping Promotion

 

Hey OMS Managers,

 

I'm looking to do a major promotions push for our retail businesses as we come into the Holiday shopping season. Does anyone have anything that has worked really well for them and keeps people safe? 

 

 

-- 

Liz Hannum

Executive Director

 

Downtown Oregon City Association

814 Main Street

Oregon City, OR 97045

 

liz at downtownoregoncity.org

Office (503) 802-1640

Direct (503) 802-1638

 

fb.com/downtownoc

downtownoregoncity.org

 

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