Six sure ways to kill your ‘buy local’ promotion
March 1, 2023
For over twenty years, American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) has worked to develop strong local economies by nurturing entrepreneurs and increasing local spending. The nonprofit may be best known for its series of shop local campaigns including Shop Black Owned Indie Local (February), Move Your Money/Bank Local (April), Independents Month (July), Eat Indie Local (August-September),…To read more — login/subscribe
When Antioch, IL (est. pop. 14,705), wanted to breathe new life into its downtown, the small city hired All Together, a Chicago-based marketing firm. All Together worked with Antioch to highlight the town’s unique history. In one initiative, All Together added “ghost signs” to half a dozen longtime businesses. In another initiative, the marketing company…
Downtowns have long struggled with crime and homelessness, but those problems have intensified in recent years. Homeless populations have soared, drug overdoses have spiked, and organized shoplifting has mushroomed. Now, downtown leaders are coalescing around the idea that lenient laws, indifferent enforcement, and drug decriminalization bear much of the blame for a crime wave in…
In the 1990s, downtown Macon, GA (est. pop. 156,197), was beset by vacancy and decay. Today, the city is in the midst of a dramatic turnaround that garnered it one of three 2024 Great American Main Street Awards. The honors went to NewTown Macon, the city’s downtown organization. Its results have been impressive — downtown…
From a pop-up drive-in movie theater to a downtown-backed delivery service, communities across the United States are coming up with creative ways to come back from the coronavirus crisis. In May, Main Street America announced that eight downtowns had won grants of $10,000 each for innovative proposals. The grants — to six small towns, one…
Downtown leaders in Grand Forks, ND (est. pop. 56,556), had a question: Could serving a free hot meal to hundreds of people, and encouraging them to talk to their neighbors, improve community pride and engagement? That is the premise behind Grand Forks’ Longest Table events. The experiment kicked off in 2018, when organizers assembled a…
In Wheeling, WV (est. pop. 27,066), a creative twist on a business plan contest has paid dividends in the form of downtown occupancy. Wheeling Heritage uses a community crowd-funding event to vet business ideas for downtown storefronts. The winning entrants get money to put toward their business concepts. The event, known as Show of Hands,…
The coronavirus recession devastated downtown retailers. But some intrepid merchants survived — and their success stories offer hints at how small businesses can bounce back and thrive in the future. Retail expert Jon Schallert says creative merchants figured out a number of ways to stand out from the crowd. He offered these suggestions — which…
During the highway-building spree that began in the 1950s, many downtowns were disrupted in ways that were convenient for car commuters but damaging to public life and the urban fabric. Now comes a federal investment in undoing the infrastructure projects from the 20th century. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot provides $1 billion…