Tag: Public Relations

Before, during, and after-event tips for downtown merchants

August 16, 2010

As a Main Street organization,  gaining the confidence and support of your local merchants isn’t easy, especially when it comes to downtown events.  Closing the street can impede the access of loyal customers  to their favorite shops. Hoards of event guests asking to use the shop’s bathroom can frustrate owners.  It can add up to strained relations with the … More Before, during, and after-event tips for downtown merchants

Video: Culpeper’s thriving foodshed

December 21, 2009

Downtown Culpeper’s focus on farm fresh food through the farmer’s market, destination restaurants, and special food themed events has contributed to the revitalization of the historic community.  Watch “Meet the Farmer” host Michael Clark talk with community leaders involved in the new vitality of Culpeper.  The segment features Culpeper Renaissance, Inc. in a success story that builds on the … More Video: Culpeper’s thriving foodshed

Entrepreneurial stories

August 28, 2009

We have been promoting the idea that recessions and layoffs, while very difficult to navigate, provide the impetus for an entrepreneurial boom.  Now, the Kauffman Foundation has issued its report supporting our claims. In economic gardening terms, this is the equivilant of burning last years crops to make way for the new “green shoots.”   … More Entrepreneurial stories

Tell us what you think.

July 21, 2009

When a financial crisis arrives, it is too late to try to make the case for all the services your downtown organization provides to the community.   You need to be spending that time engaging your support base and selling the future.  To do that, there has to be a broad based system of support throughout the … More Tell us what you think.

Getting Main Street communities in the news

June 4, 2009

As champions of Virginia’s traditional commercial districts, Main Street leaders can be effective marketers for their communities.  Working to earn coverage in local, regional, and national media outlets can help drive visitors and residents downtown. You might have a weekend travel package that a newspaper from a more urban area would be interested in covering. For instance, The Washington … More Getting Main Street communities in the news