SoCoNews Partners With Downtown Business Association to Develop Innovative and Successful “Shop Local” Campaigns

SoCoNews
Healdsburg, CA

SoCoNews (formerly Sonoma West Times & News) and the Sebastopol Downtown Association (SDA) have a history of collaborating on campaign developments supporting local businesses. In 2020, they developed a digital “Legacy” program spotlighting businesses serving the community for 20+, 30+ or 40+ years. The newspaper’s digital ads linked to business profiles on a splash page built by the publication for the SDA website. Decals were also designed for each anniversary category, so advertisers could display their status as a Legacy business. For businesses struggling through the pandemic, this valuable exposure, with costs covered by SDA, was a welcome surprise.

This year, SoCoNews account manager Laura Tew turned to MetroCreativeConnection.com, searching “shop local” keywords in the Creative Library for ideas to inspire another locally focused campaign. Tew shared Metro’s “Local Life” layout with SDA, excited that this new concept could incorporate more recently established local businesses as well. Tew’s pitch was a success, landing another recurring campaign sale for her publication. As the next step, SDA is asking member businesses to participate in personalizing the campaign for Downtown Sebastopol by submitting photos. Tew plans to customize the “Local Life” layout by rotating new photos weekly to spotlight individual Sebastopol businesses, with digital ads linking to business profiles on a splash page hosted on the SDA site.

Tew explains, “I think anytime we can show real people or business owners in the community, it puts a face to the ‘Local Life’ campaign and personalizes it.”

Laura Tew
Account Manager
SoCoNews
Healdsburg, CA
707.433.4451
laurat@soconews.org