Holiday Marketing Campaign

The 3 organizations within the Downtown Bozeman Partnership have teamed up to bring you a simple marketing campaign to encourage everyone to enjoy everything Downtown Bozeman has to offer during the holiday season!  The ad shown here is a consistent message shown in an array of media avenues including; TV commercials, print ads, radio ads, website banners, table tents, social networking sites and more.  From over 100 retail shops with that perfect unique gift to all the holiday performances and activities to just enjoying lunch with a friend, downtown Bozeman is truly the place to be this Holiday Season and year-round. 

Shop-local campaigns have also been popping up not only in Bozeman but around the country to encourage any and all communities to realize the importance of supporting locally owned and operated businesses.  Local businesses are owned by your neighbors, employ your friends and family and re-invest in YOUR community! 

Here are some other local, regional and national "buy-local" campaign resources:

Gallatin Valley Independent Business Alliance - http://gviba.org/

American Independent Business Alliance - http://www.amiba.net/

The 3/50 Project - http://www.the350project.net/

"Main Street For the Holidays" Media Kit (brought to us by the National Trust for Historic Preservation) - http://www.preservationnation.org/main-street/special-content/ 

The Upside of the Downturn

Despite the constant barrage of negative news about the current economic recession, the upside of the downturn is traditional commercial districts like Bozeman's historic downtown weather the storm better than most.  Strong downtowns by their very nature (a centrally located walkable district with a wide variety of independent businesses) have historically avoided the brunt of recent recessions and shown the ability to not only recover more quickly but also grow stronger during the subsequent upturn.  Many of downtown's dedicated, entrepreneurial business owners are not resting on their laurels and are taking progressive steps to combat the downturn and prepare for better days.

Many downtown businesses are fighting the recession by utilizing creative marketing tools such as social networking, special events, and targeted customer outreach.  Many retail and restaurant owners are taking advantage of the promotional power of the internet such as customer e-mails, e-newsletters, and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.  read more

**this article was originally written for and published in the 2009 Progress Edition of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle's Business-to-Business publication**