Campaign Blueprint

Main Street Searcy

Fall Festival 2011 Jessica Head

Executive Summary
Main Street Searcy is a non-profit organization that encourages urban development, historic preservation, community education, and revitalization of the downtown commercial area. Urban sprawl and new commercial developments have detracted from the goal of maintaining a profitable downtown district. Main Street Searcy has enabled a community to support local markets and develop economic restructuring to the existing economic base promoting the downtown district. This book shares experiences that reflect the implementation of Main Street Searcys Annual Get Down Downtown Music, Art and Food Festival sponsored by local business. As a Main Street intern during August-December, 2011, I was able to work in a relatively small business environment with Amy Burton, the Main Street Searcy director, developing and implementing the annual Get Down Downtown Festival. I chose this organization to intern with because it allowed me to have exposure to a variety of different public relation tactics and have a bigger hand in the planning process of their current campaign.

Table of Contents
Cover Page Executive Summary Table of Contents Mission Situational Analysis Campaign Key messages & Objectives Event Execution Media Support Evaluation

Mission
Provide a family-friendly event for the Searcy community while promoting the downtown commercial and retail businesses located in the Main Street district.

Situational Analysis
In order to revitalize the downtown district of Searcy, Main Street wanted to capitalize by leveraging local assets. The cultural and architectural heritage of the downtown district offers opportunity for local enterprise and community pride. Amy Burton, director of Main Street Searcy, developed the Get Down Downtown Festival in 2009 to rally local business and campaign for aesthetic and entrepreneurial improvement of the downtown district. It was instrumental that the event highlighted the importance of organization, promotion, design and economic restructuring as this is the Main Street Four-Point Approach (designed by National Trust for Historic Preservation). When designing this campaign, we knew that there needed to be clear cooperation with the building/commercial partnerships within the Main Street Searcy district in order to have an effective, ongoing management and advocacy for the downtown businesses. We also wanted to exemplify a positive and productive environment that could rekindle community pride and improve consumer and investor confidence within the area. This would include the physical profile of the downtown district which is why it was important to us to design an event that could raise funds for renovation and rehabilitation. Once we could gain support from the local community, Main Street would have the ability to retain and expand successful businesses by providing a balanced commercial mix with edgy and competitive urban planning techniques. Get Down Downtown would bring the perfect balance of an entertaining environment with positive business exposure to promote new business and future community design proposals.

Campaign Key Messages and Objectives

- Encourage economic development, historic preservation, beautification, and revitalization of the downtown commercial area. - Provide family-friendly activities for the community while promoting the downtown retail businesses located in the Main Street districts. - Encourage support of Main Street Searcys efforts to continue downtown activities; tax deductible donations can be made.

Event Execution
Book talent and stage crews for Friday and Saturday festival: Provide all day live performance on 3 stages throughout the Main Street District and introduce the two headliners, Cody Slaughter (Elvis impersonator and performer), Friday at 9:00pm and Doug Stone (country singer), Saturday at 9:00pm. Work with public officers to design street blocking techniques for the day of the event. Inform all businesses to move personal and commercial vehicle from the Searcy Square district by sending emails to businesses and delivering flyers to all downtown businesses. Reserve meal and hotel requests for all performers and stage crew. Process all vendor applications, receivable by post mail, email, and telephone by September 1st. Collect all reservation deposits from vendors to assure them a spot at the festival. (Will be returned to them Saturday evening, once headliner is on stage.) Assign all vendor spaces in the district square by authorized spray paint by the city planner and coordinate electricity and water provisions as needed. Develop surveys for community feedback while participating in the festival. Organize volunteer check-in and t-shirts for sale during the festival. Reserve room with an available venue space for volunteer check-in,t-shirts and beverages to fundraise for Main Street Searcy. Rent tent for Main Street Searcy vendor space. This will house all of the beverages for sale as well as possible contributions to Main Street Searcy.

Media Support
Coordinate and solicit the following organizations and foundations to promote Get Down Downtown through various media and publicity outlets throughout the community.

Todays THV Arkansas Calendar of Event Arkansas Online (White County Trucks and Routes) Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Inc. Arkansas Times The Daily Citizen Chilis Restaurant Searcy, AR Event Guide KLOVE ABM Advertising Greers Ferry Lake Searcy Parks and Recreation Chesapeake Quick News Harding University The Bison Newspaper Campus Activities Board Harding News Station Think Advertising City Town Magazine CWArkansas.com White County Historical Society Searcy Arts Council Searcy Sun/ White County Record AY

Evaluation
25,000 visitors participated in a variety of activities at the Get Down Downtown festival during the two-day live entertainment period. This enabled the Main Street Searcy district businesses to gain greater exposure from the community and stimulated even healthier business empowerment and longevity. Survey data indicated that attendees came from as far as 11 different states. Of the survey participants living in Arkansas, it was reported they came from 33 cities within the state. An average of $34 per person was spent on food and dining expenses over the festival weekend. An average of $43 per person was spent on non-food items such as fuel and merchandise at local businesses over the festival weekend. A 15% revenue was generated in hotel occupancy level spending an average cost of $124 per person. This internship provided me with an excellent opportunity to gain hands on experience. Because of the grass-roots nature of the organization and its relationship in the community; I was able to meet with a variety of political and business leaders of the White County area to help implement a more prosperous and profitable downtown square. I would encourage any city in America to join National Trust for Historic Preservations Main Street strategy to partner with local businesses in revitalizing their downtown commerce districts.