Promotion

Promotion sells a positive image of the commercial district and encourages consumers and investors to live, work, shop, play and invest in the neighborhood business district.

By marketing a district's unique characteristics to residents, investors, business owners, and visitors, an effective promotional strategy forges a positive image through advertising, retail promotional activity, special events, and marketing campaigns carried out by local volunteers.

These activities improve consumer and investor confidence in the district and encourage commercial activity and investment in the area.

Girls Day Out!

Girls Day Out logo

Merchants and restaurants in the Hillyard, East Sprague and North Monroe Business Centers are catering to and pampering female customers for a shopping event! These Business Associations are proud to sponsor Spokane’s fourth annual “Girls Day Out” on Saturday November 8, 10am-6pm.

“Girls Day Out” is a neighborhood shopping event that takes place in three unique Spokane neighborhood business centers. Women of all ages are invited to sample the unique local flavor of each district. These business centers offer a little bit of everything – the usual and the unusual, the funky and fun – as well as tremendous antiques and antiquity expertise, new and used furniture, clothing, gift, jewelry, unique book stores, along with some of the best coffee houses, bakeries, and local restaurants in the city. The neighborhood business center merchants offer great products and services and for this event they will offer a great experience too! Plan to bring women of all ages to this year’s “Girls Day Out!”

GET YOUR MAPS!

Click on the links below to view maps and a list of businesses in each district! Remember each business will be offering great specials and treating you!

East Sprague Map & business list

Hillyard & N. Monroe Map & business list

Branding the District Identity

This is a Main Street article on Branding the District Identity.

NBC had developed a short guide on business district branding. Click here to download a PDF file of the guidebook.

Promotional Assistance Free Publicity!

Free Publicity Opportunities. You can post your special event to the calendar at www.visitspokane.com – simply log on and click on the calendar button – that will take you to a screen where you can click “submit an event” and once it’s run past our web editor it will be posted! We get millions of hits a year on our site – it’s a great way to tap into visitors coming to Spokane. And it’s free!

Washington State Tourism will include your heritage destination, festival, package or tour in its Press Room and Tour Operator Site--where tour professional go to put together itineraries and gather information about Washington destinations. A new "What's Happening" section on the webpage will direct user's attention to upcoming events statewide. To add your event, post to www.wastatepressroom.com, or send your information via email to carriew@cted.wa.gov.

Is your city ready for the 'matriarch economy'?

10 million firms (48% of all privately-held firms) have 50% or more women-ownership. Women are starting firms at twice the rate as men, their businesses outperform the economy in employment increases and sales growth. Women aren't just starting retail businesses, but in high tech also, as an increasing number of them are obtaining MBA, engineering and science degrees. Then, there's the growing female influence in the housing industry. Dr. Heike Mayer, a professor and researcher at Virginia Tech whose work focuses on entrepreneurs, particularly women and high tech, calls it the matriarch economy.

The question is, what can cities do to accommodate this growth sector? According to Mayer, women like places where they are accepted and embraced, in an environment that's conducive to different thinkers, to entrepreneurial thinkers - people who want to make a difference, change the world. That will in turn foster entrepreneurship and job growth. Also, women seek larger, more diverse networks than men, and Mayer says women businesses need assistance with connecting to the high-growth, often male-dominated, economic sectors in high-tech consulting, software, and biotech, with less of an interest in manufacturing (which is actually a declining industry.)

It shouldn't be much of a surprise that Portland, OR, one of the most progressive, downtown/pedestrian-oriented cities, is the No. 1 metro area in the country for the highest percentage of women-owned companies.

Center for Women's Business Research

Why should your industry market to women?

  • Women control 88 percent of all purchases.
  • Women handle 75 percent of family finances.
  • 43 percent of those with assets over $500,000 are women.
  • One out of every 11 women in America owns a business.
  • Women influence two out of every three of the 3 trillion dollars spent in the U.S. each year!

Mayor Mary Verner's Upcoming Your City Visits and Filming