In 2023, The Van Aken District decided to put a major emphasis on their Small Business Saturday efforts. Since The District is all local, small businesses, they wanted to really go all out for their campaign. We were handed over the creative reigns and came up with our Celebrate Small! Campaign
We started by creating a new branded look, that played into the Small Business Saturday national brand and Van Aken Districts branding as well. We created something that was fun, playful and felt like the holiday shopping season. We wanted to appeal to the whole family and came up with messaging and assets that followed this concept.
We created a streamlined brand through the website, social media, and the physical environment installing window displays and banners throughout The District.
Our efforts were featured on many local news outlets and put our “passport” on full display. The cornerstone of the campaign was a shopping passport where the shopper would collect stamps to win prizes. Participating stores stamped the passport and anyone that collected at least 3 stamps received a branded t-shirt and/ or a tote-bag.
We collaborated with local icons, Cleveland Clothing Company to develop the prizes and through the first 4 hours of shopping all of our t-shirts and tote bags were gone! Additionally, we collaborated with our local SBDC to bring this to life.
“This could have been one of the most clever and engaging Small Business Saturday campaigns I have seen. The volume of shoppers and the interaction was impressive”
The result was a 27% increase in foot-traffic from normal shopping hours. We got rid of over 250 passports and all the prizes were claimed!
