Shop Local

August is a time to settle back into a structured routine and school for the kids.

o Article by school superintendent, journalism or creative writing class about one of the reasons to SLC.
o Work with the school to get a list school supplies so they can be given to the local businesses to purchase.
o Prepare local business to order school supplies.
o Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month is in August. Preparing the children for the upcoming school year is essential. Featuring the services that are offered in the community such as the Optometrist.
o Feature the businesses that are providing school supplies.
o August is a good time to reassess the SLC campaign. You may want to send out a survey at this time or you can also wait till the end of the year, but if you do a survey now, you have time to make adjustments to the rest of the campaign.

5 Reasons to shop locally:

1. Local stores are more likely to carry locally produced foods which supports local agriculture.
2. Local business owners contribute to more local fundraising and 501(c)3’s.
3. Local businesses provide a majority of jobs.
4. Better Experience—Local shopping can translate to more convenient retail experiences
5. The business community becomes reflective of this community’s unique culture.

Just a few marketing ideas for the month of July–I know I’m excited about Women’s Motorcycle Month and will be getting my bike out and traveling to my favorite rural communities for ice cream, hot dogs and a rest in the park!  See, it doesn’t take much to support your local communities and have fun doing it!

Blueberries Month, Natl
Cell Phone Courtesy Month
“Doghouse Repairs” Month, Natl
Grilling Month, Natl
Hot Dog Month, Natl
Ice Cream Month, Natl
Make a Difference to Children Month, Natl
Park and Recreation Month, Natl
Smart Irrigation Month
Women’s Motorcycle Month

June Monthly activities for Shopping Locally:

  • Marketing any of your local parks and recreation areas on your city website–this should be a quick link, possible under an “activities” tab
  • Make sure your website is updated and has all the local information anyone would want if they were looking to purchase a home, start a business, or visit your community.

Suggestions for Shop local celebrations:

  • Entrepreneurs “Do it yourself” Marketing Month–entrepreneurs are encouraged to Market themselves as the pros in their field and to market their business personally such as video ads, flyers, in-house promos etc.
  • Great Outdoors Month–for all types of outdoor businesses, hunting, fishing, grocery stores, clothing etc.  This is the time of year to really push your “outdoor” niche.
  • June Dairy Month–so many businesses are related to dairy–grocery, ice cream shops, gas stations etc.  Almost everyone uses dairy in some way.  Promos with sales 
  • Children’s Awareness Month–this is where the schools can get involved with shopping locally by having activities which focus on making children aware of how shopping locally will help them, their school, and their communities.

Monthly activities

  • You could have the local FFA or local pharmacy write an article about SLC what it means to them when people spend money where they live.
  • Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month, feature the local pharmacy, hospital, clinic.
  • May is also when farmers are getting ready to plant. Feature local machinery dealership, seed dealers, grain haulers etc.  Truck drivers are business owners and need to be recognized. 
  • Garden centers are also big this time of year and we want our locals to buy from our local plant expert—not a box store.

Monthly features: 

  • Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month, Natl
  • Arthritis Awareness Month
  • Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
  • Barbecue Month, Natl
  • Better Hearing and Speech Month
  • Bike Month, Natl
  • Civility Awareness Month, Global
  • Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month
  • Foster Care Month, Natl
  • Gardening for Wildlife Month
  • Get Caught Reading Month
  • Gifts from the Garden Month
  • Good Car-Keeping Month, Natl
  • Haitian Heritage Month
  • Hamburger Month, Natl
  • Heal the Children Month
  • Healthy Vision Month
  • Hepatitis Awareness Month, Natl
  • Home Schooling Awareness Month
  • Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month
  • Jewish American Heritage Month

Monthly activities:

  • Churches/clergy can be prompted to write this month’s article based on how SLC helps non-profits, holds communities together etc.
  • Feature grocery store for Easter Ham and other groceries
  • Feature clothing store for Easter outfits
  • Feature gas station for Easter traveling
  • April is “Customer Loyalty Month” get local businesses to buy into this feature by offering a punch card discount, find the missing “egg” in the store for a discount, etc.
  • April is also a good time to bring the community together with an Easter Egg Hunt for the children. Community organizations can take the lead on this as well.

Monthly features: 

  • Alcohol Awareness Month
  • Autism Awareness Month, Natl
  • Bereaved Spouses Awareness Month, Worldwide
  • Cancer Control Month
  • Car Care Month
  • Card and Letter Writing Month, Natl
  • Child Abuse Prevention Month, Natl
  • Confederate History Month
  • Couple Appreciation Month
  • Customer Loyalty Month, Intl
  • Decorating Month, Natl

Monthly activities:

  • Ask a Community Organization to sponsor an article for one of the “reasons to SLC”. This will pull the community together and give community members a feeling of ownership of the campaign.  Teamwork.
  • March madness sales
  • March is a time when business may be slow. This would be a good time to pull all businesses together for an open house, a special discount if they mention the “Shop Locally” campaign or bring in an SLC coupon.
  • Check the March celebrations list and use a listed celebration for a weekly feature: March is National Craft month, stop by “Betty’s Craft Shop” for 10% savings this week.
  • Depending on the year, Easter may also be in March

Monthly features:

  • Caffeine Awareness Month, Natl 
  • Clean Up Your IRS Act Month, Natl
  • Colic Awareness Month
  • Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month, Natl 
  • Craft Month, Natl
  • Credit Education Month
  • Employee Spirit Month
  • Expanding Girls’ Horizons in Science and Engineering Month

 

Shopping At Home

  • Frozen Food Month, Natl
  • Craft Month, Natl
  • Employee Spirit Month
  • Nutrition Month, Natl
  • Article about a featured reason to SLC
  • Feature flower shops
  • Feature jewelry stores
  • Feature Valentine’s Day specials and how Shop Locally will not only make your sweetheart happy but your community as well.

Celebrate/market:

  • Pet Dental Health Month, Natl
  • Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month
  • Renaissance of the Heart Month, Worldwide
  • Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month
  • Spay/Neuter Awareness Month

Monthly activities: 

  • Each month write a press release covering that month’s theme, featured business, or whatever topic your planning committee has decided on.
  • Team with local high school and grade schools to have articles on reasons to Shop Locally.
  • You can feature one reason per month and write the article about that reason.
  • Feature restaurants for New Year’s Eve dinner and parties
  • Feature any people/businesses that are offering rides home etc.
  • Feature New Year’s resolutions: play up Shop Locally and how it can make a difference in the upcoming year.

January features:

  • Be Kind to Food Servers Month
  • Be On-Purpose Month, Natl
  • Blood Donor Month, Natl
  • Book Blitz Month
  • Brain Teaser Month, Intl
  • The celebration of Life Month
  • Clean Up Your Computer Month, Natl
  • Creativity Month, Intl
  • Get a Life Balanced Month
  • Get Organized Month
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