amy :: lynn

Yesterday, the boss and I went on a tour of Uptown, a name referring to an area of residential and commercial property. The area covers East Fulton St, East Hills, East Town, and Wealthy Street. The tour, organized by Bazzani Associates was a great example of how a special event can do wonders for your PR objectives.

The area is looking to increase foot traffic and sales in the area. I imagine they are also looking to increase the reputation of certain areas - such as Wealthy St. which has been known to be a shady area.

The tour started with a lunch at a local restaurant. Then we boarded a bus to go to the first district. As we trudged through the snow, I started to wonder if I really wanted to continue on the tour. My dress pants were getting wet and there was snow sneaking into my shoes. But by the time I saw the second store owner’s face light up excitement when 30 people walked into his antique store, I know that the tour was going to be good.

By the end of the day, I had a ton of flyers, coupons, samples, and stories to tell. The tour is definitely going to generate a bit of buzz for the area. I came home and dumped the entirety of four gifts bags all over my boyfriend’s floor and it took us over an hour to rummage through my treasures.

What I learned from the whole day: a special event where your publics can get one-on-one interaction with you, hear your stories, see your product (in this case, a store), and take home goodies to make them want to come back is a worthwhile event.

The sense of community and respect that all the businesses had for one another was a truly great thing to experience as well. Uptown is definitely going to be the new hot spot in GR. Kudos to Rachel Lee of Bazzani for coordinating such an eloborate event.