The board of directors for Fort Payne Main Street, conducted a series of meetings in 2019 to focus on the things we needed to accomplish in 2020. On Tuesday, February 11,2020, we had the first of three stakeholder meetings to create a marketing plan for existing merchants, restaurants and businesses. Here are the notes from that meeting held at The Strand, a popular/local restaurant in our Main Street district (#2). About 30 people attended and provided valuable insight into what they would like to have included in the plan. These are the notes from that meeting.
Meeting Notes – 3 BIG Things – @The Strand – 2.11.2020
Fort Payne Main Street Team, ED and Board, along with members of our community, met for a brainstorming session for the 3 BIG things. Below are free-flow notes from that meeting.
Use Digital Assets
- FPMS FB and Instagram
- What’s Happening in FP
- Look into WAZE
- Create signs/clings to go in windows asking people to follow downtown Fort Payne Main Street on social
- Social Media Sponsors
- Children ’s Place and other large companies offer employees and visitors a website with things to do, places to go and discounts
Piggyback events
- 3rd Saturday Cruise In
- First one is March 21
- Move (vendors) further down to businesses versus in front of the park
- Will be an auto themed art show at initial Cruise In March 21 – galleries should participate
- Farmers Market – have a booth and hand out coupons – Opens memorial weekend
- Take advantage of VFW fair – have a booth
- Brewfest needs an echo event to put heads in beds and to ring registers downtown
Tourism Economy
- Business comes from tourism
- Create a book for Historic Downtown
- 20 pages
- Place in hotel rooms and B & B’s
- Network with local hotels
- Marketing to cabins and B & B’s
- 777 hotel rooms Tourism Economy
- Little River Canyon
- Leave marketing material at State and National Park
- Get Camp schedules and market to them
- Marketing material or kiosk at the Airport
ALABAMA
- Christmas in Dixie – build it to be our signature event
- Plan Alabama-themed windows again for Fan Appreciation in June
- Look for opportunities with the Group Alabama
- Promote group Alabama
- Leverage name recognition
- Tribute Band during Fan Appreciation week
Downtown Historic Fort Payne
- Main Street’s philosophy is to work with the assets you have
- Treat Main Street as a singular industry with economic impact numbers, number of employees
- Lights on buildings add ambiance
- Create temporary signage to direct event attendees to all of Main Street and parking
- Waiting on architects to design wayfinding signs and provide the big picture plan so we can submit to State
- Explore having a St. Pats Day pub crawl
- Earth Month and recycling for FPMS
Next steps – Identify the things we can do right now
Talk about 4th Q in Tuesday, February 18 meeting at Blue Jug
Add Restaurant Week to next meeting – August 14 – 23
