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Sanford is a small town with a rich history looking to grow beyond its former glory as the “Brick Capital of the U.S.” and reach new heights as a go-to-destination in the heart of North Carolina. Downtown Sanford, Inc. (DSI) was formed to help stimulate this growth and shepherd the development process. With the recent completion of the Depot Park and Phase 1 of the Streetscape Project among other developments, DSI was looking to take inventory of its current progress and prepare for the future of Downtown Sanford.  

MSA was selected by DSI to evaluate current marketing efforts and to provide meaningful (and feasible) marketing recommendations to boost their brand – which can be challenging for an organization with a small staff and modest budget, but a big brand story. Working with DSI stakeholders, we set out to:

• Design a comprehensive marketing strategy to best utilize DSI’s limited resources and grow marketing efforts.
• Identify, prioritize, and target key audiences by creating a strategic media guide to focus efforts and engagement.

MSA’s first step when entering a new environment or getting to know a new client is to listen and learn. This allows us to not only get to know the people we work with and market to, but also serves as the perfect launch point for a variety of market research methodologies used to guide our recommendations.

For DSI, MSA fielded an online survey against key constituents and conducted man-on-the-street interviews with Sanford residents and visitors to Downtown Sanford. We then gathered DSI board members and other Sanford stakeholders for a marketing discovery workshop. Insights were gained from a broad range of constituents, ranging from the Sanford mayor and downtown planner to local business owners and board members.

Finally, we conducted extensive desk research, evaluating DSI’s owned media and comparing it to owned media efforts of nearby towns and other peer and aspirational competitors.

A broad range of audiences and a plethora of messages created uncertainty about who to talk to first and what to say to them. We quickly determined that Downtown Sanford needed well-defined, consistent marketing, target audience priorities and consistent messaging to differentiate itself from the myriad of other small towns in the area. While it has a growing bounty of attractions, events and opportunities in its downtown area, the town lacked a consistent, strategic voice to tell its brand story.

MSA also discovered that many area locals had preconceived notions and outdated perceptions of downtown Sanford and its core values. These perceptions presented a hurdle that kept many residents from engaging with the steadily growing and thriving downtown. More importantly, these outdated perceptions were barriers to converting many long-time residents to active brand ambassadors for the community.

To aid DSI in priortizing and engaging target audiences, MSA conducted an audience analysis and developed an audience messaging matrix, detailing potential barriers, core desires, strategic messages and communication launch points aligned to each target.

MSA used industry research, category experience, and primary research insights to develop a strategic marketing plan. Included were tools ranging from defined marketing objectives and strategies to a detailed content calendar and social media best practices. These tools help DSI focus their efforts in key areas for the greatest impact; and are designed to evolve and grow alongside DSI over the coming months and years.

We also developed a comprehensive media guide defining demographic segments, delineating media consumption habits and identifying media channels that have the highest potential to help DSI reach its goals. The guide provided the client cost-effective options across both owned and earned media.

While the plan, correlating strategies and tactics outlined by MSA are only now starting to be implemented, Downtown Sanford continues to evolve as a “go-to” destination in central North Carolina.

• DSI was selected as a top 20 finalist in the nationwide Small Business Revolution Main Street competition.
• With downtown improvements already being made and a clear vision laid out for the future, the local town government recently established a Tourism Development Authority (TDA).

With DSI working to implement our recommendations throughout 2018 and beyond, the full weight and results of our partnership is still yet to be seen.