EMC Creative to provide marketing strategy for Pleasanton’s Downtown Merchants
Run Date: March 12, 2010
Pleasanton Weekly
Two outside consulting agencies have been hired to help the city and the Pleasanton Downtown Association come up with marketing and nightlife entertainment strategies that can attract more people to Pleasanton’s downtown.
The efforts coincide with a ray of economic light that more shoppers and diners are visiting downtown stores and restaurants after a post-Christmas lull that’s been absolutely dreadful. Some merchants such as Thriving Ink are seeing more activity, with owner Brenda Dronkers re-opening the garden patio behind her Main Street store. Business is also good at Redcoats British Pub and Barone’s Restaurant, both for regular diners and the two establishments’ entertainment and dancing venues.
It’s these successes that the PDA, with the help of the city-paid marketing program, hopes to replicate up and down Main Street.
For the city’s part, it has contracted with Danville communications agency EMC Creative for some initial marketing research. EMC will define the marketing strategy that the PDA and downtown merchant group leaders Mike and Melanie Sadek of Murphy’s Paw have put into place, which has included discount coupons and later evening hours, even on Saturdays.
Because it’s a city-financed effort, EMC won’t limit its strategic thinking to just the downtown, but will also include retail centers in other parts of Pleasanton. Stoneridge Shopping Center, which has its own marketing team, will continue on its own.
EMC’s a good choice for the marketing job. Since its founding in 1980, it specializes in master-planned and urban/suburban communities in Northern California. Its professionals are now interviewing realtors, commercial brokers, and other stakeholders, including building owners who need tenants.
When sales tax figures are announced for the fourth quarter of 2009 in a week or two, EMC also will analyze that data to see what sells the best downtown and, based on its survey work in other retail centers, what downtown Pleasanton could do to attract more shoppers. Questions asked at the crowded First Wednesday street parties in the summertime show many who participate in these events come for the fun but seldom or never to shop.
