Eileen Klein, (Governor Brewer's Chief of Staff), Kimber Lanning (Local First Arizona), Mayor Diane Joens (City of Cottonwood), Casey Rooney (City of Cottonwood), Dean Shirley (Dean Studios), Nina Simmons (Dean Studios), Lana Tolleson (Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce), Sherry Henry (Arizona Office of Tourism)
Partnership with Local First Arizona
Tourism Award for Creative Collaborative Marketing
Tourism Award for Creative Collaborative Marketing
Phoenix,
AZ (July 14th, 2012) - The merchants of Old Town Cottonwood have
joined forces to market themselves as a travel destination, steeped in wine tasting,
great food, and antiquing. Working
collaboratively, the business owners created a ‘package deal’ on Living Social
and proceeded to sell 750 tasting packages in less than four months. About 96% of the
participants who provided feedback in an on-line survey after their visit had
never been to Cottonwood , and all indicated
they would return.
Using the brand new WeekendZona
video clip, created by Local First Arizona and Dean Studios, the merchants
worked to create a fun travel guide aimed at 35-55 year olds who are interested
in wine and weekend getaways.
WeekendZona is a stay-cation oriented tool that Local First Arizona
hopes will drive more Arizonans to explore the state. “Collectively, Arizonans spend
$6.5 billion per year vacationing in California Arizona
Cottonwood Economic Development
director Casey Rooney supports Economic Gardening, or homegrown economic
development, and believes that celebrating his town’s existing assets is an
effective way to grow the local economy.
Through collaborations encouraged by Rooney’s department, the Mayor’s
office, and the city at large, Cottonwood has
effectively created a district worthy of interstate travel. “These three tasting
rooms represent some of the best wines being made in the country, and when you
couple that with great restaurants, quaint places to stay, and a fun shopping
corridor, you’ve got the ability to really compete for tourism dollars,” he
explained.
Local First Arizona has also worked
with merchants to create a Small Wonders map that highlights restaurants,
wine tasting rooms, and retail. A total of 50,000
maps have been distributed all over the state, showcasing the best of
the Verde Valley Arizona Sky Harbor Old Town Cottonwood offers.
In addition, Local First has taught
social media workshops to Old
Town Cottonwood has to offer. LFA has a fans
and followers list of over 22,000 people across the state, which has provided a
great platform to share information and excitement.
Lana Tolleson, President and CEO of
the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce, has been a critical supporter of the
overall project. “The Cottonwood Chamber is always looking for ways to partner
that will ultimately benefit our businesses and our town overall- this project
benefits everyone and we were proud to be a part of it,” said Tolleson.
Also key to this project were the
businesses, including Arizona Stronghold, Pillsbury Wine Co, Old Town Wine
Cellar, Crema Café, Orion Bread Company, Verde Valley Olive Oil Traders, and Bon
Lait.
About
Local First Arizona
Founded in 2003 by Director Kimber
Lanning, Local First Arizona (LFA) is the largest alliance of independent
businesses in the country, working to strengthen communities and local
economies through supporting, maintaining, and celebrating locally owned businesses
throughout the state of Arizona
Here's the link for
the package they had to attract people to town- they sold 750 of them in under
4 months!
www.cremacafe89a.com/tasteofoldtown.html
Kimber Lanning
Director, Local First Arizona
Casey Rooney
Director, City of Cottonwood
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