LAKEPORT — A new “Shop, Stop and Play” initiative by the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce is set to launch this year. The goal of the $11,000 ad campaign is to encourage residents to change their mind set from “heading over the hill” when the shopping bug itches to choosing Lake County”s shops first.
“Instead, we want locals to shop here, and stay here for vacations. I know you can”t get everything here, but before you go over the hill or to Ukiah, shop Lake County first. I”m always shocked at what you can find here, especially in our historic downtown areas,” Kenny Parlet, the new chamber president said.
To spearhead the campaign, the chamber is asking retail businesses to provide a 10 percent minimum discount to Lake County residents, and for hotels to provide 20 percent discounts for residents to vacation in the area. The 10 percent discount will begin this season, while the hotel and resort discount will begin at the end of the summer tourist season.
“The fact is we live in a resort area, but we don”t always think of it that way. We work here and live here, but for vacation we go out of the county?Why go to Mendocino when you can go to Cobb? We have so many recreation opportunities?we”ve got incredible bird life, the best fishing, beautiful Jacuzzi suites at Konocti?and we”ll be able to give locals the best possible price,” Parlet said.
Parlet is a seven-year chamber board member, who first hatched the idea of a shop local/stay local campaign in 2004. “Back then we didn”t have the committee structure that we do now, so it”s great to realize this dream. The Marketing committee is able to focus on this, and we are going to launch a very strong media campaign with $11,000 to spend in the first year,” Parlet said.
The campaign will be available for all businesses, not just those with chamber memberships, Parlet said. Initially, the launch of the chamber”s online advertising will come at no cost to businesses, but the chamber hopes to seek intermediate and corporate sponsors to help underwrite advertising. In addition, the chamber will take out radio ads and write newspaper columns about county business.
Not all businesses have heard about the campaign yet, but some are already on the bandwagon, including the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake, where the chamber held its 2008 planning retreat this past weekend. It was the first time the chamber held its retreat in the county, a nod to a central question the campaign begs, “why leave the county when there is so much to offer here?” Parlet asked.
Bernie Butcher, owner of the Tallman Hotel, said he thought the chamber”s ideas are great. “We should keep the money in the county, and the Tallman Hotel is certainly doing what we can to support that. We”ve been very happy at the number of Lake County residents who”ve stayed at the hotel, and we give a 15 percent discount to anyone with a Lake County zip code mailing address,” Butcher said.
“At the end of this week we are having a Bicoastal Media radio ad in which I”m referring to the shop local/stay local and mentioning the 15 percent. We really appreciate the fact that the chamber kept their annual retreat in the county, and did it with us last Friday and Saturday. And apparently, everything went well, it was quite a productive meeting,” Butcher said.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com.
