destination downtown / rewarding loyalty

Increased customer loyalty and visitor traffic for downtown shops and businesses.  That’s the result the Downtown Augusta Alliance or d(a)² envisions as it prepares to launch Destination Downtown, a loyalty program designed to reward local consumers for shopping downtown, while enticing visitors to experience all downtown has to offer.

“The key to any successful business is creating customer loyalty - so we’re taking that model and applying it to downtown as a whole,” said Lara Plocha, president of d(a)².

In late September, shoppers will be able to pick Destination Downtown cards at participating businesses and high traffic areas (key hotels, welcome centers, visitor centers, attractions, etc).  Temporary cards can also be downloaded online at www.dasquared.org.  All participating businesses and their reward offers will be listed online and continuously updated as new businesses join the program.

“We hope to significantly increase the number of downtown businesses involved by the end of the year.  It’s a small cost to pay for potentially maximum exposure - and increased customer loyalty,” says Plocha referring to the program’s caveat that participants must be active members of d(a)² - a cost of $50 annually.  A portion of Destination Downtown is provided by matching funds from the Downtown Development Authority and donated services from PowerServe.

Destination Downtown will launch with offers from downtown’s major attractions and over twenty-five businesses, each offering a reward - from general discounts on purchases to free gifts.  Look for the Destination Downtown logo late September, pick up your card and let the rewards start rolling in!

Need more details? email laraplocha@gmail.com

by Wylie Graves logo created by Chris Rucker

Destination Downtown Launch Partners

• 8th Street Tobacco 
• 1102 Downtown Bar and Grill 
• Art on Broad 
• Artistic Perceptions 
• Augusta Canal 
• Augusta Chronicle 
• Augusta Museum of History
• Bees Knees
• Blue Magnolia
• Boll Weevil
• The Book Tavern
• Casa Blanca Café
• Casella Eye Center
• Cloud Nine 
• Costumes by Michele 
• Elduets Treasures of the World 
• Fort Discovery 
• Gallery on the Row 
• Greater Augusta Arts Council 
• Halo Salon and Spa 
• Historic Augusta 
• Le Chat Noir 
• The Loft 
• Metro Coffeehouse and Pub 
• Midtown Threds 
• Modish Salon and Spa 
• Morris Museum of Art 
• New Moon Café 
• Ninth Street Wine Market 
• Rock Bottom Music 
• Sacred Heart Cultural Arts Center 
• Sanford Bruker and Banks 
• Stillwater Taproom 
• Vintage 965 
• Vintage Ooollee 
• Zimmerman Galleries

the art of healing / creating hope

artists’ row brings art to patients at children’s medical center

At MCG’s Children’s Medical Center, the arts are recognized as a powerful tool to help children through difficult experiences.  Volunteers from Artists’ Row are bringing a little sunshine and hands-on art each month to children, providing a positive distraction during often painful procedures and long hospital stays. 

Artful Adventures began three months ago with a dedicated group of volunteers from Artists’ Row, a coalition of art galleries in downtown.  Recognizing art as an essential element in a ing environment, the group brings monthly art projects to patients at the CMC using the mediums of watercolors, collage and clay.

“Positive, participatory art experiences give patients a chance to step outside their circumstances and inspire hope. Self-expression is power. Creating art can provide children with a sense of control during a time when they are anything but in control,” says Jessica Finch at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

For several years now, Artists’ Row has worked with the Medical College of Georgia’s Arts Council.  They have provided jurors for shows, paintings for Twin Gables (the President’s house), and supported various projects over the years.  Last year, Artists’ Row met with the Arts Council to see how they could expand their involvement in order to actively give back to the community that has been such a wonderful support to Artists’ Row.

The project was funded by a Georgia Council of the Arts Grassroots Art Project Grant of $2,000 for purchasing art supplies, while Artists’ Row donated $1,000 for the required 50% match.  Then the call went out to recruit volunteers who were willing to donate time and expertise.  In the short three months since the program began, over fifteen volunteers have answered the call.  

According to Lou Ann Zimmerman of Zimmerman Gallery, “Once someone volunteers, they want to come back again and again.  We enjoy the experience as much as the patients do.” 

The children are often withdrawn and tentative initially.  Zimmerman explains, “Whenever the children are taken out of their rooms, it is normally for some sort of treatment that they don’t especially like.  But when they realize they are just there to have fun, they open up and thoroughly enjoy themselves.”

To volunteer or donate funds to this project, contact Richard Bush, the project director, at Gallery on the Row (1016 Broad Street / 706.724.4989).

Small Change

 can tabs / clean the air and help the homeless
small change is gonna bust a cap in yo’ asthma!

Boy, do I love drinking beer! I can describe, in perfect detail, the toilet bowl in soul bar, the floor of sky city, the front lawn of Augusta State University, and several other places I have landed after a few too many. Many of you, I am sure, share my beer-loving sentiment. Well, beer-drinking brethren, this is an intervention! A wake-up call! KEEP DRINKING BEER! Just, be sure you save the bottle caps. 

Matt Davis, a student at the Medical College of Georgia, is collecting these spent beer caps in an effort to raise money for the homeless and uninsured patrons of St. Vincent’s Clinic. 

He calls his project Small Change because he believes the seemingly insignificant act of bottle cap recycling could help raise awareness about some rather massive issues, not the least of which is the rising cost of health care. This issue, according to Davis, is about to become glaringly obvious to the 25 million Americans who are dependent upon MDI’s (metered dose inhalers) to help control Asthma and other chronic lung diseases.

Davis says that the United States Government, in an effort to end the environmentally devastating effects of chloro-floro-carbons (CFC’S), is banning the use of these harmful gases in MDI’s. Current inhalers use CFC’s as a propellant to ’spray’ the medicine into the lungs of patients. Though the positive environmental effects of this CFC ban are a step in the right direction, the financial effects, particularly among the poor, homeless, and uninsured, will be catastrophic. 

The New Journal of Medicine predicts that the new government implemented eco-friendly propellant will nearly triple the cost of MDI’s. The folks who use the services at the grant-funded St. Vincent’s Clinic, which is already behind on their pharmacy bills, will feel the effects of this price jump immensely. This is where Matt and Small Change step in. 

In thinking about what to do about this problem, Matt looked at other problems that plague Augusta’s downtown community. Immediately, recycling came into his mind. 

“It’s embarrassing,” Matt says, “that more business downtown do not recycle.” Particularly discouraged by the non-recycling trends of bars and restaurants, Matt decided to raise environmental awareness in the food and booze industries. “Almost everything a bar throws away can be recycled,” Davis realized. 

Suddenly, it all clicked. He could cause a positive change in the recycling habits of bars that would benefit the homeless and uninsured people at St. Vincent’s Clinic. At this point, he decided to rescue two birds with one bottle cap. 

Inspired by a group of people called “scrappers” who make their living by exchanging recyclable goods for cash at recycling centers, Matt found out that metals yield the most profit at recycle centers. Pure aluminum rakes in about three dollars a pound while steel delivers two dollars a pound. Bottle caps seemed an achievable recycling target, and though the caps yield only 65 cents per pound, Matt figured that if 10 bars produce 10 pounds of bottle caps per week, he could raise $65 a week for St. Vincent’s Clinic. 

Small Change is placing bottle cap repositories in participating downtown bars with a sign alerting people to the objectives of the “Asthma Caps” drive. He will then take the caps to the recycling center, get the money, and donate all of it to St. Vincent’s Clinic. 

Through this drive, Matt says Small Change hopes to, “make a dent in some of the price of asthma medication” for the many people at St. Vincent’s Clinic. Eventually, Matt hopes to find a business willing to match his donations to the clinic.

In addition to this drive, Small Change hopes to bring recycling downtown permanently, get more bike racks downtown, and repair the sprinkler systems. Though each of these steps seem like rather small changes, the lasting benefits will be something to which we can all tip our caps. 

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands for Small Change. 

For more information contact Matt Davis at 706.513.9003 and start saving those caps! I’ve saved three since I started writing this article! (Aluminum can tabs will also be collected.)

First Friday: A Day for ASU

Downtown Augusta - 5-10pm - free

On the First Friday of each month a celebration is held downtown on Artists’ Row. Galleries and studios remain open those evenings to debut new works, street vendors sell their wares, and bands can be heard all over. Augusta’s downtown boasts over 22 live music venues, complemented by numerous locally owned restaurants. We invite you to visit First Friday and return to enjoy our music, food, museums, antiques and attractions. First Friday is a free, monthly, family friendly event in Downtown Augusta.

First Friday Entertainment:

• Dem imonde will be down on 8th Street
• Villanova Junction will be performing in front of Metro Spirit
• Jezibell will be at the Clock
• Eryn Eubanks and the Family Fold at Vintage 966
• Alexandra Dark Belly Dance will be at the Clock
• Double D will be in front of The Playground
• Pyroteque will be performing at 10th street
• Kids Zone at 10^th Street

marketing for the people

acquiring and maintaining targeted customers

As Texas radio personality and politician Pappy O’Daniel once said “We ain’t one-at-a-timin’ here. We’re MASS communicating!” But is mass communication right for everyone?

Have you taken a percentage of your company’s profits and set them aside for the purpose of advertising? If so, were you envisioning a huge colorful billboard, a TV commercial or a flashy website? Though it’s quite exhilarating to see your name in lights, diving in without research could shatter your budget and leave you with little return on your investment. Your product or service may have specific clientele and it may be wiser to cater your marketing to that crowd. Here are a few tips on acquiring and maintaining a targeted customer, and possibly doing it for a good price.

Finding this targeted clientele isn’t always the easy part. Your customers may be found through a number of methods including word of mouth, networking with complementary businesses that cater to the same clientele, using demographic mailing lists or asking around and finding out what your customers listen to, where they go, what they watch or even read. Once you discover these avenues, it should be a goal to get involved with them. Whether you spend time contributing to an online forum that deals with your product or investing in a single billboard that your targeted neighborhood must pass by daily, you should make the first move. Making this move requires quite a bit of brainstorming, and it’s more effective if you do it with a group of friends that will be honest and help tie your feet the ground.

If there is no current local interest or clientele avenue, then create one. Send invitations to some friends and ask them to bring more friends for an after-hours party with free drinks and refreshments. Be creative and think of some incentive to get people in the door. It’s cheaper to give away product you buy (or make) at a discount rather than paying cash for an non-targeted advertising spot with a risky return.

If you have a service-based business, find a location and have an afternoon workshop. I’d love to learn a couple electrical tips; how to properly fix a piece of pipe or even what to do in the state of a emergency. Some of you may say, why would I ever share anything from my trade, if I teach them to do this, why would they need me? The answer is this: you don’t have to share super in-depth information, it’s simply an opportunity to demonstrate that you know what you are doing, you’re trustworthy, you do it right and you actually care. You will be the first person I call when I need that service.

Maintaining this clientele should been seen as creating relationships and these relationships often continue even if you switch industries. Investing in clients costs time and effort, but it doesn’t always have to come from your checkbook. For example, making the small effort to remember a customer’s name holds great value.

Again, these are just a few tips on a targeted customer, and at later date, we’ll get more specific on the roles of larger and smaller marketing vehicles.

Shane Thompson is the founder of Westobou, a local marketing and design firm. He’s from Augusta, and enjoys chatting about financially efficient and effective ways to market a small business.

A Sidewalk to Downtown Growth

Walking down Tenth Street, it’s hard to ignore the recent change in footing that offers a newfound beauty to the section between Ellis and Broad Streets. For some insight into this undertaking, I sat down with Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority Margaret Woodard.
Ms. Woodard smiles as she speaks of the success of this difficult project. Despite the struggles inherent in structural transformations and the wrestling match found in the fifty year old utility pipe work below the sidewalk, the project is completing on schedule and has turned out well. She hopes this project will inspire other sections of downtown to work towards beautifying the atmosphere downtown, and simply offers this sidewalk as a picture of what downtown could look like in the future.
In the coming weeks, we may expect to see the addition of banners welcoming people downtown, poles crafted with artistic designs to compliment the beauty of the trees being added along the sidewalk, and the first kiosk installation promoting events in the area. In all these efforts, the renovation of Tenth Street is an early step toward a more pleasant downtown for consumers, residents, and businesses to enjoy.

by J. Edward Sumerau

photo credits:

before: courtesy of DDA
after: Ben Riche

Downtown Gets Cleaner & Safer: The Green Team Arrives in April

Imagine downtown Augusta with steam-cleaned sidewalks, litter-free streets and bicycle ambassadors greeting visitors and creating a safe environment for all to enjoy. Those dreams are finally becoming a reality with the Clean Augusta Downtown Initiative (CADI), the city’s first Business Improvement District.

what is CADI
CADI is a Business Improvement District, an organization of downtown property who tax themselves to raise money for downtown improvements. CADI is funded and managed by the property owners.

who will manage CADI
The downtown property owners are in complete control of CADI. The newly elected Board of Directors unanimously approved a three-year contract with Service Group Inc. of Malvern, Pennsylvania to run the program and, since then, CADI has been on the fast-track.Mr. Rick Wiggins, who has twenty years experience as an army drill instructor, has been hired as the Program Manager. Extensive training for the clean team and ambassadors is scheduled for early March.

what will CADI do for downtown
CADI provides a wide range of services – focusing mainly on safety, cleanliness, hospitality and promotion. These services are in addition to those provided by our local government.Your CADI team will be on the streets and in full operation by April 1. Look for the guys in green!by Margaret Woodard, Downtown Development Authorityfor more information visit www.myaugustadowntown.com

who’s on the board

• Sanford Lloyd
• Robert Kuhar
• Tennent Houston
• Bryan Haltermann
• Don Bailey
• Julian Osbon
• Darryl Leech
• Jeff Partl
• Berry Smith
• Davenport Bruker
• Len Carter
• Tillman Sauls