ShopSLO
How do shops and restaurants in small towns remain top-of-mind in the digital age? That was the question posed by the city of San Luis Obispo, California when it partnered with hometown agency Verdin Marketing to build awareness for the city’s many and varied retailers and eateries. San Luis Obispo, or “SLO,” is home to nearly 43,000 residents living amongst the town’s seven distinct, historic and Spanish-flavored neighborhoods. Verdin was challenged to provide multiple marketing solutions that would lure shoppers from surrounding cities to spend their dollars in SLO, while encouraging locals to “buy local.”
After producing the Shop SLO brand (and that of sister brand Dine SLO) and associated marketing materials, Verdin sought a technical partner to bring its vision of the city to the web. Enter Spoke. In cooperation with ITECH Solutions of SLO (who provided the backend development), Spoke architected and designed the twin sites to connect customers with dozens of the city’s retail and dining establishments. Visitors can easily search for businesses and locate nearby parking. They can also stay up to date on promotions and events within each neighborhood. In turn, business owners are provided administrative access to their own listings to ensure things like hours of operation remain current.
Since their launch in November, 2009 (just before the critical holiday shopping season), ShopSLO.org and DineSLO.org have attracted thousands of visitors, roughly 70% of whom live within a one-hour drive of San Luis Obispo.
