Deborah Henshaw had this neat idea – to film a series of commercials featuring what a lot of us think is neat about Downtown Waynesboro and put them up on YouTube for the world to see.
My two cents to the effort became VirtualWaynesboro.com, a web portal that we donated to the guerilla marketing effort showcasing the videos.
What I admire about what Henshaw et al (several businesses have produced videos here at the outset of the project) are doing: They’re not expecting somebody else to do something for them. There’s no grant money backing up the project, no co-op advertising budgets being tapped to fund things.
“Downtown Waynesboro is changing a lot, and rapidly. These videos showcase how the stores are filled with talented artisans who are committed to a unique, quality products,” said Henshaw, the owner of Under the Roof, a downtown furniture store.
The inspiration for the project came when Henshaw visited another Downtown Waynesboro store owner, Jennifer Ledford, at her shop, now known as Initial Inspirations, “and was blown away by the merchandising and products.”
“I realized that I had felt the same way about Stone Soup and a lot of the other shops downtown, too. My perception of what the stores had to offer was no where close to how great they actually are,” Henshaw said. “I began thinking about how customers frequently tell me that they are surprised at our great selection of furniture. It occurred to me that Downtown Waynesboro has a lot to offer that is not apparent until you actually cross the threshold of the store. I thought that a virtual tour would showcase our shops in a quick and convenient way.”
Column by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at [email protected].
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