Earlier this year, Brad Schweig of Sunnyland Outdoor Living in Dallas had an idea to start an advertising co-op for independent retailers who don’t have the resources for splashy marketing campaigns. After a virtual discovery meeting in January, Schweig and several other retailers began moving forward on the idea, and the group is looking to add new members.
“We initially had about a dozen stores that were interested in this program. From there, we currently have eight who are helping us take this to the next level,” Schweig said. “We met last week for the first time to review different concepts, storyboards and sample scripts so we could begin giving feedback.”
The retailers are working with Minneapolis-based marketing agency Linnihan Foy, which specializes in furniture retail marketing and has worked with Hudsons, Schneiderman’s and By The Yard. Schweig said the agency has helped the retailers conceptualize a video campaign that will help them better compete with big-box and chain stores.
“Video production isn’t cheap and quality production is really expensive. Yes, any store can have a film crew come out and take some footage of their store but at the end of the day it looks very generic,” he said. “We wanted to create something that looks like something you would see from a large national retailer that tells the story and engages the customer rather than just selling the store.”
Schweig said by working together, smaller independent retailers can compete with larger companies. And the group is interested in adding additional members who can tap into the campaign.
“By sharing the expenses, we can accomplish this for a fraction of the cost,” he said. “We are only allowing one company per DMA to participate to ensure that to the local consumer, the campaign and content is unique to the store.”
Interested retailers can reach out to Schweig at 972-239-3716 or brad@sunnylandfurniture.com.
