BusHsgDev Highlights 2011 0113 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Pacific Coast Fanners' Market Association Page 6 both complimentary and constructive, is communicated to the Market Manager so the market can continue to improve and better serve its customers. Attracting new Customers with new Marketing Strategies Since the inception of the Downtown San Leandro Farmers' Market in 2008, the farmers' market has increased the average number of weekly shoppers from 1,270 to 1,920. This 5l% increase in patrons is partially due to the success of the market's advertising efforts. The advertising dollars have been spent primarily in the San Leandro Times, a local weekly newspaper delivered on Thursdays. The paper is circulated to 38,500 San Leandro residents and has become a partner of the farmers' market placing advertisements in color, at no extra charge, when space is available. Also in 2008, the San Leandro Times sponsored the Downtown San Leandro Farmers' Market by donating advertising space at decreased price. In 2008, the farmers' market ran 36 ads for a total of $5,500. In 2009 and 2010, the farmers' market ran 36 ads for $9,500 each year. During 2009 and 2010, the Downtown San Leandro Farmers' Markets advertised at the local BART station, signaling the commencement-of the new farmers' market season. The advertising cost, including the production for the ads, was $2,200 for four station ads running for eight weeks during 2010. Though the effectiveness of these ads is difficult to track, there was an increase of 428 shoppers in the first year of the campaign and a total of 580 for the entire two year campaign. During the 2010 eight -week campaign the average attendance was 2,437, compared to the seasonal average of 1,850 suggesting the BART ads encouraged attendance at the farmers' market. Most, if not all, of the advertising has been primarily focused in San Leandro which narrows the pool of prospective customers to roughly 80,000 residents. By expanding advertising into a wider based medium the Downtown San Leandro Farmers' Market can expand its customer base to surrounding cities. Sharing advertising with another neighboring farmers' market would allow the costs to be cut in half and promote the Downtown San Leandro Farmers' Market to patrons that may not be able to attend their local farmers' market because of time, day, location, etc. This would be a win -win for both farmers' markets. Based on the previous three seasons, the advertising recommendations are to keep the San Leandro Times advertising as it has been in previous years, increase BART advertising to 16 weeks, and put out monthly ads with the San Lorenzo Farmers' Market or the Irvington Farmers' Market. Although the farmers' market advertisement in the San Leandro Times leaves a week in between the event and the advertisement, the San Leandro Times has become the medium which San Leandro residents tum to for Downtown San Leandro Farmers' Market information. To test the effectiveness of the BART ads, the recommendation of expanding to 16 weeks would be in place to see if a greater number of patrons would remain at an increased rate during the time of the 16 week campaign. By sharing a monthly ad with either the San Lorenzo or the Irvington Fanners' Market in the Hayward Review /Argus, the awareness of the Downtown San Leandro Farmers' Market would increase in neighboring cities in hopes of pulling from a larger population base. The Downtown San.Leandro Farmers' Market has also been successful in using its schedule of market events to attract customers. The primary vehicles the market has used to promote the events has been a monthly email newsletter sent to farmers' market shoppers and postings to the market's Facebook page throughout the month. Subscriptions to the email newsletter have steadily climbed throughout the 2010 season, from 911 recipients for the May email announcing the grand opening for the season, to 1,124 who received the October email announcing the final weeks of the market for the 2010 season. The Facebook page, with 370 "likes" is one of the more popular pages for a PCFMA farmers' market, but with a paid advertising campaign targeting San Leandro -area Facebook users, the number of Facebook users who "like" the page and thus see postings about market events can be increased. The goal is to double the number of "likes" in the 2011 season to 750.