Put Orange First News
Our Team Orange group met again last week and the more we get together, the more we realise just how much opportunity we have in this beautiful city of ours. By opportunity, I mean things we aren’t doing but could do, things to make Orange even more attractive to visitors, and people who may want to set up a business here, and for us locals too, things to make us feel even more proud of the place we call home.
Let me touch on some of things we discussed at that meeting and other happenings over the last week –
Team Orange is really keen to see more local small business owners come together a bit more often for meetings, encouragement, brainstorming, to discuss marketing initiatives and more. We’re looking at ways to promote and facilitate this.
We are also keen to get a couple of visible runs on the board. We don’t want to be seen as just a bunch of talkers, we want to be seen and appreciated as doers. We’ve started that ball rolling already with our Put Orange First chocolates and our Pot Luck Saturday initiative, both these have now happened and there’s more to come.
Pot Luck Saturday
Our first Pot Luck Saturday in Orange has come and gone, and the early reports are in. 30 businesses took part, which was a great start, and early feedback suggests that many of the stores had good trading days but sales specific to the Pot Luck Saturday initiative were not that easy to identify. What I can say is that the big window posters looked extra good and they certainly indicated something was happening. Our next Pot Luck Saturday in Orange will be held on Saturday March 30th and we’re hoping for more participation from both stores and shoppers each time we hold one of these. We’re also looking how we can make shopping in Orange on that day even more entertaining and beneficial for shoppers. Our thanks to all who supported us so well.
Marketing Grants
Surprisingly, and despite offering four grants of $5000 each for advertising in Orange City Life, we received very few applicants. Can only assume that people either didn’t get it or didn’t need it. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter now, and I’m delighted to announce the following winners of the grants - The Denture Guy, BNB Made Easy, Jack Evans Workwear and ODEEP.
Thank you to those who did enter but didn’t win, you’ll be hearing from us with a consolation prize for your efforts very soon.
Main Street
We continue to discuss ideas for giving Summer Street an interim lift, long before any major makeover may happen. We believe there are things we can do now to brighten the street a bit, making it more attractive for locals and visitors alike. One idea we’re looking at is putting the flag poles to better use but before we say too much about this, we’re going to talk to Council. It’s therefore a stay tuned item.