Changing the Conversation to Community

Price Edwards & Company asked me to write an editorial for their 2012-Mid Year Retail Market Survey of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan area. I happily accepted. Below is my article. To read the full report (which I highly recommend), visit the Retail Market page on Price Edwards’ website and click download latest retail summary. Changing the Conversation to Community The last two years of retail marketing have been a death spiral of sales tactics. Through the recession, retailers continued to dig deep holes in their pricing in an effort to attract the little...

Oklahoma Retail Breakfast

I’m happy to announce another Oklahoma Retail Breakfast! If you are an independently owned retailer in the OKC Metro, please join us. This is a one-hour meeting to focus on one small topic that affects small retail (like PR, branding, social media) and bond over the shared experience of being a local retailer. During our first OK Retail breakfast last summer, Mary Ann Osko, owner of Osko Communications walked us through public relations basics. This time around, we will be joined by a consulting team that I have personal experience with, Braid Creative. March 27th,...

Are your windows Instagram-worthy?

When you aren’t available to market your shop personally, your windows do the talking. What are they saying? Are you writing a visual story? What mood does your seasonal product evoke? How does that compliment your shop’s philosophy? For Holiday 2011, Black Optical installed modern trees illustrating vintage Christmas ads from the 1950′s. Not only did these windows coincide with current eyewear trends, they also evoked a glamourous feeling, reminiscent of holidays in previous eras. Not every window needs to be a statement window. But, make it worth your...