Group aims to bolster downtown's appeal with ads, outreach effort
Revitalization association's campaign calls on council to back mayor's revamp
A new downtown Windsor booster group has been launched with a marketing campaign to garner support for the city's core and encourage council to approve the recently announced multimilliondollar proposal to revamp the neighbourhood.
The Downtown Windsor Business Revitalization Association — composed of Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association executive members — on Friday kicked off the Our Downtown campaign.
“Our citizens love our downtown. They want our downtown to be safe and vibrant and exciting,” DWBRA chair Chris Macleod told the Windsor Star. “It's about the downtown that Windsorites love, and we want to make sure that council hears that from our community.”
The campaign incorporates outreach and promotional strategies to engage the community. According to a news release from the DWBRA, they include:
A dedicated website (strengthenthecore.ca) that acts as a “central hub for information, updates, and interactions”;
An online petition that can be signed virtually “for residents and business owners to show their support and commitment to revitalizing downtown, and to foster widespread awareness and grassroots support”;
Digital advertising to spread the word and engage people online;
Posters and postcards distributed throughout the community to raise awareness;
Digital billboards to deliver targeted messages to a large audience;
Radio ads “to reach diverse audiences and reinforce the importance of saving downtown Windsor”;
Accounts on Facebook and Instagram “to engage directly with voters” and “rapidly disseminate information, and cultivate communities”;
Video testimonials about what downtown Windsor means to residents and business owners;
Letters of support that “garner endorsements from local businesses and stakeholders to build momentum.”
The campaign follows Mayor Drew Dilkens's April 23 unveiling of a downtown revitalization plan that includes dedicating 12 police officers to the area, stationing a bylaw officer to enforce property standards in the ward and positive messaging about downtown, among other things.
Titled Strengthen the Core, the plan was created in consultation with the Downtown Windsor BIA.
On May 13, council will decide whether to go ahead with the plan. Councillors will also decide whether to change a proposed budget amendment from Dilkens, which would see $3.2 million added to the annual operating budget to fund part of the downtown plan.
Macleod said the DWBRA is permitted to engage in political campaigns and apply for grants that the DWBIA, which Macleod also chairs, would not be eligible for, as an extension of the municipalities.