The Block Captains are on their way...
FMA Block Captains will soon be making the rounds, bringing new information and materials to members throughout town. If you have materials you'd like to share with fellow merchants, please get it to the FMA office asap, and we'll get it distributed in the process!
eClub and the Newsletter... Just a little clarification for those that might not know - FMA has two seperate monthly online publications, each with a different audience.
The ShopTalk Newsletter is for our FMA members and marketing partners. It contains valuable information about business and networking, new marketing opportunities, member's announcements, event reminders and so on. (Bullet Point Updates are for the same purpose when new and important information needs to be shared in between Newsletters.)  The Freeport eClub is targeted to consumers and visitors to Freeport from near or far. It has event reminders, news, and topics of interest that will hopefully inspire a trip to Freeport (or several). This is an "opt-in" list that grows almost daily with folks that sign up through the FreeportUSA.com website on their own to receive the eClub!
Lots of times the info that goes in the eClub is important for our members to know, too. To make things simpler and less redundant, we've now made sure everyone on our members Newsletter email list ALSO receives the Freeport eClub. If for some reason you do not receive BOTH publications this month (usually they arrive at seperate times) you can easily sign up for them at these links: ShopTalk signup Freeport eClub signup (You won't get duplicates - the system will fix that.)
Keep your Sox on - Red Sox, that is! Fenway ambassadors and Wally the Green Monster accompanied the 2007 Red Sox World Series trophy to Freeport recently. The team also gave out one thousand vouchers valid for the guaranteed purchase of Red Sox 2009 regular season tickets.  The event, made possible by the efforts of FMA and L.L.Bean, bought lots of people to town on a cold January morning, and generated some very good press for Freeport. For an example check out the video piece from WCSH6-TV.
Events coming right up...
Flavors of Freeport - February 6,7,8 Dozens of fantastic events including a tasting of foods from several Freeport restaurants and food purveyors, to dance lessons, a wellness fair, local beer, wine & spirits tastings, Ballroom dancing, live music, lectures and more. Tickets and information available at Hilton Garden Inn, Downtown Freeport, Maine 207-865-1433 or go to www.flavorsoffreeport.com Kid's Winter Fun Week - Feb 14 through 22 Lots of fun things for Kids and families - every day - all week long! All events are free - courtesy of L.L.Bean. See the full event schedule here. These are just two of many things happening in February, including special things for your special Valentine. To find out more go to our Calendar of Events at FreeportUSA.com. Give and Get - Prizes and Promotion... FMA has always had great success using prize give-aways to generate many thousands of dollars in advertising mentions and publicity for our members on radio, TV, in print, and on the Internet. Here's how it works. Members give us some of their goods or services, which we assemble into a variety of combinations for everything from a morning radio show prize drawing to a big weekend shopping spree. The return is terrific. We always get much more in publicity value back than the investment our members make in giving prize donations. We are currently developing some new give-away programs which will be used in a variety of ways, including gathering visitor emails and other data, and enhancing the growing popularity of the Freeport eClub and other Internet marketing efforts. If you would like to be featured in these promotions, and can give us gift certificates for shopping, dining, overnight accommodations, tours, etc., or can provide merchandise prizes, please contact Myra mhopkins@freeportusa.com or call the office 865-1212.
2009 Membership Reminder... To all new FMA Members and the FMA members who have re-joined for the year THANK YOU. I appreciate your support and commitment to marketing Freeport together. I am looking forward to executing our strategy for 2009 and am very optimistic about what the year has to offer. These are challenging times and it is now more important than ever before that we work together to leverage our marketing dollars to brand and position Freeport appropriately. We are just getting started and there is so much to do this year to build on our foundation. We have experienced top traffic and top tourism as a top destination over the years and we need to continue to build on that momentum and get back any incremental loss and add to what we have realized in the past. Together we will achieve and even exceed our goals and expectations. There are so many things to consider when you sign that contract and send that payment-thank you . I have heard your questions and concerns about our dues structure and commit to you that we will work together through our marketing and membership committees this year to make sure our dues structure is right and appropriate for all business in Freeport for 2010. If you have not yet joined FMA for 2009 –call me –it is not too late-you still have time to highlight your business on the map and visitor guide –we will print hundreds of thousands of that piece this year and distribute it to new locations-don’t miss out you will also get website exposure-our website traffic is growing annually and will exceed 2.5 – 3.5 million this year! Myra.
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Executive Directors Message...
Members,
Flavors of Freeport is ever so close. The Destination Freeport group and all involved have been planning and preparing for a weekend that guarantees to offer all participants a fun filled time to share with friends and family. There is a wide variety of activities to choose between that will allow participants to experience a weekend designed to be as individual as each participant.Please check out the eClub and their website for more information.
Fortunately I was invited by the Maine Tourism Office and the Maine Merchants Association to join the Maine Development Foundation tour for lunch at the Harraseekett Inn. The environmnet, food and flow of the venue was executed flawlessly as we have all become so accustomed to from the Harraseekett Inn team.. Nancy Gray deliverd an impressive presentation about the Inn and shared a few of their accomplishments- it was memorable and meaningful and a priviledge to hear from her. Catherine Wilbur spoke about their accomplishments at Wiburs both in product and employee relations that too was meaningful and important to hear and then Bob Harkins spoke about the accomplishments achieved at Cold River Vodka-he too was very thoughtful in the information he shared and I am sure all resonated with the legislators..thank you Vaughn Stinson and Curtis for organizing such an important event and meanigful opportunity to showcase our state and for including Freeport.
The Boston Red Sox pre sell tour was a tremendous success for Freeport. The opportunity to host a pre –sell tour (first of its kind) in Freeport increased our exposure in the Boston market and created a lot of excitement on MLK day in Freeport. The event brought out hundreds of Red Sox fans wearing Sox colors and garb from head to toe willing to brave the cold and largest snow storm of the season to get a voucher which entitled the bearer to purchase two tickets-before tickets went on sale to the public! The tour group in Freeport gave out the 1,000 vouchers to the greatest turn out they experienced all weekend-we were the last stop on their New England tour-the only stop in Maine. The tour was announced on the JAB and all other Boston area radio stations –it received national press , sports news and was announced on the Red Sox website…Wally and the entire tour group enjoyed the Freeport experience. Thank you to our partners at L.L. Bean for hosting the event and organizing the fans and the Harraseeket Inn for luxurious overnight accommodations and a wonderful lunch that included a Red Sox Logo cake!
Thank you for participating in the Down East Magazine April-edition-the summer book will show 22 participating Freeport businesses over 4 continuous pages with a short advertorial and our Freeport marketing images! This is the first time we have joined Down East in a co-operative style Freeport piece and I am thrilled that we will highlight Freeport in such a powerful way-this exposure –together –again leveraging our brand- will send a very strong message about Freeport to every reader…and it does not stop there…..
 DOWN EAST is planning a feature story on Freeport for the May edition-front cover placement-and a supplement in the May edition on FREEPORT!!!That will mean between 8-16 pages –or more!! I am not kidding-I know I could hardly believe it when I heard about it…this is a very exciting opportunity for all of Freeport-we have to be part of the advertisement opportunities…call me!!
Freeport First-Imagine a workforce in Freeport this summer eagerly sharing information about where to dine, stay, shop , play through first hand experience…fully engaged with each traveler and spreading the word about Freeport-in a unique and infectious manner-completely able to chat about their own gourmet breakfast and tour at the James Place Inn, Captain Briggs, Brewster House… chocolate tour at Wilburs, -when did you start making your own chocolate? Cold River Vodka Tour-how many potatoes are used? Happy hour at the Cabaret-when was the last time you were there? Tandem kayaking through ODS-exactly what is a walk on adventure? ..and so on…please add your business to the Google calendar-list the opportunity that you want to host and sign up for the opportunities that you want to participate in…..this is a huge opportunity for us to work together to enhance the customers experience in Freeport –through our own experience!!!What a wonderful way to elevate the level of knowledge and enthusiasm about our town….take your entire team to a breakfast…to happy hour..through a tour…pay it forward..do it today! Alison Paine has resigned from FMA. Alison began as a volunteer for FMA, before working full time for us. She made many important contributions to FMA and its members during her time here. Please join me in wishing her all the best in her future endeavors. I have been diligently recruiting and interviewing candidates to fill the office manager/ event coordinator position and assure you that I will hire the highest caliber talent to occupy that position. As we determine what success looks like this year many sources say that if business is slightly down treat it like being flat to prior years. If your business is flat treat it like being up slightly to prior years and if you are up celebrate like a double digit lift. I am looking forward to celebrating a very successful year with you all. We have new events, and additional activities to add value through traffic, experience and promotions, and greater promotions and packages to entice the most discerning traveler. Add to that the grand opening of the Freeport Village Staton -and hey we' ve got something to celebrate! We are supporting these activities through website announcements, email, direct mail, partnership e-blasts, local and regional press, radio and additional coverage for Freeport in the Boston area, Canadian markets , Down East and local venues.Together we can share in great success this year and I for one am looking forward to it.
Myra
Chamber of Commerce discussions - A letter from Tim Paul, FMA President... Dear Members, For the past year, representatives from FMA have participated with representatives from FEDC and the Town of Freeport in a committee to examine the viability of a Chamber of Commerce in Freeport that would include destination marketing in it's responsibility structure. Recently, this Chamber Task Force Committee presented the resulting recommendation to our Board of Directors, and after adjusting in response to comments, presented in an open meeting to FMA members and other interested businesses. We received a lot of feedback as a result, representing many sides of the question.
Read the full text of this important letter here...
L.L.Bean continues as top company for customer service nation wide!  For the second consecutive year, our own L.L.Bean has been named number one in the National Retail Federation/American Express 2008 Customers’ Choice survey. L.L.Bean rated ahead of other customer service icons including Amazon.com, and Nordstrom, according to an article in MultiChannel Merchant.
 "So what makes L.L. Bean such a superior customer servant? Terry Sutton, vice president of customer satisfaction, attributed the number one ranking to the company’s longstanding culture of putting the customer first. 'That culture is part of the lore of the company – and it’s a critical part of our brand,” she says. “And because we have some long-tenured employees, including the ones handling customer calls, there’s a history that has emphasized the importance of the quality of service.', says the article. Read the full article here.
Use all your tools… In this day and climate you probably don’t need anyone to tell you it’s important to use every marketing tool available to generate new business. What we DO want to remind your is that your membership in FMA provides you with a great toolbox full of creative marketing opportunities. Here’s just one example; The Special Savings Page on www.FreeportUSA.com.  Those that use it get good results and continue to use it on a regular basis. But it’s only a handful of members that use it. More than 20,000 people went to that page last year. Did they see your Sales events there? Or are you one of those places that never have a sale?
Like most FMA services, it works well, it’s easy to use, and it’s included in your membership! You can use the link and form on the page to post your Special Savings Event or just email it to dcollins@freeportusa.com.
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