A Buy Fayetteville Campaign

This is #2 of 15 Fayetteville Forward initiatives I'm recommending the City devote resources towards.

Buying local makes sense, and it's something I was talking about during my campaign. We have 18,000 students at the UofA (soon to be 22,000), and most of them don't know anything about our city. Most don't know about the Farmers' Market or Hugo's or Nightbird Books. Really, most don't know about any of the great businesses and events Fayetteville has.

And why is that? They live in our community, and they should be encouraged to take part.

Therein lies the problem: they aren't encouraged. The Dept of Student Affairs doesn't promote Fayetteville to students, and the A&P Commission doesn't target students (unless they're hospitality majors). Their tactics for promoting Fayetteville seem to limited to motorcycle enthusiasts and Hogs fans. There's a lot more to Fayetteville than that...

Here are a few things a Buy Fayetteville campaign might include:

• A directory of local artists and independent businesses, with user testimonials
• Coordinated advertising and wayfinding signs
• A promoted Shop Local Week, with incentives from local employers to shop local. Feature issues published by local papers and blogs are a must!
• A local currency backed by the Chamber, local businesses, and a financial institution
• A place for citizens who shop locally to provide a statement of support and to be recognized
• An Fayetteville information packet given to freshmen during student orientation

The more I think about this, the more I wonder why we're not doing some of this already.

I try to patron local independent businesses (like Johnson's Hardware Store) over franchise businesses, but I'm not perfect... What are your favorite local businesses? Why are they your favorites? Let me know in the comments.