SAPA Member Opportunities: October 2009

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Television Spot

WXII Television Spot for the Celebration of Seagrove Potters featuring our auction pots!

Friday, October 23, 2009

It is not too late to participate!! Bobbie Thomas is the drop off point for your pot and descriptions. If you have a photo please send it to marketing@celebrationofseagrovepotters.com.

The web site has been updated with the descriptions and once we receive the photos from Juan Villa they will be added in as well.

Oct. 26 -Clean Up Day at Luck's

Clean-up Day
Greetings Seagrove Area Potters,

The Celebration committee is busy finalizing details for our 2nd annual event.

We would like to ask everyone to join us October 26, at the Luck's Bean Plant. It's time again to tidy up the grounds, and we could use your help. So, bring a rake, a leaf blower, and a pair of work gloves, and join us at 9:00am. We will also work in the breakroom area so gloves, buckets and mops and rags will help. We recognize that everyone is busy this time of year, but we hope that you can join us to help get the place looking spiffy for our customers.

Also, if you have auction pots, feel free to bring them along. The sooner we get them, the sooner they can be publicized. We plan to expand our historical photo area this year so feel free to bring (identified) past pictures of yourselves, folks you've worked with, relatives, etc. We will get them scanned and blown up for display. They help authenticate our connections and add to the ambience of the Luck's Plant.

We are changing email servers, and would like you to help us communicate by replying to contact@celebrationofseagrovepotters.com with yes in the subject line if you receive this email.

We look forward to seeing you Monday!

Regards,

Celebration of Seagrove Potters Committee

WHAT: Clean-up Day
DATE: Monday, October 26, 2009
TIME: 9:00a.m.
LOCATION: Luck's Bean Plant

Friday, October 9, 2009

POTTERS MEETING - AUCTION POTS

Dear Celebration Potters;

You are invited to attend a Celebration Potters meeting Monday evening October 12, 2009 at 6:00 at the Seagrove Public Library.

We need group shots of our Friday and Saturday auction pots for advertising on WUNC TV and WXII TV by 10/16. If you have not already dropped your pots off at Bobbie Thomas's please bring them to the libary with you on Monday. Include your auction form information and package the pot with business card for secure transportation to the photographer. These photos will be used in other publicity as well, so this is a great promotional opportunity for you and Celebration. If you are unable to attend, please try to make arrangements to deliver your pot(s) via someone who is planning to come.

Thank you for your participation and we hope to see you there.

The Celebration of Seagrove Potters Committee

Celebration of Seagrove Potters
PO Box 116
Seagrove, NC 27341

Auction Donation Form

Sat:

Fri Collaboration:
(please use one form per piece)

Name:

Name of Pottery Business:
(As it would appear on any promotional materials)

Mailing Address:

Email Address:

Phone Numbers (Day & Evening):

DESCRIPTION: (include process, glazes, firing methods, etc)

DIMENSIONS:

RETAIL VALUE:

Thursday, October 1, 2009

October SAPA Board Meeting

The October Board meeting will be held 7PM Monday October 5 at the Seagrove Library. Everyone is invited and the Board welcomes your comments and suggestions.

Please don’t forget it will be held on Monday not our usual Tuesday time. The Board felt it was more convenient for everyone to change our monthly meetings to Monday from now on.

Celebration Marketing Committee Overview

The Celebration of Seagrove potters serves as an event organizer, but also as a Destination Marketing Organization of sorts with the goal of attracting visitors to come and shop in the many shops in Seagrove. It is a difficult task because of the number of individual shops and trying to market fairly and on a widespread basis.

The overall goals are two-fold: to create a lasting impression on the visitor by maximizing their satisfaction and creating a return visitor; and to enhance the prosperity of the individual pottery shops.

The first goal is CUSTOMER based. We need the customer in order to achieve goal two. The Marketing Committee develops a marketing plan on how to attract the customer. This is done by initially creating a situation analysis in which a list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is developed which will give an overall picture of the destination. Next a demographic profile of the customer is developed in order to determine what media would be most effective in attracting that customer. The message is then created to attract the customer, the media outlets are selected and an ongoing public relations campaign is created. We seek out as many on-line and printed listings sites as possible and have a committee member committed to doing that for months prior to the event. The web site is an important part of our publicity and requires attention every month. Press releases take time to write and time to send out but are important in keeping Seagrove in the customer’s mind.

The COSP Marketing Committee uses individual images in advertising and on its web site. It is difficult to promote a pottery town without showing pictures of pottery and what the customer might find here. A great deal of time is involved in managing images of all the participants and in monitoring that no one is shown preferential treatment. We try to use everyone’s images in our advertising on the web site. In listings on the web we are often limited to one image. Quality of images provided is a very important factor in this process in order to maintain the professional level expected.

It is a difficult task to market a large group of competing shops. One shop is not marketed over another, the customer is the goal and providing them with the information and incentive needed to choose to visit Seagrove and make their visit successful is key in achieving our goal. It is important to remember that all the marketing is being done by unpaid volunteers, on a limited financial basis and that it is sometimes necessary to make decisions with the customer in mind. It is the individual potter’s responsibility to provide their own marketing to draw the customer to their shop once they have reached Seagrove. We do our best to treat everyone on an equal basis all the time, but our foremost goal is to provide the customer with what they need to enjoy their visit.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF INDIVIDUAL SHOPS

In order to maximize the benefits available through the work of the marketing committee the following recommendations are suggested.

-please read the emails about the events and opportunities being offered. If a response is requested, please honor it. We do not have the resources to call everyone individually. We strive to provide all the information you need in the emails and mailings. If you do not respond then we will conclude that you are not interested in participating. The volunteers all have their own businesses to maintain but have elected to donate time and energy on your behalf to promoting everyone in Seagrove.

-deadlines are important. The work is being done by volunteers and when deadlines are not followed it creates many extra hours of follow up and having to put information together. When everything is in by the deadline it allows the information to be compiled at one time and takes a lot less time than when it comes in sporadically. Should you choose to not meet deadlines please do not expect to receive preferential treatment and realize that you may not be included in advertising, on the web etc.

-provide detailed information-if you want to be included in an event then give us all the details. Please do not expect us to look up your hours, phone number, web site etc. Our goal is to provide a professional listing for the customer and your information is your marketing tool, provide us and the customer with details and concise information.

-the more you market yourself during our marketing the more business you are apt to get. The COSP provides e-cards for you to send to your customer list. The COSP sends this card out to the database of emails that we maintain. Database management is a time consuming process as well and as the COSP database grows, everyone in Seagrove can benefit from it. Provide interesting information about your shop or event when requested. When we publish information on the COSP web site people will be drawn to the events that sound like fun and offer something interesting. You have a lot of competition at every show and event you participate in and by marketing yourself you will increase your business.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS

-image quality is very important in maintaining a professional appearance

-keep your website up to date and fresh

-blogging can draw visitors to your business

-volunteer for a committee, the more people that get involved in helping the stronger the effort becomes and it takes some of the load off those that are already volunteering their time.

-use the internet if you do not know how to write a marketing or business plan, there is a lot of useful information on line that can help you to understand how to attract more people to your business

SAPA Member Opportunities

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Television Spot

Friday, October 23, 2009

Collaborative and Gala Pots

Oct. 26 -Clean Up Day at Luck's

Friday, October 9, 2009

POTTERS MEETING - AUCTION POTS

Thursday, October 1, 2009

October SAPA Board Meeting

Blog Archive

Celebration Marketing Committee Overview

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