Business ownership in rural Arizona can be tough. The pool of potential customers is limited to the size of the surrounding community; and the opportunity to advertise to those outside your home market can be cost prohibitive. In many cases, those that start a business with the dream of entrepreneurship find that they have simply bought themselves a job – typically a low-paying, time-consuming one. One group of small business owners in Kingman, Arizona, have decided to try to improve this outcome through a collaborative initiative to market their community as a whole on a world-wide scale.
The Kingman Circle, an independent group of businesses brought together by Ignite Brand Marketing, an ad agency that specializes in rural community marketing, is comprised of a variety of local businesses that include everything from tourist attractions to restaurants and bars to local services. “In our business, we get the opportunity to speak to business owners of all kinds; from large corporations to small owners and operators” said Liza Noland, President of Ignite Brand Marketing. “We began to notice a trend in the level of concern for business longevity matched only by the level of passion regarding the potential of our community. Not a single one of these businesses could afford a marketing initiative that would bring enough people to or through Kingman—but if they banded together, we knew we could really do something amazing.”
The Kingman Circle, a name adopted by the group to indicate not only the partnership itself but the internal networking of the group and the outward Kingman Experience they plan to market, functions as a marketing consortium where an equal amount of money is pooled from each business and then spent on marketing strategies intended to raise awareness on a grand scale of what Kingman has to offer. Some of these initiatives include digital advertising and online web strategies, collateral materials, billboard advertising, Kingman-focused tours and others that will take coordination with and the support of the City. “Our idea is to provide THE information outlet for all things Kingman – food and drink, upcoming events, special offers, things to do and people to see” states Noland. “We want our local community to be in the loop about what is going on and we want everyone driving through or looking for a quick Arizona day trip to realize the hidden gem that is Kingman.”
To learn more about The Kingman Circle, visit their website at kingmancircle.com
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