– Your Bright Brothers Team
David Romako / Josh Yeager /  Brandi Walsh

It feels like we’ve been hammering on the audio trend all year now, and this common thread continues to pop. This piece from AdAge gives some fascinating insights into the listening habits of specific demographics, and why aligning your brand musically can benefit your overall outcomes. While the noted “Three Ways to Reach the Next Generation of Consumers with Music” probably apply more to larger brands with bigger budgets able to license top pop hits and toe-tapping aural associations – the final paragraph of the article offers up some applicable ways that your downtown, district or DMO can launch their own hits locally, and we love to hear it!

Photo credit: Spencer Imbrock, Unsplash

Dogs are big business in the US and for many, Fido is an honorary family member and the recipient of plenty of doting love, treats, belly rubs and even — a designer doghouse? We absolutely loved this piece about an artist who started a nonprofit called Benevolent Hound to connect local artists with charities. Founder and artist Jay McClellan built nine unadorned doghouses and then paired local designers with nonprofits. The customized dog houses are being auctioned off to benefit the nonprofit partner. It’s such a simple, yet effective way to bring awareness, support your local communities and pamper some very lucky pooches in the process. We’d love to see a downtown or district adopt a similar model for the benefit of their constituents.

Photo credit:  Benevolent Hound

For ages now we’ve been hearing about the “Retail Apocalypse”, but those who study this for a living aren’t so dour on downtown commerce. And one author in particular, Michael Berne, a retail planning and real estate consultant working in our industry made some pretty positive points regarding the interrelated life-death struggle between downtown retailers and shopping centers (which are now taking a page the downtown playbook for success). In this piece for the Connecticut Main Street Center, Berne acknowledges the shift in retailing habits, but maintains that Main Street districts which tend to house independent retail and experiential businesses are actually not doing so poorly overall. Innovation in retailing, experiential attributes, and hands-on shopping experiences are key to the resilience of our downtowns. And while change is clearly afoot, the forthcoming Small Business Saturday offers each of our districts the opportunity to showcase original businesses and drive both awareness and foot traffic this November, and every month of the year to be frank.

Photo credit: Krisztina Papp, Unsplash

Gratitude is a recurring theme each November, as we collectively celebrate one of the biggest non-denominational holidays of the year by giving thanks for a bountiful harvest and the positive things we hold dear to our hearts. It’s no coincidence that Amex’s long-running “Shop Small” promotion takes place during this time each year, but for many small businesses the merchant processing fees of Amex alone put it out of reach of some independents. There’s so much more you can do to back your small businesses and district-level providers, so in the spirit of gratitude we’d like to share this round-up of ways to do so that don’t even cost a dime.

Photo credit: Tim Mossholder, Unsplash

America is a melting pot of cultures, civilizations and cuisines. One of our biggest regional draws is food. Some folks plan their entre visit around revered restaurants they want to try, specific dishes or types of food (think a Carolina crab boil, a Coney Island frank or even a Philly Cheesesteak). With access to massive amounts of data, Yelp recently completed a study on dining trends by the top ten metros in the US, and the findings are pretty surprising — in that there’s not a whole heck of a lot of diversity, and we see common themes popping up like Breakfast & Brunch, New American and Traditional American topping the lists. Granted, there’s a lot of leeway in interpreting precisely what “New American” means, but your local restaurateurs and concept purveyors may pick up a trend or two from this insightful piece that explains how customer data can boost your bottom line.

Photo credit: Davey Gravy, Unsplash