published: Sunday, July 08, 2012

'I Love Downtown Sebring' campaign set to begin in October

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'I Love Downtown Sebring' campaign set to begin in October

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By SAMANTHA GHOLAR

By SAMANTHA GHOLAR

sgholar@newssun.com

SEBRING -- A new marketing campaign has been set in motion by the Community Redevelopment Agency with the hopes of bringing residents and visitors alike to downtown Sebring.

Casey Wohl, owner of Gray Dog Communications, is working with the CRA to launch the "I Love Downtown Sebring" campaign.

The campaign will kick off during the focal point of the year-long Sebring Centennial Celebration in October. Local merchants have already embraced the new logo, incorporating the bright blue sticker onto shopping bags and merchandise.

"October is going to be a really exciting month in this community so we thought it'd be the perfect time to start the campaign," said Wohl.

Wohl first proposed the campaign idea to the CRA in May and following the quick approval, Wohl began brainstorming on how to make it successful.

"They (CRA) authorized us $36,000 for advertising for this campaign. Our big thing will be to spread advertising all over, not just in Sebring. Our website has been having a lot of traffic. We get statistics from all over and last year we had statistics from multiple places visiting our page on a regular basis," Wohl said.

According to Wohl, the statistics show an abundance of traffic from the cities of Sarasota, Fort Myers, Lakeland and Orlando. The stats also show a small amount of traffic from the larger metropolitan cities of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

"We want to generate new customers and visitors. It's going to be something for Highlands County residents, but it will also be something for visitors. We will have advertising for brochures and flyers that will be given out everywhere locally and focus on an overhaul of the website for the non-local business of course," Wohl said.

The first six months of the newly created campaign have each already been planned out and established.

-- October: Celebrate the Centennial

-- November: Savor the Flavor

-- December: Shop, Wrap & Roll

-- January: Flying High Health & Wellness

-- February: Art, Heart & Soul

-- March: The Need for Speed

Wohl came up with the ideas in hopes of getting people into downtown Sebring businesses as well as bringing businesses and organizations together.

"There has been more energy and excitement in downtown than there has been in the past two years that I've been working with the CRA," Wohl said.

Other entities, including the Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Commission, have worked with Wohl and the CRA, which Wohl plans to continue to do during this campaign.

"We hope to generate new customers and visitors. We also want to generate business cooperation and increase the local and state exposure," said Wohl.

Wohl plans to present the campaign at the ''What's Up Downtown" meeting on July 31 as well as a handful of other organizations' meetings.

For more information, visit the CRA's website at www.DowntownSebring.org/ or call the CRA office at 471-5104.

'I Love Downtown Sebring' campaign set to begin in October

By SAMANTHA GHOLAR

sgholar@newssun.com

SEBRING -- A new marketing campaign has been set in motion by the Community Redevelopment Agency with the hopes of bringing residents and visitors alike to downtown Sebring.

Casey Wohl, owner of Gray Dog Communications, is working with the CRA to launch the "I Love Downtown Sebring" campaign.

The campaign will kick off during the focal point of the year-long Sebring Centennial Celebration in October. Local merchants have already embraced the new logo, incorporating the bright blue sticker onto shopping bags and merchandise.

"October is going to be a really exciting month in this community so we thought it'd be the perfect time to start the campaign," said Wohl.

Wohl first proposed the campaign idea to the CRA in May and following the quick approval, Wohl began brainstorming on how to make it successful.

"They (CRA) authorized us $36,000 for advertising for this campaign. Our big thing will be to spread advertising all over, not just in Sebring. Our website has been having a lot of traffic. We get statistics from all over and last year we had statistics from multiple places visiting our page on a regular basis," Wohl said.

According to Wohl, the statistics show an abundance of traffic from the cities of Sarasota, Fort Myers, Lakeland and Orlando. The stats also show a small amount of traffic from the larger metropolitan cities of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

"We want to generate new customers and visitors. It's going to be something for Highlands County residents, but it will also be something for visitors. We will have advertising for brochures and flyers that will be given out everywhere locally and focus on an overhaul of the website for the non-local business of course," Wohl said.

The first six months of the newly created campaign have each already been planned out and established.

-- October: Celebrate the Centennial

-- November: Savor the Flavor

-- December: Shop, Wrap & Roll

-- January: Flying High Health & Wellness

-- February: Art, Heart & Soul

-- March: The Need for Speed

Wohl came up with the ideas in hopes of getting people into downtown Sebring businesses as well as bringing businesses and organizations together.

"There has been more energy and excitement in downtown than there has been in the past two years that I've been working with the CRA," Wohl said.

Other entities, including the Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Commission, have worked with Wohl and the CRA, which Wohl plans to continue to do during this campaign.

"We hope to generate new customers and visitors. We also want to generate business cooperation and increase the local and state exposure," said Wohl.

Wohl plans to present the campaign at the ''What's Up Downtown" meeting on July 31 as well as a handful of other organizations' meetings.

For more information, visit the CRA's website at www.DowntownSebring.org/ or call the CRA office at 471-5104.