WITH MORE THAN 130 years in the same building on Bowling Green, KY’s historic square, Morris Jewelry has a rich heritage. Jim and Samantha Steen, who purchased the store in 2013, understand the value of being known as the city’s oldest and finest jeweler. But from the start, they also recognized the need to reach out to a younger market. It was clear to them that a critical step would be establishing a social media presence. — Connie Thwaite
THE IDEA
The Steens brought Stephanie Turner on board as director of Internet sales and marketing. Turner soon developed a website and began using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to promote the store.
Then, last spring Turner had an idea. To appeal to younger customers, the store needed to develop an image that was more modern and fun. And what’s more fun than an Easter egg hunt?
The Steens agreed, and Turner got to work fast. Holy Saturday, the date chosen for the egg hunt, was only days away.
THE EXECUTION
Winners had to visit the store to claim their prizes.
Choosing the location for the First Annual Morris Jeweled Egg Hunt was easy. To draw people into the store, the event would be held outside Morris’s own front door on the spacious city square.
Turner purchased 25 plastic Easter eggs, designed certificates noting the prize for finding each egg, and tucked the certificates inside the eggs.
Then she turned on the social media. To promote the egg hunt, she wrote a blog entry and posted on Facebook and Twitter. It didn’t take long before people started sharing the news.
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Early Saturday morning, “I made a mad dash to the park,” Turner says. “I hid eggs under bushes, on the fountain and on statues. I hung one from the branch of a tree and hid some in plain sight in tufts of grass.”
THE RESULTS
On Saturday morning, the event drew a crowd. The prizes ranged from bars of Belgian chocolate and $50 gift cards to amethyst earrings, pearl earrings, a rose gold cross necklace and Chamilia bracelets. The grand prize was a custom-made Fabergé egg worth $395. All told, the prizes amounted to $2,500.
The winners had to visit the store to claim their prizes. With some winners bringing friends and relatives with them, many future purchasers walked through Morris’ doors for the first time.
Turner and the Steens deemed the Jeweled Egg Hunt a great success. “People loved it,” Turner said. “It was so much fun and great publicity for the store.”
Would they do it again? Of course, Turner said, adding that they were already tossing around ideas for promotional events to coincide with holidays year round.
Do It Yourself
- Define your target market. Morris Jewelry was specifically targeting a young, modern market; however, the egg hunt attracted a mix of men and women of all ages. The owners believe some of the winners will return for jewelry purchases, so they were pleased with the results. With more time to plan, your store might better define your target market and use promotional tactics geared to reach that audience.
- Determine a budget. Morris Jewelry spent approximately $2,500 on the Jeweled Easter Egg Hunt and believe it was worth every dollar.
- Get the word out. As Morris Jewelry’s event demonstrates, social media is an excellent promotional tool. But they admit that, given more time for planning, they would have alerted the traditional media by sending out press releases and following up with editors.
- A few tips. If you decide to insert certificates in the eggs, make space for winners to enter their names, addresses and email addresses. Use this information to build your mailing list. And, take plenty of photographs to post near the store entrance and on your website. Also consider serving juice and small pastries and sending brunch invitations to the media and civic leaders. In short, milk the event for all it’s worth!