The Pet Works Cash Mob

The day was gorgeous! In fact, maybe the most beautiful of the year! The perfect day to wander downtown and meander through shops and mingle.

As we set up our signs we thought about the last few week and all the work that went into the first Cash Mob in Cowlitz County. Bringing a Cash Mob to The Pet Works was the brainchild of owner, Rebecca Smith who thought it was a great idea! While we sat around a table at Red Leaf Organic Coffee in Kelso, planning the event she agreed that Exclaim Media should be the ones to promote this event so she could continue to offer service excellence at The Pet Works; maybe one of the oldest businesses in Downtown Longview, Washington.

We perused the main Cash Mob Website for inspiration and saw signage, web sites, Facebook and Twitter pages. Each Cash Mob had their own flavor and depending on the community they resided in. The rules were simple:

• Create a Twitter Account
• Tweet the address only of the Cash Mob one week before the event
• Contact local newspapers and radio stations
• Have fun!

For Mobsters the rules were easy too!

• Show up with a friend
• Spend $20
• Get a ticket to the After Hours which would take place at a local eatery or pub
• Meet new people
• Have fun!

The main goal of Cash Mob is to have fun and create a little economic stimulus. Building relationships with the community and supporting local business are natural partners with this theme.

The minute our meeting subsided, armed with a date, time and an idea of which eatery Rebecca wanted to promote we headed back to the office to create a logo, website, Facebook, Twitter and begin the process of marketing this EXCLAIMATIOUS event. We created PSA’s which we emailed to every radio station and newspaper within 50 miles of Kelso-Longview, Washington, flyers which we used when we canvased a 2 block radius of The Pet Works and fielded phone calls from the local businesses that called to get a better definition of Cash Mob and to start planning theirs!

We advertised on Exclaim Media, LLC and Knotty Wares’ websites and also had a spot on Boomer Plus Tuesday to tell people what we were up to.

There was an ad placed in The Daily News, however no matter how many times we called or emailed them, we were not able to get someone to show any interest.

The power of Cash Mob is the spontaneity of being in the moment. There is is little time to prepare one and that too is part of the charm.

We were glad to see people coming in the door and enjoying the newly remodeled store and the friendly staff. In the end, we actually chose to sit in the window of Las Rocas, across the street so we could watch from afar and brainstorm ideas for the next one…and there will be more…

We had a lot of fun and want to thank the following businesses for helping:

• The Pet Works was the business who called the mob and inspired us to take this project on and help promote and support local business.
• The Bistro offered great promotions to Cash Mob participants.
• Prographyx worked hard to get our signs created in very short notice. They turned out beautiful!
• Copies Today Speedy Litho worked with us to print flyers and tickets and did a great job communicating with us until the order was not only complete, but perfect!

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