3/50, Local Purchasing, and Irrational Behavior
Posted on | February 19, 2010 | No Comments
Twin Cities native Cinda Baxter made waves a year ago when she started a small “viral” counter to Oprah’s exortation to “stop all unnecessary spending” in response to the economic meltdown. Baxter’s solution was different: Instead of “stopping spending”, which is in and of itself irrational, punitive, and unsustainable, she suggested redirecting those dollars to local businesses. In essence, the “3/50″ program encouraged shoppers to choose three local businesses and spend $50 at each one each month. If enough people did that, it would support the local economy and keep those jobs alive.
Valiant, certainly buzz-worthy, and clearly riding a wave of “buy local” sentiment.
But color my cautious about the long-term effectiveness of the campaign. Of course, it’s getting a lot of talk now, but as the economy recovers (and it will), will people still decide they should support small, local businesses, when larger chains offer lower prices, more predictable products and services, and stronger advertising? That’s what makes national chains, well, national. They are good at delivering products and services a lot of people want, very efficiently.
I’ll put this in my “wait and see a year from now” file…
Tags: 3/50 > Buy local > Cinda Baxter
Comments
Leave a Reply
About
Jason Voiovich
Ecra Creative Group
Phone: 651.209.2778
Principal and co-founder of Ecra Creative Group, a Minneapolis, MN based creative services firm specializing in brand development, reputation process management, naming/trademark, and product launches to drive measurable business results.
