traders’ newsletter CAMBERWELL TRADERS ASSOCIATION NEWS
FIRST QUARTER 2020
IN THIS ISSUE CamberWELL-BEING Easter campaign
CamberwellShopping
Marketing update
camberwellshops
Autumn campaign
camberwellshopping
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear fellow traders and professionals, We hope you had a busy Christmas and summer period, despite the challenging trading conditions. Retail remains tough for many businesses, however there are some positive signs as traders adjust to the changing demands of customers. Some businesses have left the area for various reasons, while others have moved within the precinct, so our vacancy rates have shifted a bit, but remain better than most centres as we have also welcomed new businesses each month. Other challenges in early 2020 have included the impact of the bushfires, smoke and weather extremes, though thankfully less direct for us here in Camberwell than for our neighbours in rural areas. We have posted on our website messages of support to our fellow traders and acknowledged the ways our community is lending their support. There are also concerns around the Coronavirus, to both customers and stock issues, and the impact on the economy. On a positive note, the Camberwell Traders’ Association continues to run engaging promotions and campaigns to help draw shoppers to the precinct and reinforce our ‘shop local’ message. Our Valentine’s Day promotions and Christmas marketing activities were popular with shoppers and visitors to the precinct. In particular, our annual Christmas Family Day
(held on December 14) was our biggest ever, drawing record crowds to the shopping precinct to enjoy the live entertainment we put on for them. There was plenty of positive feedback from customers on the day and via messages on social media, so we are pleased to see it was such a success. Easter is the next big trading period, which is a busy time for food and gift shopping, entertaining friends and visitors, planning holidays or working on their homes. You should consider extended opening hours and plan seasonal promotions and sales to make the most of this time of year. If we all promote our activities we will attract more people to Camberwell and help each other. I’d also like to remind all traders in the Camberwell shopping precinct that marketing support is available to you through the traders’ association. Let our manager Kerry Daly know what you are up to – through the precinct’s marketing we can reach people beyond your database and offer professional support and advice to help you remain resilient. Email: info@camberwellca.com.au Regards, Henk Kelly-Kobes President, Camberwell Centre Association
With Easter fast approaching, it’s an egg-cellent time for traders to start preparing for their Easter specials and offers. Please email us your offers and promotions so we can share them for you. Easter will take place from April 10 – 13, and we will again run The Great Camberwell Easter Hunt competition. The competition encourages people to find the golden eggs hidden on posters in shop windows around the Camberwell precinct for a chance to win a $200 shopping voucher. The more golden eggs that entrants find, the more chances they will have to win, which incentivises people to visit as many shops as possible. We will support the competition with digital advertising and social media activity.
AUTUMN CAMPAIGN
hung throughout the shopping precinct.
We are running a seasonal brand campaign to highlight Camberwell as a destination to enjoy during the autumn season.
For the promotion, we will publish fashion articles to the website that share autumn/winter trends and highlight local stores where trending items can be bought.
The campaign will be supported by advertisements, a promotional video and editorial on the Camberwell Shopping website, as well as autumn leaf decorations
The autumn campaign will also include a competition that gives people the chance to win a major prize donated by a Camberwell business.
We are holding CamberWELL-BEING again this year to support and promote the growing number of health and wellness businesses in the Camberwell shopping precinct. Held on Saturday, May 23, CamberWELL-BEING is a fun day that celebrates health and wellness in the area, while showcasing the best of what Camberwell has to offer. Shoppers are invited to register and follow the Wellness Trail for their chance to win some great prizes. To participate, customers will collect their branded sports bag from our HQ event booth on the day, which will include a trail passport. Entrants will follow the trail to discover what’s happening in the participating businesses and get their passports stamped. Being a part of the trail is a fantastic opportunity for traders, who can tell potential customers about their products and services and entice them back with special offers. When customers return to the booth with a stamped passport, they can enter the Wellness Trail competition for a chance to win one of the many prizes donated by our traders. This competition is exclusive to Wellness Trail participants.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED Contact Kerry Daly (contact details below) to tell us what you would like to do on the day or to provide gifts or products for the sports bags. We will promote this event and post traders’ specials and offers on our dedicated CamberWELL-BEING website and Facebook events page. You can help promote the day among your members and share it via your social media channels.
HERE ARE SOME IDEAS: • Organise an activity, event, demonstration or special guest for a specific time or times on the day. We can add details of your activity in the official program. • Offer a free session or class on the day to introduce your products or services to new customers. • If your business runs private classes or consultations, then consider hosting an open day to give people a taste of what your business offers. • Create a special offer on your products and services like a discount or a ‘buy one, get one free’ deal on the day or during the months of May and June. • Give away free samples such as a taste testing of health foods or a sample of a cosmetic product. You might also want to offer vouchers to bring people back into your store. • Bring in promotional staff to engage trail walkers at your business or roam the precinct and invite guests into your business. Still struggling for ideas but keen to get involved? Talk to us and we’ll be able to help. Contact Kerry Daly by phoning (03) 9813 4190 or emailing kdaly@camberwellca.com.au
2019: A YEAR IN REVIEW We successfully completed a range of marketing activities to draw people to Camberwell shopping precinct over the summer. Our recent Valentine’s Day competition attracted many entrants and gave people the chance to win a romantic date for two at Rivoli Cinemas, which included dinner and a film in Gold Class. The competition was supported by digital advertising, posters and online editorial. We ran a comprehensive marketing campaign for Christmas, spearheaded by our annual Where’s Rudolph? competition, which remains as popular as ever. The major prize winner of our 2019 competition was Sharni Morter, who won a $500 voucher to spend in Camberwell. There were also 10 minor prize winners who each won a $20 voucher to spend at Dymocks Camberwell. Another success was the Christmas Family Day, which attracted hundreds of visitors to the Camberwell shopping precinct on Saturday, December 14. Shoppers enjoyed roving entertainers, live music, face painting, photos at our festive photo wall, rides on Santa’s antique fire truck, and more. This event was backed by print, radio and digital advertising activity, as well as online articles, including a Christmas gift guide and post-event coverage of the Christmas Family Day.
DIGITAL ACTIVITY Digital activity remains a key low-cost marketing activity in our mix and continues to yield excellent results for the shopping precinct. Our monthly e-newsletters allow us to promote current events and shop news, while digital ads allow us to create targeted campaigns. The Camberwell Shopping website traffic grows steadily, and hundreds of enquires from customers are passed on via contact forms direct to traders through the site each year. Here’s a snapshot of our current audience numbers: • More than 7,300 email addresses in our email database • More than 125,000 unique visitors to our websites over the past year • More than 7,700 followers across social media.
ANNUAL MARKETING OVERVIEW The Camberwell Centre Association delivers a range of marketing activities to support and promote traders in the Camberwell shopping precinct: Over the past 12 months, the association has: ✓ Produced promotions, including advertising and competitions, for New Year, Australia Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, CamberWELL-BEING, Mother’s Day, food and dining, Father’s Day, Camberwell on Canvas, and Christmas ✓ Ran major events including Christmas, CamberWELL-BEING, The Annual Camberwell Dinner Party, and Camberwell on Canvas ✓ Created and advertised 3 x seasonal (autumn, winter, spring) video ads, showcasing the precinct and traders. Street decorations adorned the precinct during these campaigns ✓ Created and distributed 12 x detailed monthly newsletters to our email database ✓ Created unique content including 12 x ‘Meet a Trader’ articles, and guides for seasonal fashion, back to school, Halloween, Black Friday, food and dining, and spring racing ✓ Coordinated social media activity including updates from the precinct and trader news ✓ Published and updated trader pages, including regular posts for trader offers ✓ Ran 4 x business forum events with guest speakers for local businesses to network (free for traders) ✓ Produced 3 x issues of The Camberwell Citizen newspaper with 30,000 copies of each issue distributed to local homes, shops and key locations ✓ Coordinated advertising and support for 12 x ‘Meet the Author’ events hosted in Camberwell, bringing famous authors to the area ✓ Produced regular advertising for AdWords, Facebook, radio (3AW, SmoothFM), and print media (Leader, Weekly Review, MamaMag, Your Child, Stonnington/Boroondara Kids, This Week in Australia, Welcome to Victoria) ✓ Advocated and petitioned for traders at local council on key matters such as parking and redevelopments ✓ Created an editorial campaign to cross-promote Rotary Camberwell Sunday Market and Camberwell shopping precinct ✓ Supported local community groups and initiatives ✓ Delivered regular updates to traders including quarterly email and print newsletters ✓ Held weekly meetings for members at Short Black Cafe.
MARKETING CALENDAR
NETWORKING EVENTS
MARCH
Meet other traders, professionals and community members to share ideas and issues.
What’s coming up?
✓ Camberwell Business Forum (March 24) ✓ Autumn campaign (March – May) ✓ Easter promotions begin, including annual Great Camberwell Easter Hunt ✓ School holidays (March 28 – April 13)
APRIL ✓ Autumn campaign (March – May) ✓ School holidays (March 28 – April 13) ✓ Easter (April 10 – 13)
MAY ✓ Mother’s Day (May 10) ✓ CamberWELL-BEING (May 23) – Family event to celebrate health and wellness businesses in precinct
JUNE ✓ Winter/stocktake sales ✓ End of financial year ✓ Queen’s Birthday public holiday (June 8)
TRADER AND BUSINESS FORUMS The next Camberwell Business Forum event will take place on Tuesday, March 24. The session will share tips on photography and videography for small businesses. Visit camberwellbusiness.com.au to secure your spot. The Camberwell Business Forums offer local businesses a great opportunity to meet and network. Drinks and nibbles will be provided. Guest speakers and topics for future events will be posted on camberwellbusiness.com.au. Events are FREE for Camberwell traders or $25 for non-members, unless otherwise stated.
THE CAMBERWELL BUSINESS CLUB The Camberwell Business Club meets every Monday for lunch (from February to December), from 1pm – 2pm sharp, and features a guest speaker. It costs $25 for casual attendance or membership packages are available. It’s a great chance to get out of the office and meet fellow business operators over a light lunch. Details: camberwellbusinessclub.com.au
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE BUSINESSES It is difficult to keep up with new operators in the precinct, particularly those in upper levels, so please keep us informed. The camberwellshopping.com.au website is not just for retailers, businesses can make use of it too. If your business deals directly with the public or works with other small businesses, please let us know. We remind all businesses to check out camberwellbusiness.com.au where we post local business events held in Camberwell. If you are hosting a local seminar or event we can help promote it for free. Send info to: info@camberwellca.com.au
SHOP NEWS
Catch up with new businesses, store moves and other news. BANH MI STAR 833 Burke Rd If you love Vietnamese street food, then you'll love Banh Mi Star which offers bold, fast and fresh Vietnamese-style eats, including banh mi, bun and rice paper rolls. CHARTERIS MUSIC SCHOOL 314 Camberwell Rd Charteris Music School is now operating in Camberwell and offers music lessons from their foundation program to exam preparation to performances. Students range from the age of 4 to adults and seniors. ECLADO LABORATORY Rear, 630 Burke Rd (enter via Market Place) New to Camberwell, ECLADO Laboratory is a skin clinic that offers treatments including facials, light therapy, non-surgical cosmetic treatments, cosmetic injectables, as well as a comprehensive waxing service. LUCKY WELL Rear, 626 Burke Rd Lucky Well, an official Tattslotto outlet and newsagent, has opened in Camberwell. The store offers daily newspapers, stationery, tobacco, key cutting, phone repairs and accessories, and more. The store is located opposite the Market Place carpark. MICKEYLEE'S PIZZA BAR 654 Market Place MickeyLee’s, a new takeaway and home delivery pizza shop run by friendly duo Michael and Lino, is open after 5pm. They are also open for takeaway pizza for lunch on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. OKAMI 762 Burke Rd Okami Japanese Restaurant recently opened in Camberwell and offers a generous all-you-can-eat menu incorporating over 30 traditional Japanese dishes. TRUE DERMAL CLINIC 1/524 Riversdale Rd True Dermal Clinic has arrived in Camberwell, offering expert advice and ongoing treatment plans to address skin and body concerns. Their highly qualified team delivers non-invasive cosmetic treatments for breakthrough results. THE HEMP SUPERSTORE 375 Camberwell Rd From candles to clothing to health and wellbeing products, the Hemp Superstore offers a wide range of quality, sustainable hemp products. The team rigorously researches each product to verify they are ethically sourced, bringing premium and innovative hemp products to Camberwell.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESIDENT Henk Kelly-Kobes Dymocks Bookstore 9882 0032 VICE PRESIDENT Ray Orr Mail Boxes Etc 9813 2200 TREASURER Tim Kilham Lanyon Partners Chartered Accountants 8678 3997 SECRETARY Bev Wooffindin Camberwell Secretariat 9813 2707
MEMBERS Adam Axon Paper Cut 8376 8628 Natalie Daw Helloworld Travel Camberwell 9963 1280 Neil Earle Earle & Company 9882 0233 George Keskerides Terry White Chemist 9882 6655 Chris Risteski Column Financial Solutions 9859 8214
If you would like to become a member of the association or take a role on the committee contact the president to discuss.
WEEKLY MEETINGS All traders are welcome to attend our weekly meetings at Short Black Cafe (761-767 Burke Rd), held every Friday from 10am to 11am. Please join us whenever you can to discuss marketing and relevant issues over a coffee.
STAY INFORMED The trader’s association sends out monthly email newsletters with current business, news and marketing updates to ensure you stay informed about what’s going on in the precinct. If you are not receiving these emails then we either do not have your current email address or you need to check your spam filters. Please contact us if you are having any issues with receiving the email newsletter.
CONTACT US For further information regarding topics in this newsletter, please contact Kerry Daly Camberwell Centre Association Manager Lvl 1, Camberwell Place, 793 Burke Rd Camberwell VIC 3124 Phone / Fax: (03) 9813 4190 info@camberwellca.com.au