Cloverdale begins work on marketing strategy
CLOVERDALE -- At the Cloverdale Business Leadership Team’s last meeting for the next four months, Kristin Clary, executive director of Putnam County Economic Development, announced that she had submitted an application for a grant from the Putnam County Community Foundation on behalf of Cloverdale.
If received, the grant will be used to put banners over a major road in the town, possibly near Casey’s Gas Station, to advertise local events. Clerk-Treasurer Cheryl Galloway reported that she has been in talks with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and Midwestern Engineers about setting them up.
Director Clary said she should know by the end of March whether the town received the grant.
Other projects moving forward, Clerk-Treasurer Galloway is looking into the cost of posting wayfinding signage. The BLT also hopes to introduce a highway adoption program that will allow local businesses beautify sections of road.
The regular members of the BLT are Matt Nichols, pastor of Soul Harvest Church and a member of the Redevelopment Commission; Eric Freeman, director of the Putnam County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Joshua Barrett, of the C-Bar-C Expo Center and president of the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce; Coweta Patton, president of the Town Council; Clerk-Treasurer Cheryl Galloway; and Social Media Manager Laura Hattan.
The team has named five goals for the year: developing a five-point marketing strategy with a budget and funding partners; creating a wayfinding (signs leading visitors to important destinations) plan; developing a county-wide community calendar to better coordinate events; commercial and industrial economic development, especially on vacant and unused properties; constant county-wide communication among organizations, businesses and governments.
The BLT defined potential funding partners as local banks, Endeavor Communications, POET Biorefining, C-Bar-C Expo Center and others. The team also identifed Cloverdale Schools, especially the FFA program, as a potential manpower partner.
Pastor Nichols reported that First National Bank has expressed in interest in being a funding partner.
The five-point marketing strategy will include billboards on Interstate-70; banners over main thoroughfares; social media; wayfinding; and beautification.
Also in marketing, the BLT will focus on distributing T-shirts and hats sporting the town’s brand (logo and motto), which is still being developed. The T-shirts will be part of the Be the Change-ACT program introduced to the Town Council last month, which are designed to raise awareness of local organizations and community involvement.
While some organizations will be working on individual projects, efforts toward getting signage (billboards, banners, wayfinding), developing the calendar and attracting businesses will be shared.
Although goals have been set for this year, Brian Cox, president of the Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce, cautioned that this is really a three- or four-year process.
Cox later suggested that officials and leaders from Greencastle and Cloverdale should participate in friendly competitions, like basketball and cornhole tournaments, between the towns to improve camaraderie.
“This is not a teeter-totter,” Clary said in commenting on the growth she’s seeing throughout Putnam County.“We’re raising all boats. I just feel there’s an energy in the community we haven’t seen in a while.”
Nichols added,” We either do this now or it won’t happen for another 10 years.”
-- Absences: Hattan was absent.
-- Visitors’ Center: Freeman said that he hopes moving the Visitors’ Center from downtown Greencastle to interstate Cloverdale will happen this year. He also said that Greencastle Mayor Dory has asked whether the PCCVB will leave its current building as a second visitors’ center.
The Cloverdale BLT is set to meet every four or five months as needed.