Downtown Youngstown lacks coordinated plan to market itself
Downtown Youngstown lacks coordinated plan to market itself
By Karl Henkel
khenkel@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
A variety of new restaurants?
Check.
Continuing improvements, including bike racks and increased police presence?
Check.
A surefire marketing campaign to promote a flourishing downtown?
Not so much.
For the first time in years, downtown Youngstown is on the move.
New apartments have and will continue to move into the area. Business activity has picked up. A locally-owned cab service has started.
City leaders say it’s a great start, but it must continue by marketing and diversifying the downtown area, most notably Federal Street.
“I didn’t even realize it had any marketing, to be honest with you,” said Michael Pontikos, marketing and advertising professor at Youngstown State University.
The marketing aspect is “low-hanging fruit,” said Phil Kidd, community organizer at Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative.
Kidd, who grew up in the bustling Pittsburgh metro area, said developing a cohesive branding of the city through signs and pamphlets – and having them available in every business – is the first step toward promoting the downtown.
Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.