Partner Article

Local businesses work together using printed leaflet

Concerned business owners in the small village of Twyford have become so worried about the prospect of their local businesses failing, that they’ve decided to take matters into their own hands with a huge, village-wide promotional drive. Traders have warned that Twyford, close to Reading, will become a ‘ghost town’ if the smaller businesses in the area aren’t properly supported, and some of the most worried residents have printed off thousands of pamphlets, guiding Christmas shoppers on the best places to spend their money this festive season.

Alex Hawkins of Elements, a mind, body and soul shop specialising in alternative medicine on the High Street in Twyford has blamed road closures, internet shopping and the proximity of large shopping centres such as those in Reading and Maidenhead for the drop in local custom. But a local business group, the Twyford Village Partnership, is hoping a festive programme of events complements by their 16-page printed leaflet will entice shoppers back to the local boutiques and shops. The leaflet is robustly encouraging residents of Twyford not to miss the great deals that are on their doorstep, and is providing smaller businesses with a much-needed boost. The printed promotional leaflets will be delivered to local schools, doctors’ surgeries and the local library, as well as placed in local newsagents and corner shops so that residents will find them hard to miss.

Across its 16 pages, the A4 printed leaflet includes a guide to all of the festive events taking place in the town, and a directory of all the small, local shops and businesses in the area, detailing their products and location. Events taking place in the town this month include the traditional lighting of their Christmas tree, an Olympic-themed tree festival and a Christmas fair, which will also help to showcase many of the businesses in the leaflet.

The benefits of using printed flyers and leaflets for such a task are multiple, but when businesses are trying to turn over profits, the biggest advantage they provide is their cost. 2,500 leaflets have been printed, with 16 pages in each flyer; this amounts to 40,000 pages in all. And yet this type of campaign is one of the most cost-effective ways to deliver information to a large audience. 40,000 pages worth of promotional text and images have been spread to practically an entire village for a small sum, and the income it could possibly bring to the businesses in the area could prove to be invaluable.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rebecca Appleton .