town of Yorktown
Small town, big impact.
Since 2014, the town of Yorktown has been undergoing a large-scale redevelopment initiative to revitalize its downtown. Of course, completely rejuvenating a municipal district requires investment from developers and a fleet of small businesses that cater toward the community to foster long-term sustainability. Finding these resources requires an overwhelming amount of targeted public relations—something for which the town itself was not equipped to handle.
That’s where we came in.
In an effort to attract developers and small businesses to invest in and help populate downtown, Yorktown partnered with Intersection for a state-wide campaign to find the candidates best suited to grow Yorktown. This beast of a campaign was a healthy mix of research, PR, and event planning—but the results proved their worth.
Research
Before we could adequately pitch the town to developers and business owners, we had to first thoroughly understand the town and its opportunities ourselves. We pored over community surveys and economic analyses to get at the heart of the redevelopment. Through this process, we uncovered Yorktown’s four most desired and opportune industries:
Grocery and specialty food stores
Restaurants, cafés, breweries, and delis
Clothing stores and boutiques
Sports, recreation, and hobby stores
Equipped with this knowledge, Intersection scoured the state to find businesses that fit into one of these four categories and would be an ideal fit for Yorktown.
PR
Findings from the research phase were compiled into an 18-page booklet that illustrated Yorktown’s allure, the goals of the redevelopment efforts, and the specific growth opportunities for each of the four target industries. This booklet, which also served as an invitation to a luncheon to meet with town officials and learn more, was sent to 130 business owners and developers throughout the state. The campaign included a series of follow-up emails and phone calls to develop personal connections and help promote attendance.
In the end, our efforts yielded a 35% attendance rate, with an additional 8% expressing interest—a surge of businesses and developers lining up to help grow Yorktown.
“In small municipal governments, finding efficiencies is key; Intersection found those efficiencies by bringing multiple skillsets to the team, allowing the town to remain committed to small staff size while increasing the abilities of the town to better respond to the changing environment in our community.”
