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Northbrook commercial made to boost shopping
Two women browsing store windows in Northbrook are featured in the first TV commercial made to promote shopping and dining in the village. | Courtesy Northbrook Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Updated: January 7, 2013 6:16AM
NORTHBROOK — A TV commercial focusing on Northbrook as THE place to shop for the holidays is under the spotlights throughout the North Shore.
The 30-second advertisement is the brain-child of Northbrook, its Chamber of Commerce, and the North Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau.
It’s also part of the village and Chamber’s larger “Live Shop Dine” marketing campaign promoting Northbrook as a shopping destination comparable to Michigan Avenue – but without the crowds, hassle and parking fees, said Tensley Garris, the chamber’s president.
“The chamber and the village have had a long partnership and have been developing a ‘shop locally’ campaign for more than three years,” she added. “It started out relatively small with posters and banners for light poles in the community, and each year we keep stepping it up.”
Other efforts have included a “Live Shop Dine” micro-website and the recently released fall Shopping and Dining Guide, she added.
So when Garris and David Schoon, Northbrook’s senior planner and economic development coordinator, got together this year, they decided to do something with the broadcast media.
The commercial depicts two women dining in a Northbrook restaurant and shopping at a downtown boutique store, as well as at Northbrook Court.
“The commercial was developed with a specific consumer in mind, women between 35 and 65. And fortunately, cable advertising makes it affordable to do TV commercials targeting specific areas, like the North Shore,” Garris said.
“We are targeting people who are more likely to come to Northbrook and choosing stations that have a higher viewership by women. Typically, women make most of the shopping and dining decisions for the household.”
Then, rather than highlighting a few businesses, they chose to concentrate on the experience itself.
Planning the project took about three months and the filming itself took about 10 hours. The entire project, including producing and running the commercial, cost about $20,000.
Schoon noted that they will ask a variety of the businesses in town for feedback before deciding what to do next year.
“When other communities, like Highland Park and Evanston, have run commercials, I’ve heard from constituents ‘When is Northbrook going to do something like that?’ Schoon said. “Those who have seen the commercial thought it was a nice representation of the village and liked it.”
Garris said the village/Chamber partnership has been successful, because she and Schoon have compatible goals. The village is interested in doing what it can for sales tax and the Chamber is trying to help businesses.
“So we need to let potential shoppers know that we have we have it all – luxury retail, as well as boutique shopping. And it’s much more convenient.”
