Totally Locally is something special. Way back in 2011 I created a Shop Local campaign for Calderdale Council – it was called Totally Locally. It wasn’t the usual ‘sticker and a tick’ campaign, it was a full marketing strategy with supporting materials designed to really have an impact on the independent shops of the six towns of Calderdale.
It worked – really worked. In fact it worked so well, that after two years I was starting to get so many calls asking me to create tsomething similar for their town.
After piloting it in a few towns, working alongside the businesses of the area, I realised this was a lot of work! I also realised I wanted to help as many people as possible, and that wasn’t going to happen in this way. So, alongside my business buddy Nigel Goddard, we decided to put everything we’d learnt and built over those years online – including all the marketing material, designs, strategy, instructions – everything. And give it all away for free – just to see what would happen!
Totally Locally has now grown into a huge national (and international) movement, and includes the huge Fiver Fest campaign – www.fiverfest.co.uk which regularly sees over 100 towns across the UK working together through Totally Locally to create a massive event to promote independent high streets. All for free. It has reached as far as New Zealand and Australia, and been translated into different languages by volunteers. It really has become a movement.
Totally Locally has international recognition, and I have been invited to speak on it across the world. It is an example of how powerful a brand can be when you democratise it and give it to people to use for themselves. I use this strategy with any branding project or campaign. If people are invested, they are your ambassadors so the word spreads quicky, and people feel an ownership.
So – the number one thing we do with any campaign is get the people involved!
