Taking Place Based Brands and Businesses to the Next Level
From Downtown Portland to eco-friendly packages for boutique hotels, see how Watershed helps promote and educate consumers on the benefits of visiting unique Northwest destinations.
Watershed works with Portland's Downtown Marketing Initiative in partnership with the Portland Development Commission, TriMet and the Portland Business Alliance. The mission is to generate positive media coverage of Downtown Portland in order to inspire shoppers to visit Downtown for experiences that couldn't be had in a suburban mall.
Watershed created messaging around the concept that shopping downtown is a "Call to Action" to support local businesses and maintain a thriving downtown. Watershed recommended encouraging the media and others to think about the impact that a thriving downtown--with its unique and eclectic nature--has on a region's culture and economy. Watershed conducted media training sessions for key spokespeople, interviewed for shopping trends, prepared everyone for crisis situations and did media relations. Watershed efforts generated 45 news stories from The Oregonian, The Columbian, Northwest Palate, Citysearch, the Portland Tribune and several radio stations. Downtown retail sales grew six percent, bucking the national trend and growing by two percent from the previous year.
