This holiday season, the Downtown Reno Partnership is once again providing people with a fun way to explore and engage with downtown businesses through our Downtown Holiday Deal Hunt. Created to help spread holiday cheer and generate foot traffic, the game offers exciting deals and giveaways for customers. After another challenging year, it is time to uplift community spirit with a fun and interactive game for everyone to enjoy. As part of our mission, and the mission of other business improvement districts around the country, we aim to uplift our downtown businesses through special marketing programs like this one. If you haven’t already, think of ways to prepare your business for the holidays. Retail outlets, in particular, should think of reorienting their stores for quick-grab gift items and deals. We love to point to the Home Means Nevada store in downtown (and south Reno) as an example of merchandising done right. Most small items during the year fill small spaces in retailer shops, but think of putting them all together in a themed location in your store. The Home Means Nevada store sets up several tables at the front of the store with small, fun gift items made in Nevada — anything from branded coffee beans, to cheese and wine sets, to cards and clothing. Keeping consistent hours during the holidays is especially important for the rest of the month. It has been difficult for many owners to maintain hours due to ongoing changes in COVID recommendations and staffing levels. But expanded shopping hours, especially in the morning, might be able to help as we head toward the end of the year. So, consider what you know about your foot traffic over the years and make the adjustments now and stick with them. On to the Holiday Deal Hunt. When spending $20 or more at participating businesses, customers will receive a card with a logo to a different business in downtown with a scratch-off on the back of the card that will reveal a prize. Underneath each scratch-off, you’ll find one of more than 50 prizes; from 10% off to a grand prize “sweet suite package” for two at THE ROW. Not only will this add to the excitement of anticipation, it hopefully will encourage people to come back and play again, because there’s no limit to how many times a customer can participate. To explain further, the more cards they redeem, the better their chance is to win one of our grand prizes. The Holiday Deal Hunt began on Black Friday and will end on Dec. 31. However, customers can still redeem deals until Jan. 31, 2022, because we want to make sure there’s enough time to collect deals after the hunt is over. Prizes are based off a three-tiered system so customers can receive several prizes for cards with the same business logo on them. But in order to ensure fairness, there is only one card per visit allowed and it will be considered redeemed once the label on the back has been scratched off. Businesses may have specific split-check or redemption policies, so customers are encouraged to ask about the Holiday Deal Hunt upon arrival. With businesses working together, the game will be a fun and light-hearted way to boost community morale. We are also working to get Locomotion Plaza lit up for the holidays. The new trees will hold holiday lights and the fence will be adorned with large wreaths all around! To find out more information about the Holiday Deal Hunt and how to play, please visit Downtown Reno Partnership’s website at downtownreno.org/holidays-in-downtown. For any other questions or concerns, please contact Downtown Reno Partnership Marketing Manager Mike Higdon at mhigdon@downtownreno.org. Happy Holidays! “What’s Up Downtown” is a monthly Voices column in the NNBW typically authored by Alex Stettinski, executive director of the Downtown Reno Partnership. This month’s column was written by DRP Marketing Manager Mike Higdon. Reach him at mhigdon@downtownreno.org.
