Metrotech BID: Getting Trendy With The Facebookz and Handy Shopping Guide

Shopping in Downtown Brooklyn is down and dirty (at least for now). One would never think that there would be enough to warrant a nice sheen when it comes to a little press and marketing; the charm is that it's a microcosm that isn't neatly packaged.

However, surprisingly the Metrotech BID, who is trying to champion the neighborhood that alternately is the hottest neighborhood in Brooklyn and one of those areas where nobody knows really where/what it is, has fashioned a sort of organized flow chart for the holiday season. So if you know you can get your family something at Macy's or Jimmy Jazz, or any sneakers to speak of, maybe you'll take a look and enter the Holidays in the Heart of Brooklyn sweepstakes. This includes 2 nights in the Sheraton awkwardly situated among scaffolding currently; dinner at Morton's (which is the kicker for me), and a nice discount at the TKTS.

So the microsite is nice and the Facebook page is really well done considering it just started and they invested into a little creative work and some decent messaging/copy even with only 92 likes. You enter the sweepstakes on Facebook (although Wildfire's application can be used on the microsite as well but they chose to funnel traffic I'm guessing) and take a look at their shopping guide.


Two things about this guide: one, it's nice that all the local businesses I see are getting holiday cheery with small discounts across the board, whether dining, apparel, etc.

The other thing is though; how do we ask for the discount? Do we just print out the section where they are listed? Do half of these businesses know they are doing discounts? It's not like Tanger outlets or Woodbury Commons where everything is name brand and part of a larger real estate structure. I know that's what this shopping guide is supposed to do, organize into a bigger marketing picture, but I'm just a little skeptical that I'm actually going to get "10%" at Jack's Barber Shop down the street. 10% of what? 10% of a haircut? 10% of the barber's mind?

Exciting stuff but not quite there yet. Although I did 'like' the Facebook page and would love to see it develop from a good digital strategy. Until then, there's always the scrappy Downtown Brooklyn Facebook page...



and Solange's pretty awesome cover:

Twitter Kitsch: N Train Gossip

I knew Twitter was good for something. The KCB is all about a wonderful scoop and it's better than strawberry ice cream. It's the vile, the disgusting, the hilarious, and the totally weird things happening on the N train. Twitpics flow with things from too much makeup to unwrapped condoms.

Combine this with the new season of 24 portraying New York in a vaguely stereotyped way (with some truth: cell phone reception can be a mucka ferguson in certain parts of the boroughs) and you got the makings of greatness. I realized that people think Brooklyn is like short for Murder. But on the other hand, you have Brooklyn Heights which is short for Bank.

Check it out: N Train Gossip on Twitter

What does this Twatter remind me of? Of course the Vans Song by the Suicide Machines. It's a tongue-in-cheek beat down of what other people wear.