Digital Media and the Branding of Downtowns: Strategies for New Business Development Using Paid, Owned and Earned Media November, 2013 | Page 21

TWO SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
The Startup Stampede
Launched just a few months apart, Durham’s Startup Stampede and the Smoffice campaigns have
brought new business and international accolades to town. The community’s leadership was convinced
that entrepreneurs who took a good look at downtown Durham would fall in love with it. Each campaign
was designed to attract attention and was promoted entirely through digital media.
The Startup Stampede offered 60 days of free space in an old bank building plus lots of networking
opportunities to 12 startups. The collaborative effort included the Chamber, Downtown Durham, Inc.,
and the American Underground. Chamber
director Casey Steinbacher remembers the
campaign’s beginnings: “We rented that space at
a discounted rate thanks to [the local credit
union] and we transformed it. We painted a few
things, got tables and chairs, high speed
internet. We went to Goodwill, bought some
couches and chairs, some old pinball machines
and set it up.”
The group created a very simple website to
explain what was available. Once the space was
set up, the group met at a coffee shop with
successful entrepreneurs who used their email
lists and social media connections to spread the
word. Matthew Coppedge of Downtown Durham
The Startup Stampede included a simple website created
Inc., says the contacts of experts was key in
specifically for the project.
carrying the message. “When you have people
who are respected in those industries and they’re willing to send the message out, that means much
more coming from him than coming from us,” said Coppedge. “We’ve been able to leverage other
people’s social media contacts and connections through them because they trust what we do. It’s not
just your own followers that you can capitalize on.
“At the end of two hours we had talked to 10-thousand people and had 3,000 hits on our webpage,”
said Steinbacher. “We were up for three weeks and we had hits from 352 cities. We had 120
applications for 12 spots in three weeks.” The campaign was so successful that they held two more the
same way. Of the 36 startups that won the contests, 22 are still operating in downtown Durham.
The Smoffice
The Smoffice (small office) was borne during a short drive one afternoon. Coppedge and American
Underground chief strategist, Adam Klein, wanted to draw more attention to downtown Durham. To
attract the attention of entrepreneurs, they acknowledged a truth the community embraces, that office

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