On Hertel Avenue there is a small section of urban businesses that just got a big marketing boost. The owners of the North Park Theater building, Tom and Alice Eoannou, decided to add a series of ornamental iron brackets to the exterior of each storefront. The difference is incredible. I spoke to Kim Hazelet, owner of Accentric, who was very excited about the additions. "The owners of the building really care about the appearance," she told me. "They paid for the brackets and each of the shops paid for a sign. These businesses all work very well together, and now we're looking for more ways to market as one shopping destination."
Often time there is no cohesion when it comes to identifiable shopping districts. Destinations like Niagara on the lake have been very successful when it comes to branding and marketing efforts. Each distinct sign on the North Park building is lit up, and each one is unique in its own way (colors, shapes, etc.). Even the ‘Law Offices’ sign is welcoming... it's classy and fits very well with the rest of the businesses. If you look quickly you might even think that it is another shop. All of these shops are also capitalizing on the location of the relatively new Empire Grill. It's hard to miss all of the different browsing options as one walks out of the restaurant doors across the street.