COVID-19 slowed it down - but it stopped nothing; Shoppes at Thomsen Farms campaign is underway

COVID-19 slowed it down – but it stopped nothing; Shoppes at Thomsen Farms campaign is underway

In early March, Jackson-based Exact Marketing was about to launch a multi-media campaign to promote Thomsen Farms when COVID-19 concerns spoiled those plans.

Instead of setting aside the campaign for later, Exact Marketing started the digital/social aspects of the campaign as a public service to help the many businesses in Thomsen Farms.

“Supporting these businesses online is one small way people can help them return stronger than ever when the virus scare ends,” said Abby Nichols, a member of the Exact Marketing team.

“We spent some time last fall just looking around Thomsen Farms,” Nichols said. “We found it so unique with the mom-and-pop style shops, the variety of services, shopping and eateries. We thought, there’s something here for just about everybody.”

“We developed a marketing campaign to advertise the unique shopping, dining and entertainment community using multi-media, with emphasis on social/digital marketing and high-end audience local radio.”

The Exact creative staff designed a logo, built new social media pages on Facebook and Instagram and built a website at theshoppesatthomsenfarms.com.

The digital presence of the public service campaign includes social posts about the shopping neighborhood and unique offerings from businesses that had already agreed to participate, Nichols said.

Now that business seems headed to some normalcy, the rest of Exact’s plans, including using its big data targeted audience reach and campaign on New/Talk 101.5, is getting started.

The social media sites have been live and accepting followers on Facebook and Instagram at Shoppes at Thomsen Farms since the plan started in early March.

“In its first week, more than 3,000 people reacted to the new Facebook page,” she said. “When we do turn to normal, tens of thousands of new shoppers will know what some already knew: this very special neighborhood. I don’t know of another place in our area that’s like it.”

Exact Marketing is a division of News/Talk 101.5 and The Wireless Group Inc. Abby Nichols may be contacted at [email protected].