Councilman David Dougherty walked into a Rite Aid outside the city’s limits and stumbled upon a rack of merchandise bearing the Canton name. It was a head scratcher. He barely could find any apparel in his city that showed off his Canton pride.
More than a year ago, Dougherty, D-6, and other city officials launched a merchandise program aimed at promoting the city and, if possible, raising a few bucks to spend on community policing. Dougherty says that like any startup business, the merchandise program has faced its challenges and that sales, as a result, have been slower than expected.
For every dollar spent by the city on the merchandise program in its first 18 months, it has received a quarter in return. The city has invested $15,923 in its merchandising program since launching it in April 2012, according to records obtained through the Canton Auditor’s Office. The program has generated $3,966.
“We wanted to start out as small as we could, whatever made sense,” said Dougherty, who serves as council’s majority leader. “Of course, with taxpayers’ money we didn’t want to go crazy. We didn’t know how this was going to work and, to date, it’s probably not working as good as I anticipated it would have, but it is working.”
CITY SWAG
Last year, the city contracted with Green-based ASAP (Advertising Specialties and Printing) for $2,500 for inventory monitoring, warehousing, online sales and shipping for the first year. Canton City Council staff has since absorbed those duties. ASAP continues to provide the merchandise, which includes shirts, polos, hoodies, hats, coffee mugs, pens, keychains and tote bags.
The 16 items in its inventory range in cost from the $3 lapel pin to a $45 city flag, which was designed in 1955 as part of a contest by the Chamber of Commerce and The Repository. Most of the items are emblazoned with the city seal.
The city coordinated with the Kiwanis Club of Canton on an educational program in the city schools to help sell the items.
“They taught the kids business entrepreneurial and marketing classes,” City Council Clerk Cynthia Timberlake said. “They collaborated with Junior Achievement. They went in to Timken High School. They set up a business; they had a bank, a president and treasurer.”
A high school student has interned with the city the past two summers, controlling inventory, processing orders and handling customer service.
The items are sold at a kiosk inside City Hall, on the city’s website, at the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, which previously only offered Pro Football Hall of Fame merchandise, and at special events, like First Fridays. A booth setup at the Hall of Fame Ribs Burnoff reeled in $500.
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Canton merchandising program off to slow start
Author: ComeFrom:CANTON Date:2013/9/16 20:31:18 Hits:1570
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