How Good Marketing Brightened My Neighbourhood (A Sequel)

Welcome to the second edition of Melange, and thank you to all who've subscribed!

In this month's issue, I'm picking up where I left off - except this time, instead of shaking my fist at the naysayers on my lawn (or rather, cement footpath), I will be happily recounting a community event that I was lucky enough to attend on the weekend.

I fleetingly referenced Northbridge Common in the last issue, as a tangible example of why the residents of my oft-misunderstood inner-city suburb are so passionate about living there. For the uninitiated, Northbridge Common is 'a volunteer collective of residents, business owners and creatives, united for the core purpose to enrich our neighbourhood.' And thanks to their unwavering dedication to this core purpose, myself and my neighbours enjoyed our first ever annual block party on the weekend.

As a child of the 90s I loved the suburban block parties that would happen each year, and I still have fond - if fuzzy - memories of the fun, warm and welcoming atmosphere at these events (and all the usually-forbidden soft drinks that I got to imbibe ??). I didn't even realise I'd been missing this simple act of community until Sunday afternoon, when my husband and I strolled over to our neighbouring park and enjoyed a couple of hours of outdoor games, free pizza and drinks, a book exchange, and some great conversations with fellow locals. There was even a DIY badge-making station!

(I had to take the opportunity to shamelessly promote my newsletter, naturally).

The block party first came to my attention via Northbridge Common's Instagram account, at which point I registered to attend. However, in the ensuing days we also received some flyers in our letterbox - reminding me anew that it was just around the corner, and prompting me to put it on the calendar. It was the perfect blend of digital and traditional marketing practices, and it worked a treat in getting us there.

To further explore this idea of blending the modern with the traditional, the block party itself is a good metaphor for why this approach can work so well. For a few hours on a sunny Sunday afternoon, strangers and friends alike came together to talk, laugh, eat, drink and play. Put simply, we connected in the way that humans have been connecting since the dawn of time. Meanwhile, a clipboard was doing the rounds collecting email addresses from willing locals, while many of us shared photos and stories of the event to our respective social media accounts - thereby spreading the word that it was happening, and raising more awareness of Northbridge Common.

Thanks to the hard work of a small but passionate collective of people, something real and special happened in my neighborhood - and it got me thinking about how, done right (and always with ethics in mind), there's still a place at the table for traditional tactics.

Until next month!