By Mary Owen
How can a bunch of people and a fistful of $20 bills help local businesses?
Cash mob!
The three basics of cash mobbing are: meeting people, spending money and having fun.
Based on the Flash Mob craze that has swept the world, a cash mob forgoes singing and dancing in favor of spending money at a local business.
The idea to do one locally came after reading an online article about small businesses, said Kelly Schreiber, executive director of the Stayton/Sublimity Chamber of Commerce, organizer of Stayton’s first cash mob event on June 29.
“We saw that a town was mentioned that had a very successful cash mob,” Schreiber said. “We explored more on the Internet and found a website dedicated to helping organizations set up a cash mob. There was even a National Cash Mob Day on March 24!”
According to cashmoborganizer.com, Chris Smith, a blogger and engineer from Buffalo, NY, organized more than 100 people in August 2011 to purchase items from City Wine Merchant. As reported by Public Radio International, Smith described the mobs as a “reverse Groupon” that are meant to make a “chance for business owners to begin building a longer-term relationship with customers.”
The website cashmobs.wordpress.com reports on a group of people living in Cleveland, Ohio, led by attorney Andrew Samtoy, who claim to be the originators of the term and event. Their first cash mob was held on Nov. 16, 2011 when 40 people gathered to shop at a local bookstore. After the event, the group started a blog to popularize the idea.
Locally, the cities of Dallas and Garibaldi joined Stayton in holding a cash mob event in the past two months.
Stayton-area plan called for cash mobbers to met at 11:30 a.m. at the Highway 22 interchange Park and Ride and then spent the next hour or so spending money at the chosen retailer. According to Schreiber, their goal was six-fold:
• Infuse cash into a local business.
• Help build consumer awareness at a business.
• Celebrate small businesses that are loved and supported by local residents.
• Offer a way to reinforce SSCOC’s message to “shop locally.”
• Create a sense of community.
• Raise awareness of where a person’s money goes.
SSCOC’s recipient of this community generosity and support was kept secret to the day of the event. Not even a plea from an Our Town reporter struggling against a press deadline could budge Schreiber to spill the beans about the selected business.
“Nope,” she responded to our pre-event request. “We are keeping it secret no matter what! The surprise spending spree is what creates part of the fun and excitement. Not even our board members know where it will be. Nice try!”
The week prior to the event, Schreiber said she anticipated “great participation.”
The venture will give people “the opportunity to rekindle old friendships and make new ones to create a more vibrant and connected community,” Schreiber said.
Schreiber added she hoped “mobbers” would enthusiastically request to participate in another Cash Mob.
To be chose as a Cash Mob “hit,” businesses must be a SSCOC member, must be locally owned and operated, and must have retail products for $20 or less.
Call 503-769-3464 to learn more.
