Fair Lawn River Road

River Road came to us initially as a maintenance client.  In 2014, River Road felt it was time for a new website.  The website itself was lacking in several areas.  It had no discernable representation that reflected the district as a whole.  It lacked an archiving system, which left innumerable articles piled on the home page.  It also lacked any true sense of clear website organization.

River Road needed a clean-cut design that kept all current and pertinent information readily available, yet kept the page concise.  They also required a content management system, which allowed all district news to be archived and categorized.

Pages for board members, business directory, web space, news, events and contests, available properties, and contact pages were also prepared and populated.  The result is a website that embodies what the River Road district is all about.  It represents their efforts for district improvement and the support of their local businesses.

Even though River Road felt they had a more complete representation of their district, they still felt that they should be thorough and have as complete a directory as possible. They felt it was important that every business was included, as they did not wish for anyone to be overlooked.

Each business was visited by a representative from The Muse Marketing Group.  Each business was provided with an information request form to complete and return.  Once all of the contact information was collected, it was transferred to a database, which was then uploaded to the website.

Photos of the businesses/buildings were taken and the files were labeled with the business address.  The pictures were then added to each directory entry.  River Road felt it was important that people who had not visited the district know what the building looked like prior to their visit.

While designing their new website, we updated the River Road logo to add the new website information to it.  The River Road District requested a collection of logo, graphics, and separate elements.  Each was formatted and resized for use on the website, social media, e-newsletters and print.

In 2014, River Road requested a new design for their district’s annual report.  The layout of the previous design did not utilize all available space on each page.  The River Road Special Improvement District  compiled all of the press pieces published for the year of 2013, all event photos, new business openings, available property information, as well as board and staff information for the 2013 calendar year.

All of the content provided by the district was then placed in a number of different layouts throughout eighteen pages and sent to print.  This process was repeated for the 2014 calendar year as well.  The result was a professionally presented representation of the achievements of the district and its businesses for the 2013 and 2014 calendar years.

In addition to the 2013 and 2014 annual reports that The Muse Marketing Group completed for the River Road Special Improvement District, we also designed a brochure for them.  The district requested a new informative brochure that provided residents and businesses with information about the district and the ways they strive to improve the district and support local businesses.

Appropriate colors and layouts were chosen.  Images from the district were applied in the foreground and background of three brochure sections to showcase the areas of the River Road District and maintain consistent branding.

The result is a branded informational piece that makes locals and businesses alike aware of the presence of the River Road Special Improvement District, provides information about what their mission is, and how they can be contacted.

In 2015, the River Road Special Improvement District came to The Muse Marketing Group with a desire to have all of their six district events receive consistent branding; branding that they felt would identify each event as being undeniably “River Road Events.”  The event posters for the 2014 calendar year contained the district logo, but lacked the look and feel that would identify them solely as “River Road Events.”

Once the schedule for events was finalized, The Muse Marketing Group set to work on banner art, e-newsletter templates, event posters and graphic file formats for various media use.

The results contained district colors and icons that the River Road Special Improvement District was looking for.

In 2015, the River Road Special Improvement District wanted to expand their options for district fundraising opportunities.  The district wanted to make it easier for local businesses to choose their level of support of district events, banner programs and print opportunities.

We at The Muse Marketing Group designed a tiered system that was broken down into different available opportunities and levels of support.  This provided a chance for all businesses to participate by choosing the program and tier of their preference.  By May, the River Road Improvement district was ahead of their fundraising goal for the year.

River Road Special Improvement District began as one of our maintenance clients.  Over time, we began writing short, informational pieces which we posted to the website, as well as Facebook.  Most recently, we have begun to help River Road to cast a wider net and reach a bigger audience.  Using their newsletter mailing list, we sent recipients invitations to like River Road on Facebook.  With the help of their public relations package, we are able to post event press, business spotlights and e-newsletters to social media and link all posts back to the district’s website.

The Muse Marketing Group also takes the opportunity to announce business milestones and grand openings in order to keep the River Road community celebrating the successes of their efforts and spreading the good news to as many people as possible.  With each passing day, we are helping the River Road district to utilize social media to its fullest advantage.

In order to further expand the River Road Special Improvement District’s audience, we have provided them with a public relations package.  Included in this package are the following:

• Media Relations – press releases, special events, grand openings and development spotlights
• Content/Copy Development – website postings and announcements, social media postings and announcements
• Special Event Promotion – full pre and post event coverage, photography, and on-site interviews
• Community Relations – event attendance
• Copywriting and Editing – marketing pieces, and advertisements
• Photography – special events, grand openings, projects/developments

Since January 2015, each month, we choose a business or scheduled event to spotlight or review in the district.  Pictures are also taken of said businesses and events to correspond to each piece.  River Road has a fairly busy event schedule throughout the calendar year, grand openings and milestone celebrations for long standing River Road businesses. These events are covered, photographed, and submitted to local media outlets for publication.

All scheduled district events are posted to local online calendars to expand the number of people who are informed about the events.  Announcements for each of the events are sent to local media and posted to the Saddle Brook-Fair Lawn Patch weeks prior to the event date.  Post event pieces are also submitted to local media outlets for publication. Pictures from each of the events are posted in galleries on social media for all to view.

All works produced for the district are also posted to the River Road website,www.fairlawnriverroad.com.  As these pieces are uploaded, they are also posted to social media and are linked back to the district website.