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Business Owners

Take The Pledge

The Love Durham campaign is a county-wide initiative launched by Discover Durham and in partnership with Downtown Durham Inc., aimed at increasing foot traffic to local businesses. The goal is to encourage residents and visitors to explore and support Durham’s diverse and vibrant local businesses, from restaurants to retail shops, through a unified marketing effort.

Any local business in Durham—whether retail, restaurant, service-based, or hospitality—is eligible to participate, as long as it is independently owned or locally operated. The campaign is designed to support Durham's small businesses and promote the city's unique character.

To participate, businesses must sign up using the Love Durham campaign registration form on this page. After registration, you’ll have access to our toolkit, which includes campaign details and marketing materials to get you started. We hope that you can find ways throughout the campaign (through April 2025) to incorporate the Love Durham branding into your storefront and other efforts, with support from Discover Durham, providing stickers, graphics, logo files, etc.

You will receive a confirmation email once your registration form has been completed, which is your confirmation of participation. Because there are so many small businesses already participating 150+, we’re asking for participating businesses to pick up Love Durham stickers, pins, flyers, etc. from Discover Durham’s Visitor Info Center, located at 212 W. Main Street and open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. If you need to make other accommodations to pick up materials, please email us at lovedurham@discoverdurham.com.

As a participating business, you’ll benefit from:

• Increased exposure through advertising, social media promotion, email newsletters, and website listings.
• Access to promotional tools like campaign signage, digital assets, and suggested social media posts.
• Opportunities for cross-promotion with other local businesses.
• Connection to Durham residents and visitors looking for places to shop, eat, and explore.

No, the campaign is free to participate in! Discover Durham covers campaign-related costs, including marketing materials, digital promotions. We want to make it as easy as possible for local businesses to take part. The graphics and other materials we provide are expected to be used by as many businesses as possible. If you have a particular idea in mind for your small business or neighborhood/district you’d like to discuss with us and find ways to make feasible, please let us know.

By participating in Love Durham, your business will be included in:

• Digital marketing: Your business will be featured on the Love Durham website, which will be advertised and promoted through various media outlets, social media platforms, by influencers, through Discover Durham’s mobile app challenge, and email campaigns from Discover Durham and Downtown Durham, Inc.
• Print materials: You'll receive stickers, pins, window decals, and flyers to display in your store. Here is a link to request additional stickers and materials.
• Campaign branding: You’ll have access to a set of Love Durham logos and other branding elements to help create a unified look in-store and online.

While you’re not required to offer discounts or promotions, participating businesses are encouraged to create special deals, events, or experiences to attract customers during the campaign. These could include exclusive offers, seasonal specials, or themed events tied to the "Love Durham" spirit. Here is a link to let us know what your special promotion is, which will populate on the Participating Businesses page.

We encourage you to:

• Display Love Durham campaign signage in your windows or storefront. Pass out materials to patrons after a purchase.
  
• Use #LoveDurhamNC on social media posts to help amplify the campaign. Please also tag @durhamnc and @downtowndurham in your posts, particularly on Instagram.
  
• Discover Durham will have a weekly Tuesday Instagram Story question, giving followers a prompt of sorts to share what small businesses they love or want to visit soon, etc.
• Please feel free to submit your own businesses when you see the prompt.
  
• Engage your customers by promoting Love Durham’s messaging and reasons why it's important to shop small to your social media followers and other networks.
  
• Share your business’s special promotions or events related to the campaign that will populate on the participating partner's site.

Yes! Discover Durham will curate a calendar of events, promotions, and activities throughout the campaign. Depending on your offerings, your business may be included in these events. We will prioritize diverse and exciting experiences that showcase the full range of Durham’s local businesses. Please submit your event to Discover Durham’s event calendar here, checking the Love Durham box under the event type/category. Samples of Love Durham events we know small business owners are incorporating into the programming they already do include Durham-themed trivia nights, pop-ups with other local businesses, Third Friday activations, and so forth.

The Love Durham campaign uses a mix of traditional and digital marketing to encourage people to explore Durham’s local businesses:

• Social media campaigns across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X.
• Partnerships with local influencers and bloggers to spotlight participating businesses
• A dedicated website that highlights all participating businesses

In mid-January, a second phase of the Love Durham campaign will launch, with branded “activations” and intentional check-in points coordinated throughout Durham County (examples include Museum of Life and Science, Carolina Theatre of Durham, American Tobacco Campus). There will be a mobile app challenge that launches and will also be promoted, with Discover Durham and Downtown Durham, Inc. encouraging those who are participating in the challenge to also support small businesses in the area.

Absolutely! While an online presence can amplify your participation, it’s not a requirement. Love Durham is designed to support businesses of all kinds, primarily those with brick-and-mortar locations for people to walk into. We will focus on promoting in-person visits and local engagement to help drive traffic to your physical location.

Once you’ve signed up, we’ll get in touch with you to provide any additional support.

The campaign runs from December 12, 2024 to April 10, 2025.

If you have any questions or need additional support, please reach out to lovedurham@discoverdurham.com. We're here to help!