Agency rejects "Buy Glendale" commercial

The site could also include weekly discount coupons or special offers as a method of driving people to the site, Councilman John Drayman, agency chairman, said.

Friedman agreed that a coupon offering might draw more visitors, but cautioned against handing the redevelopment team the task of creating and maintaining a full-blown review and rating service for area businesses, instead suggesting a partnership with a local newspaper or other media organization to develop that aspect of the site.

The agency also approved a resolution to solicit bids from marketing firms to assist developing a plan that would simultaneously promote the city as a shopping destination, while emphasizing its individual business districts.

That will not be an easy feat, officials and business leaders have said, but done appropriately, the campaign could lure shoppers from other cities into Glendale’s collection of unique and often quaint business districts.

A marketing firm’s plan will be part of the project’s second phase, dedicated to promoting local shopping areas like the Montrose Shopping Park and Kenneth Village. That phase of the project will account for the bulk of Buy Glendale’s costs.

A separate set of television ads is planned as part of the second phase for distribution throughout the Los Angeles area on cable television.

Officials originally crafted the Buy Glendale campaign as an emergency effort to help struggling area businesses during the recession by encouraging residents to turn to neighborhood stores for their needs. But the plan got stalled and reworked as agency and community members voiced concerns about how the campaign may promote one business district over another, or perhaps allocate funds unwisely.

The Redevelopment Agency, responding to what it saw as a hastily assembled proposal, directed city officials to seek input from area business associations and take additional time to formulate the campaign.