NFIB

Creative Ideas Don't Have to Be Costly
12/ 10/ 2002

by Melany Klinck

If you think all superheroes originate in comic books or Hollywood studios, you haven't been to Wolcott, N.Y., lately. The rural town of 1,700 has its own superhero: Puzzleman, defender of creativity, nemesis of Dr. Boredom and brainchild of Cypriana Porter, owner of educational toy store, The Gingerbread House (www.gingerbreadhouse.bigstep.com).

Porter invented the superhero last winter after other local merchants warned her that spring sales would likely be sluggish.

"I had to come up with something really different to boost sales," says Porter.

Since puzzles are popular with kids of all ages, she created the mascot Puzzleman, who would visit her store to encourage creative play. After hiring a seamstress to fashion a colorful costume, she then set out to find an inexpensive giveaway to generate store traffic during Puzzleman's appearances.

A call to her puzzle manufacturer yielded a case of factory "seconds," which she transformed into custom key chains and stamped with the store name.

"When you're a small business owner, you work on a shoestring, so you do everything yourself," she says.

Porter's budget didn't allow much advertising either, but that didn't keep her from inviting a local television station to Puzzleman's debut. As a result, the station's producers asked Puzzleman to be a guest on one of its shows.

During Puzzleman's first appearance at her store, Porter gave away more than 140 numbered key rings in an hour and a half. Two weeks later, Puzzleman kicked off the store's first birthday celebration and handed out another 200 key rings.

"Every time he's here, my sales just skyrocket," says Porter.

To foster her hero's popularity, Porter started a Puzzleman newsletter featuring kid-friendly articles. About 750 newsletters are picked up at The Gingerbread House or in the adjacent grocery store.

Since his arrival from Planet Jigsaw, Puzzleman has been embraced by the community, says Porter. He was dubbed "Wolcott's Own Superhero" by the local newspaper and has participated in numerous events, including the library's summer reading program, the volunteer fire department's fire safety program, local parades and an apple harvest festival.

That's an impressive engagement calendar considering that Porter has invested less than $500 in the entire promotion. Wonder what Hollywood's big spenders would say about that?

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This article originally appeared in the December/January 2003 issue of MyBusiness magazine.

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