In the summer of 2012, the Downtown Merchants’ Association of Wakefield, Rhode Island was in search of a simple, cost-effective strategy for cross-promotion among member businesses and stimulation of traffic in the town’s Main Street area.

The solution: I organized a game of bingo! I designed a card to be printed and made available at participating businesses. The game incentivized customers to offer patronage to more merchants with the chance to win modest prizes donated by DMA members.

The result: a profitable (and fun!) summer.