“The top activity of visitors, in the world, is shopping, dining, and entertainment in a pedestrian-friendly setting. It’s typically not the primary reason people visit, but once they arrive, it’s the number one activity. And this is where 80% of non-lodging visitor spending takes place. Are you getting your fair share?

Here you’ll see how tourism and downtown organizations can come together to create powerful partnerships with stronger, more successful marketing programs, increased local spending, all while saving money in the process.

There is a new shift taking place across North America and downtowns are back! So how do you make your downtown a thriving destination? We found out. Over a 5-year period, we surveyed more than 400 successful downtowns and downtown districts in the US and Canada. What we found were the 20 most common ingredients that led to their success. Learn these ingredients so that your downtown efforts become a revenue gainer and not a money drainer. This three-part series teaches you how to make your downtown outstanding for both local residents and visitors.

There is a new shift taking place across North America and downtowns are back! So how do you make your downtown a thriving destination? We found out. Over a 5-year period, we surveyed more than 400 successful downtowns and downtown districts in the US and Canada. What we found were the 20 most common ingredients that led to their success. Learn these ingredients so that your downtown efforts become a revenue gainer and not a money drainer. This three-part series teaches you how to make your downtown outstanding for both local residents and visitors.

There is a new shift taking place across North America and downtowns are back! So how do you make your downtown a thriving destination? We found out. Over a 5-year period, we surveyed more than 400 successful downtowns and downtown districts in the US and Canada. What we found were the 20 most common ingredients that led to their success. Learn these ingredients so that your downtown efforts become a revenue gainer and not a money drainer. This three-part series teaches you how to make your downtown outstanding for both local residents and visitors.

A Destination Assessment is a photographic look at your community through the eyes of a first-time visitor, showing strengths and weaknesses, as well as providing specific things you can do, at low cost, to become an even better, thriving destination. The assessment details suggestions that will attract new investment, new residents, and visitors, while helping local businesses increase their success. In this fascinating and eye-opening workshop, you’ll see the process we use—and you can emulate, as you make sure your success is amazing.

Well known for the seven-year research project that resulted in “The 20 Ingredients of an Outstanding Downtown,” Roger is going to show you the five most important elements that all 400 of the best downtowns in North America have and are critical to their success. You’ll see photographic examples and great case histories and will get approximate implementation costs so you can begin developing these ingredients in YOUR downtown. This is one presentation you don’t want to miss, and it can help you create a priority-list for your downtown and its success. (Live Q&A begins at 41-Minutes)

There are two primary elements to a successful downtown: The business mix and the ambiance. In this photographic smorgasbord, we’ll show you what some great downtowns are doing, at low cost, to make their downtowns beautiful places to spend time, and how they did it without spending an arm and a leg. And you’ll see what you can do every season of the year - no matter where you’re located - to make your downtown beautiful 365 days a year. Consider this workshop your “idea book” - with ideas you can implement immediately.

A lot of downtowns spend millions of dollars sprucing up their façades and streets in the mistaken belief this will create traffic. In this informative presentation we’ll show you how to create a vibrant downtown on a shoestring budget. We’ll look at three small downtowns that turned the tide – going from a veritable ghost town to a can’t miss destination – and how you can use these lessons to start a revolution in your own downtown.

When it comes to finding the place to start, you can use any one of these methodologies, or multiples of them. You do NOT have to do all of them. If creating pop-up shops doesn’t work for you, that’s not a problem. Other towns have turned the corner - like Water Valley, Mississippi, without any pop-up stores. So, any one of these ideas will work, but if you can do two or there of them, it will provide a quicker turnaround. Enjoy!

Over the years we’ve spent a considerable amount of time and effort helping make downtowns great – again. In this photographic-rich series, you’ll learn:

Part 1 - WHY downtowns are back and more important than ever. We also touch on the nine things that need to be done to make a downtown great again.

Part 2 - HOW to actually implement the ideas from Part 1. Using photographic examples, we showcase what downtowns are doing, at low cost, to make them vibrant, successful destinations for both local residents AND visitors.

Part 3 - You'll learn how to get people downtown consistently at least 250 days a year. We provide ways to get it started, how to create momentum, costs and funding ideas, timing (a three-year plan), weather and other seasonal considerations - everything you need to know to bring your downtown back to life, making it the central hub and an amazing destination for both your residents and visitors.

Part 4 - In the final installment of this series we visit four downtowns. You’ll see and learn what it looked like before and what they were dealing with, the steps along the way, and the results - which are still a work in progress. After all, no downtown is ever 100% done! This is a great way to actually see, from real-life case histories what it takes to turn a dying downtown (if not already dead) into an amazing destination you’ll want to visit - if not move to!

This is one presentation you DON'T want to miss and it's the most important ingredient to making your downtown an amazing destination for both local residents and visitors. To win you must institute "The Mall Mentality" - orchestrating your business mix. Think antique malls, auto malls, food courts, and intersections where there are fast food restaurants on all four corners. This is the rule of clustering.

In this exciting and absolutely critical video, Roger Brooks will teach you the five steps to creating critical mass, showcasing several case histories, so that your downtown becomes THE place to spend time - and money and becomes the heart and soul of your community.

Believe it or not, there are some types of businesses that are doing very well in this age of reimagined downtowns – in rural areas and in larger cities. We’ve researched hundreds of downtowns of all sizes to come up with the perfect business mix that will make your downtown a great draw for both local residents and visitors alike.

When it comes to attracting the perfect business mix into your downtown core, it’s not as hard as you may think. This was Roger Brooks' primary part of his job for several years and he will show you how he did it – without a marketing budget. You also learn the five steps for recruiting amazing tenants to your own downtown.

Seventy percent of all consumer retail spending now takes place after 6:00pm. Are you open? One of the primary reasons downtowns are dying is because most downtown retailers close between 5:00pm and 6:00pm, sending local residents - and visitors - to other destinations. This creates tremendous "leakage" of locally earned dollars being spent elsewhere. How do you change this?

This video will teach you five different strategies you can use to help "Ma and Pa" businesses stay open longer, increase their sales, and make your community a much stronger visitor destination. After all, visitors spend the night where there are things to do after 6:00pm.

Learn how busking, street vendors, and food trucks enhance the local culture and help bring downtown to life.

Every downtown should be a hub of activity for both locals and visitors. And when it comes to visitors, if you don’t hang out in your downtown neither will they. They go where you go. The most successful downtowns encourage, and often pay, buskers, street performers, artisans and vendors to bring life to downtowns. Attendees will get sample “codes of conduct” and a wealth of information that will help you bring your downtown to life.

A full 70% of first-time sales at restaurants, lodging facilities, golf courses, wineries and retail shops is the result of good curb appeal. Have you ever uttered the phrase “That looks like a nice place to eat”? We all have.

In this exciting workshop you’ll learn the five steps to creating outstanding curb appeal that will increase business and activity in your downtown.

After working in more than 2,000 cities and towns, Roger has seen some very clever methods merchants use to pull customers in their doors without spending a lot of money. In this fun and fast-paced workshop, you’ll get ten ideas from some of the most talented merchants we’ve seen that you can emulate immediately. You’ll see examples of imaginative exterior displays, creative window displays, strategies to activate your storefronts, and some great ways to make your business far more inviting and irresistible.

Using case histories in high-resolution photographs and video clips, Roger teaches the 13 ingredients to a successful plaza.

Nothing creates a "sense of place" as well as public gathering spaces, or plazas. People enjoy active, attractive, dynamic public places - places they can gather with friends, neighbors, and family, to eat, shop, visit, or just people-watch.

Part 1: Shows you case histories in high-resolution photographs and video clips, showing the 13 ingredients to a successful plaza.

Part 2: Provides even more plaza case histories from large cities to smaller towns
This is an amazing revitalization tool for downtowns everywhere!

We’ve always been among the biggest proponents of developing and programming plazas—central gathering places full of life, that local residents and visitors gravitate to nearly every day of the year.

In this workshop you’ll see how to develop a programmed plaza, at little or no cost, and how to activate it on a shoestring budget. Remember, plazas are simple spaces programmed with activities, not just special events. We’ll show you how to get it done within a month from the time you finish seeing this presentation.

Public plazas and permanent year-round public markets are the top two downtown revitalization projects a community can tap into. In this insightful presentation you'll learn the three reasons why public markets are so important, and the five things you need to know and do to create an outstanding market that will be a resounding success.

You'll see numerous case histories, will learn about development and operational costs, where markets should be located, how to orchestrate the mix of goods, and seasonal considerations.

It’s nearly always the same half-dozen people, working tirelessly for months on end, to produce a special event that lasts just a day or two. And after a while these hard workers get burnt-out, and you end up spending a whole lot of time looking for new volunteers. Sound familiar?

What if you could spend the same amount of time and money creating more than 200 days of activity in your downtown, making it easier and far more rewarding for your volunteers? In this workshop you’ll see how local organizations are shifting their focus from special events to activity days, providing a far better return on investment for downtown retailers, restaurants and other local businesses.

Learn the 10 things to know and do about downtown parking.

This presentation is a doozy - and an eye opener! Parking should be an economic development tool and should not be considered a general fund revenue source! That doesn't mean, however, that it should be free.

Roger discusses time limits (providing only two-hour parking is a good way to kill a downtown), after hours parking, ideas for funding parking structures such as sponsorships, parking fines and enforcement, angle-in versus parallel parking, and new parking trends. Plus he addresses parking fees and where the money generated should be spent. Learn the top ten ideas that will make downtown parking a friend instead of a foe.

“Relieved visitors spend more.” We’ve been using this maxim for years, and it rings true today more than ever before. Here we tackle the hard questions of where restrooms should be located, how to limit or eliminate vandalism, how to monetize them, and who should manage them.

When it comes to finding the place to start, you can use any one of these methodologies, or multiples of them. You do NOT have to do all of them. If creating pop-up shops doesn’t work for you, that’s not a problem. Other towns have turned the corner - like Water Valley, Mississippi, without any pop-up stores. So, any one of these ideas will work, but if you can do two or there of them, it will provide a quicker turnaround. Enjoy!

You’ve got a lovely shop but not enough customers. Now what? In Part 1, we’ll show you how to increase your sales while becoming one of your downtown core’s “anchor tenants.” You’ll learn the five things you can do to increase sales, including great examples of irresistible store names, retail signage, façade improvements, effective lighting, window displays, exterior displays and how to pull passers-by into your shop.

Local businesses are the life-blood of every great downtown. After all, it’s what’s IN the buildings that makes your downtown a successful destination—for local residents and their visitors. Part 1 focused on physical improvements you can make to your retail shop (Watch Part 1 Now). In this, the second of our two-part series, we’ll show you MORE things you can do to increase your sales—with a focus on marketing—even if you have a minuscule marketing or advertising budget to work with.

We’ve been itching to talk about this for a LONG time now. In this workshop we’ll tackle the big questions and provide some great solutions when it comes to narrow sidewalks, serving alcohol, fencing and dining borders, using parking spaces, providing adequate pedestrian access, seasonality, as well as how to deal with highways that cruise through your downtown.

You’ll see dozens of photographic examples and great ideas you can implement to help bring your downtown to life, making it a fantastic destination for both locals and visitors alike.

We give you the step-by-step guide to developing and implementing a wayfinding system in your community.

Wayfinding is an investment, not an expense. A good wayfinding system will increase local sales and services, contribute to a pleasant experience, and educate both locals and visitors about your attractions, amenities and services, and where they are located.

Roger gives you the five reasons why wayfinding should be a top priority, plus you'll learn the step-by-step process of getting the system designed, fabricated and installed, with approximate costs. You'll see dozens of examples that include community and downtown gateways, vehicular and pedestrian signage, place identifiers, pole banners and visitor information kiosks.

We cover community gateways, downtown retail signage, portable retail/service signs, plastic & vinyl banners, sandwich boards, window signage, and billboards.

Good signage can be the most effective advertising a business uses. In this incredible, fast-paced presentation, you’ll learn about blade signs and why they are so critical to downtowns, how to deal with temporary signs, plastic/vinyl banners, sandwich boards, and portable signs, and how to avoid sign clutter.

Signage says a lot about you – as a business and as a community. Learn how to deal with retail signage: The do’s the don’ts for merchants, downtown organizations, planning departments, and cities and towns. Every retailer should watch this video.

Attractive, effective signage can make a huge difference in the success of a shop or restaurant. In this workshop you’ll learn the five rules to using retail and restaurant “Blade Signs.” We’ll provide guidance to help avoid sign clutter, and the rules for design, size, placement, lighting, along with some great blade sign examples.

Almost always controversial, the use of sandwich boards can always use some guidance and Roger will help settle the debate. In this cut-to-the-chase look at the use of these signs, we’ll cover when they should be allowed, what they should be used for, and provide some great examples to work from.

The timing for this workshop is to provide you with some novel, creative, and downright fun and effective ways to attract people during the holidays! You’ll see real-life examples of what towns—and downtowns—continue to do to pull people in for Valentines Day, the spring and fall months, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. We’ll share lots of photographic examples and the results of producing themed, multi-week long celebrations that you orchestrate, but others actually implement for you!

In this fascinating workshop you’ll visit a few Zoom Towns - Less populated cities and towns that are attracting Digital Nomads and the “Work From Anywhere Culture” that is sweeping North America. You’ll see the seven ingredients needed to become the next great Zoom Town, and how to package and market your community, attracting new start-ups, investment, and families looking to escape the urban areas for a better quality of life and a sense of belonging.