Out of the Mouths of Ghouls

Frightfully Good Times Take Time & Talent

While I was working on yesterday’s blog about Old Pasadena’s Halloween celebration, I happened to run across a volunteer from the Old Town Haunt, which has been a tradition of Halloween for years. I love giving people credit for what they do, and certainly the staff at Old Pasadena Management District play a huge role in the success of our district. But so do the merchants, and the guides, and the police, and our loyal customers. However, when I spoke to this volunteer, I remembered that one of the most essential elements in the success of Old Pasadena over the years has been its volunteers.

Volunteers sit on the board. They sit on our committees. They appear before city council. They take time out of their days, away from their businesses, to help improve the quality of life in Old Pasadena. Obviously, they don’t do it for the money, so why? Certainly donating their time is an investment in the success of the district, so you could call that self serving and all, but why do retirees volunteer their time? And teenagers? The answer is certainly more complex than any kind of profit motive, no matter how far removed. But allow me to introduce you to a young lady who began to volunteer her time to the Halloween Haunt three years ago, when she was only fourteen.

 Ghoul-age zombies. Why do they do it?

"I was first introduced to the Old Town Haunt in Old Town Pasadena by a close friend named Micheal when I was 14 years old. He had already been a volunteer for several years himself. I am currently 17, and have committed myself to volunteering at the Haunt for the past three years. I don't plan on leaving this anytime soon.

I am thrilled whenever the month of September rolls in, because that is when we all get together with Ron Rogge (Owner) and Mark (Ron's Partner) and begin to set up the Haunt.  We change it up every year, and we all work together on such things as repainting certain areas. It is such an adrenaline rush as every September day goes by, because we all know that October is just around the corner. We can't wait to scare the people who walk through and feel the excitement that comes with it.

I have tons of fun at the Old Town Haunt for various reasons, the first is that I have made some close friends there. In fact, most of the people there have known each other for years. Then of course, after we are done scaring, we are taken to either eat at Bella's Pizza, or at Barney's Beanery. Finally, we love the excitement and fear that we put into the people who come down.  We love the screams. What could be more beautiful than a whole month spent at a haunted house where every square inch is stuffed with props and people ready to inject a little fright and feat into these people's experience.

When I first started here, I didn't have many friends at all, but once I started volunteering, I scared up a whole bunch of friends and I became a more social person. I gained a lot more self esteem which was another great benefit of being in an atmosphere filled with young people who just wanted to have fun.

If the Old Town Haunt ever disappeared for whatever reason, we would all be devastated! Nothing could compare to lying in wait, ready to pounce and scare up a terrified screech. Adrenaline just rushes through our bodies because we know these people are about to scream their heads off.

We are all thankful to Ron and Mark, because they put in a lot of hard work into the Haunt, and they have shared this experience with me, and with all of us. October Old Town Haunt is a labor of love that they work practically every day of the year to make a success. I am so grateful that they have allowed me to be a part of it."

– Sandy, the eloquent Ghoul

Not for the faint of heart, but for the rest of us...  =)

From the Old Town Haunt to the Tournament of Roses. From the Old Pasadena Management District, to the Playhouse and South Lake districts, the unique character of the City of Pasadena rests in large part on the generosity and dedication of its volunteers. It starts early and lasts a lifetime. I am proud to be even a small part of this community, and prouder still of the youth already donating their time and talents to keep up the tradition.
Happy Halloween everyone, and
BOO!

Success doesn’t take a miracle in Old Pasadena.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit I am biased. I am a Pasadena Advertising owner and the chairman of the Old Pasadena Marketing District (OPMD). However, I’ve heard more than my share of comments about Old Pasadena leading a charmed life, and I think it’s time for a little reality check.
Times are hard, and doing business anywhere is a challenge, but as far as Old Pasadena is concerned, the rumors of the economy getting better seem to be true. Like anywhere else, to take full advantage of that, you not only have to work harder, you have to work smarter, and in Old Pas, we also work together. Cooperation is what gave Old Pasadena its start in the late ‘80s, and it’s what is keeping us ahead of the curve today.
This was a very good Holiday season for our 22-block district. Even though we don’t have all the figures in from all the stores, we can see that our garages were consistently at full capacity, unique visitors to our web site nearly doubled from last year, and merchants have come to us with thanks and stories.

Marci Christianson, proprietor of LulaMae, an award-winning Old Pasadena gift boutique saw a dramatic increase in profits over last year. She is not only a smart merchant but also an active marketer. Since OPMD research had predicted that virtually all our customers would be spending less, she changed her product line to take full advantage the situation. To attract more customers, she participated in all our holiday events beginning with the Halloween, Trick’’n’’Treat weekend. To maximize her visibility with limited ad funds, she developed a web site as fun and quirky as her store. She linked it to the OPMD site, offered on-line coupons from both sites, then gave the coupon discount to all her customers, whether they knew about them or not. “I see the look in their eyes when they get the added discount. I know they’ll visit my site now, and they’ll come back to the store.”

Andrea Auman, owner of Crowned Studio salon not only experienced a 35% increase in business, she did it overcoming an additional challenge. In the middle of the worst recession in anyone’s memory, she decided to move and start up her business all over again. “It was the best possiblee timing as far as I was concerned, “she remarks, “I knew my best customers would follow me, and with Pasadena rents at an all time low, I knew I could find a great place in a great city." Andrea not only took full advantage of the OPMD web connections and events to bring in customers, she started up networking and cross-promotional events of her own. To maximize her electronic presence Andrea links to her partners and fellow merchants from her home page and maintains Facebook and Twitter accounts and a blog.
As diverse, and sometimes eccentric, as the merchants of Old Pasadena are, all of our success stories share this aspect of working harder, working smarter and working together. No magic potions (that we know of), no lucky Leprechauns, and no behind-the-scenes buyouts or bailouts have been employed to give us the upper hand. Just Good research, good marketing and good business. The Old Pasadena Management District is proud to be the hub of this activity, and is working hard to keep giving our merchants and business owners ahead of the game.

How Old Pasadena scares up customers in hard times

FREE candy!

Well, that about covers it. G’night folks. I’ll be here all week.

O wait. Free candy isn’t enough. Not in this economy. Lemme ‘splain.

On Halloween night, our Old Pasadena merchants will continue their long-standing tradition of opening their doors to kids for the district’s Store-to-Store, Safe Trick-or-Treat Night. Every year, hundreds of handfuls of free candy are doled out to the costumed kids of Pasadena. However this year, the Old Pas marketing committee suggested that the merchants add a little twist. The scope of the Halloween festivities will be expanded to include a full month of specials leading up to Halloween, and on Halloween Day, our merchants will be adding special treats for the long-suffering, too-long ignored Trick-or-Treaters’ moms and dads.

This year, select Old Pasadena stores and restaurants will be treating Grown-ups to hundreds of dollars in savings. Plus, the streets and alleyways will be filled with wandering spooks, a free, haunted photo booth, and more. On October 31, participating merchants will beckon visitors with Trick-Or-Treat signs in store windows. A photographer will take free haunted pictures of the kids in costumes among hundreds of pumpkins in the One Colorado Courtyard. Throughout the celebration, guests will also enjoy a unique opportunity to meet and greet with various popular (and non-threatening) Halloween costumed characters.

Of course, this expansion of the traditional Old Pasadena Halloween festivities is a rather naked attempt to get the parents of those cute little characters to come back and shop here. Oddly, this is the first year that the Old Pas merchants have taken advantage of their Trick-or-Treat Night candy give-aways to promote themselves. Perhaps the abysmal economy has something to do with this epiphany, but ironically, today the MediaPost “Engage:Gen Y” blog advised marketers “Don't Be Afraid To Embrace The Potential Of Halloween.”

Blog author Jason Bakker, inspired by a memorable, late Halloween night “visit” of some unruly teen candy addicts, wrote, “The more I looked into it, the more I realized how much fun there is to be had out there. Youth marketers should know that Halloween for college students is always a bull market, and for a very small amount of time each year, they need look no further than the local haunts if they want to reach this demographic.”

Of course, his target audience is not the same one that the merchant’s of Old Pas are trying to attract. However, the fact remains that Halloween, along with being a high holy day of pre-teens and their dentists, has a substantial potential to bring returning traffic back to eager store owners and restaurateurs. If the spike in hits on the Old Pasadena web site is any indication, that potential is working its Halloween magic.

To the Old Pasadena Marketing District staff and my clever marketing committee members, allow me to say, BOO!