We’ve gone huge!
We’re writing to you all with a big bit of news which might explain why it may have been hard for you to get hold of us over the last few weeks.
Totally Locally has gone huge. Way bigger than we ever expected. This time last year we predicted we would have 15 town enquiries by the end of 2012. We currently have over 70!!
PEOPLE POWER
It’s gone huge not because of what we’ve done, but because of what individual people and towns have done with the things we have given them. And when a town changes because of the Totally Locally effect, other towns have seen the effect and want it too.
A RE THINK
So we got together with our patron Sir John Peace (google him and you’ll find out why we respect his word so much!) and we went through it all with him. He said “You aren’t sustainable”. Which we already knew, but we just wanted to help everyone we could.
Sir John told us to go away and create a sustainable business model. SO over the past month we’ve been putting together some really big ideas.
THE TOTALLY FREE, TOTALLY LOCALLY KIT
We’re now working on a new Totally Locally KIT for anyone to use. The kit will contain all the templates for banners, posters, campaign ideas, stickers, bags… in fact everything we have been using to launch Totally Locally in a town. It will draw on all of the experiences of the Totally Locally towns UK-wide, full of ideas on what works and what doesn’t. And of course it will be entirely free for you to use.
AS IMPORTANTLY it will tell you how to make the campaign work! And that one defining element which makes Totally Locally work is YOU. The people of the town. It needs good people who are determined to make a difference, and are willing to put differences aside to work to a structured template. Don’t be scared of this, the kit will be designed so that a good group of people determined to make their town better, will easily make it work.
Totally Locally’s launch at Matlock’s Pictures in the Park. What a small group of great, committed people can do.
Remember the 5th of November
We will launch the Totally Locally Kit on 5th November at our first national conference, Townstock 2012. This is in Halifax, West Yorkshire, hosted and supported by the amazing regenerated mill complex, Dean Clough (and home to our first Totally Locally Cafe & Grocery).
This may seem a long way off to a lot of you who are chomping at the bit, but one of the things we have learnt is that there are two windows which are the best to launch Totally Locally – March to July, & Mid September to November. Otherwise the whole thing gets lost in summer holidays or the Christmas rush / post Christmas lull.
MEET US AT TOWNSTOCK
To launch the new kit we’re planning a Totally Locally workshop at Townstock 2012. This will be practical session where you will get to meet people who have already made a huge impact on their towns. There will be lots of great ideas swapped, and hopefully friendships made.
See all of what’s on and register at the Townstock website.
WHAT NEXT FOR YOU
If you’ve got a team together, keep talking, keep meeting and before you know it November 5th will be here. Look at what other towns have done, and if you get chance, talk to people who’ve been involved in other town launches. This is all about sharing ideas ans experiences. We want to create a platform that will make this easier and more exciting.
IF YOU ARE A TOWN THAT HAS LAUNCHED TOTALLY LOCALLY…
Nothing changes. We will be working with you in the same way, now & for the future. You are Totally Locally Pilot Towns, and everything we have learnt is with you, so it stands to reason everything we learn in the future will be with you too.
Working with you will let us pass down more ideas to the towns that using the Totally Locally Kit. (Can you see our plan?!).
SO…
Thank you for being with us so far on this incredible Totally Locally Journey. We hope you aren’t too disappointed in this news – if you are don’t be!
Just you wait – you’ll love what’s coming next!
More cupcakes (and more Totally Locally) coming soon – Cupcakes by Sweet Sugar Sixpence, Halifax
