By Kory Aversa
The cooler temperatures are on the way as we enter one of Philadelphia’s most beautiful seasons. Spend the fall in Philly supporting small businesses with a brand-new regional campaign called Sweater Weather Philly #SweaterWeatherPhilly. Over 100 businesses and individuals have signed on in just one week – with hundreds more anticipated to sign-on board before the campaign is over. Organizer Kory Aversa, of Aversa PR, started the campaign not just for his clients but for restaurant owners, retail shop owners, small business owners, neighborhoods, business districts, tourist attractions and art institutions from across the Delaware Valley.
“If we can eat outside and shop in the 95+ degree weather and high humidity of August to save our restaurants and retailers, we can keep it up through the fall colder weather ahead,” said Aversa. “Restaurants, retail shops, attractions and cultural institutions not only need our business, but they are depending on it to survive and thrive. When we had that cold week in September, I saw the numbers around town go down – and it was apparent that we needed something fun, unifying and energizing to bring people together. Throw on your favorite sweater, flannel, hoodie or jacket, get out the long pants, get dressed up for a fun day and night on the town – bring your mask – and get out there and eat, drink, shop and adventure. Bring your mask, social distance, and lets do this Philly – and save our businesses!”
“We want to not only stick it out in the cooler weather, but we want businesses, influencers, media and patrons/shoppers to use the hashtag and share their finds, their stories, their deals, their features – and bring together the ‘whole village’ to get through this crisis together. It is such a fragile time for small businesses, but its also a hard time for the consumer. We hope this brings some lightness, some fun and some extra attention to everywhere it is needed.”
Follow SweaterWeatherPhilly on Instagram for ideas for food, drink and shopping. Watch for specials, warm weather features and profiles of local business owners. Stay tuned for a full website at SweaterWeatherPhilly.com for a full list of businesses. The Instagram launches officially on October 1, 2020 – and the website launches October 5, 2020. Bookmark it in the meantime and check back each week! Special thanks to artistic partner for the campaign. Aversa teamed up with local artist – and a neighbor of his in Northern Liberties, Julia Max of Julia Max Designs for the campaign logo. Max was immediately taken by the spirit of the campaign and together in less than a day the duo with other volunteers finalized the design, started the social media and then business recruitment began! For more on Julia Max, follow her on @juliamaxdesigns.
For participating businesses and partners, early participants include Northern Liberties Business Improvement District, Old City District, Philadelphia Zoo, Parx Casino, Sofitel Philadelphia in Rittenhouse Square, Evil Genius Beer Garden, Dim Sum House, Glu Hospitality, Ardmore Initiative, Craft Concepts Group, FCM Hospitality, Stove and Co. Restaurant Group, Germantown Garden Grill, Anejo, SET NoLibs, Juno, Rosy’s Taco Bar, P’unk Burger, SliCE, Harper’s Garden, Morgan’s Pier, Tradesman’s, BRU Craft & Wurst, Nightmare Before Tinsel, Jose Pistola’s, Sancho Pistola’s, Pistolas Del Sur, Wine Dive, Hawthorne’s Beer Cafe, TIo Flores, Stove and Tap, Al Pastor, Nick’s Bar and Grille, Tiny’s Burger Joint, Nice Things Handmade, Hunnies Crispy Chicken, Finn McCool’s, Liberty Bell Beer Garden, Sueno, Philly AIDS Thrift, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Inis Nua Theatre, Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, Lokal Artisan Foods, Jerry’s Bar, Wonderspaces, Lokal Artisan Foods and many others. Over 50 top food, drink, tourism and travel influencers have signed on board and others are expected to join and share content and use the hashtag – with a goal of over 200 influencers to participate by the end of the fall season.
For businesses wishing to sign-up, the best way as the campaign takes off quickly is to DM the Instagram account with the manager or owners contact info. Businesses can join the campaign for free – with additional options available from media partners for a discounted price.
Sweater Weather Philly thanks media sponsors Metro Philadelphia and Philly Chit Chat, plus other media partners, including Wooder Ice, Philly Bite Magazine, Philly Happening, Bucks Happening, Philadelphia Globe, Philly Life and Culture, Philly Grub, and others to be announced. The above media are signed on as a sponsor or have plans to run content tied in with the campaign.
For more information, DM the Instagram for SweaterWeatherPhilly, call 215-840-9216 or email Aversa at [email protected].
