Outside The Box, Inside The Lines: Coloring Book Marketing Concept Captures Rowan County Folks

Published on Sunday, February 5, 2023 at 12:01 pm.

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Tara Wallace, owner and regional sales director for Coloring My Town Southwest, shows a coloring book of Salisbury and Rowan County to Backcountry & Beyond operations manager DeWitt Brown and owner Jeff Moos. (Chandler Inions/Salisbury Post)

Sweet Meadow cafe owner Heather Hopkins-Teeter finds her page in the Coloring Salisbury and Rowan County coloring book. - Chandler Inion

Walser Technology Group owner Brad Walser (right) reacts to his drawing in the Salisbury and Rowan County Friday coloring book. - Chandler Inion

Barnhardt Jewelers owner Debbie Barnhardt and her dog Abby show off the Salisbury and Rowan County coloring book right after it was delivered. The homepage of the post was Barnhardt Jewelers. - Chandler Inion

Salisbury. Successful marketing campaigns can be accentuated with humor and emotion, but subtle uniqueness can go a long way.

Many business owners in Salisbury and Rowan County have used an unconventional marketing strategy with Coloring My Town. The organization creates coloring books with cartoon characters from different parts of society.

When Fullers Market owner Justin Wells heard about the coloring book concept, he was immediately intrigued.

"We get the same promotional material coming in the door," Wells said. “It doesn’t sound very exciting, but we saw it come to life and it looked very different. We thought we'd try. It is different from regular advertisements or advertisements for restaurant menus. You can look at them, but do they stay with you?

Tara Wallace, owner and regional sales director for Coloring My Town Southwest, explained that they printed over 11,000 copies of the coloring book and distributed it throughout the school system.

"They're being handed out to all Rowan County students, from kindergarten through fifth grade," Wallace said. “We give them teacher guides that allow you to use your class books to teach them about your community. Upon completion, children are encouraged to take the books home and read them with their families.

“This is a fun way to restore community pride and get everyone involved in Salisbury and Rowan County where there are so many different communities that we want to bring together.”

The books have pages of city officials, business leaders, and scientists, as well as facts and history.

Although Wallace managed the project from start to finish, he said the day of delivery fell to him.

“The first day I show up for school or work, they don’t know why I’m here,” Wallace said. “Birthday is a different story. Then I enter and we see smiles. Everyone likes to see themselves in a book. We've built that relationship with them and it's nice to see their reactions and thank them personally for being a part of these books."

It takes time to develop each page, and sometimes you have to go back to the drawing board.

“We learn a lot from the business,” Wallace said. “We asked them what they want their business to represent there. Sometimes, if I'm there, I take pictures. I see some things. It's about business. Sometimes they say that I have no ideas, so my art team has ideas. We'll send them a test."

Wallace explained that each page has a common purpose.

"We make it personal," Wallace said. “Each page has its own personal side, whether it's a social event, a director, or an event.

Fun Factory owner Marianne Riley Jarrett liked the idea as soon as she heard it.

“I wanted to do more marketing and promoting my new business,” Jarrett said. “That fits in with the ideal demographics of our business.”

Part of the organization's mission is to distribute coloring books to children in kindergarten through fifth grade at local schools.

"I think it's a very cool and interesting concept," Jarrett said. "I loved the individual design of the facility and the personal look of me and my boys (Waylon and Wyatt)."

Jarrett is also the owner of the Spotlight dance academy. He made pages for two companies.

For Sweet Meadow owner Heather Hopkins-Teeter, the concept was too complex to grasp.

“My advertising budget is small, so I try to keep it in the database. But it was an unusual and unique way, says Hopkins-Teeter. “The access to the schools was phenomenal, so I found some extra money to invest in because it was a very unique project.

Her daughter is in fourth grade at Hopkins-Teeter Overton Elementary School. The cafe owner said he was very touched when he heard his daughter's reaction to buying a coloring book with her mother.

After seeing a version of "Paint Your City" from his hometown of Sitesville, he hired Jeff Moose, owner of Backcountry & Beyond.

“I saw a lot of local businesses there that I am familiar with and have a lot of experience with,” Moos said.

Moving to Salisbury seemed like a great plan for an outdoor business owner.

“Honestly, we love being part of the community,” Moos said.

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