Feb 15, 2010

Taking local viralBy Jackie CrosbyStarTribune.com

Most people want to sidle up to Oprah. Cinda Baxter took her on.

“Oprah, you’ve got it wrong,” Baxter lashed out in a blog entry that would launch a thousand e-mails and a new business venture.

The flash point for Baxter, a Twin Cities retail consultant and speaker, came during the depths of the economic crisis last March. That’s when the talk show diva teamed up with personal finance guru Suze Orman to urge viewers to stop all unnecessary spending.

“That’s the quickest way to bankrupt an entire nation’s economy,” Baxter said recently, her voice still brimming with astonishment.

Baxter’s blog entry suggested an alternative: Pick three locally owned stores you don’t want to see go away. Spend $50 a month among them. Keep local businesses humming.

And with that, the 3/50 Project went viral.

Author, blogger and marketing expert Seth Godin stumbled across Baxter’s blog and endorsed the 3/50 Project. Word spread quickly on Twitter. Businesses and individuals across the country became Facebook fans by the hundreds.

Flooded with requests for more information, Baxter threw up a website and whipped together a ready-made marketing campaign that small businesses could download for free. She encouraged businesses to feature the 3/50 Project logo on their websites and to get fliers into the hands of customers who might not realize the power of the purse.

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