APVibe launches website to promote downtown Asbury
'The goal is to create a reputable entity that can be the voice for the downtown'
APVibe and downtown businesses are celebrating a milestone this week — a new website devoted to informing visitors about events and activities in downtown Asbury Park.
Started by Morgan Sackman [pictured, from left] and Rose Crean, APVibe is a marketing campaign intended to promote downtown Asbury Park as a dining and cultural destination. Both Crean and Sackman work for Sackman Enterprises.
The website, APVibeDowntown.com, provides a central location for people to find out what’s going on downtown, Crean said last week. The site will include events, promotions, news, a directory and a business of the month highlighted on the site’s front page, Crean said.
A launch party for APVibe members is scheduled for Tuesday, March 19 at 6 p.m. at The ShowRoom, 707 Cookman Avenue. The Speakeatery, APVibe’s first business of the month, will provide the food.
APVibe worked with Asbury branding and design firm M Studio on designing the site, and focused on staying true to Asbury’s unique character, Crean said.
“I think they did a great job,” Crean said of the branding firm. “The site is extremely visual, which is what we were aiming for.”
The website will serve as one of the main tools for connecting people and promoting the city’s central business district, Crean said. APVibe’s member businesses are also being encouraged to use the site to promote their own businesses.
“We want the site to be the source that drives people to our area and attracts new people that may not know as much about the downtown of Asbury and how much and how rapidly it’s growing,” Crean said. “The website is one of our short-term, smaller goals that we are excited to have completed.”
Until now, Crean and Sackman worked on defining the proper identity for APVibe, Crean said.
The launch party will be a “pivotal night for our members to understand how they can use the site,” Crean said. “In the next week or so, we will be flooding the site with content and fun information about what’s going on in the downtown.”
For now, Crean and Sackman will continue to focus on short-term projects and goals to establish APVibe, including some live events.
“Through all of our future plans, the ultimate goal is to create a reputable entity that can be the voice for the downtown,” Crean said.
