Rocky River's Style Mutt Dog Boutique -- How to do a Grand Opening Right!

Last month I wrote about how to do a grand opening / open house. Today I visited the grand opening of Style Mutt a new business for dog lovers and their dogs near Rocky River, Ohio and owned by a good friend and business associate, Pam Alerine.
When I visited Style Mutt's Grand Opening celebration, I saw a lot of the marketing and branding elements of a grand opening done right:

• Broad appeal: Style Mutt caters to all dogs with their boutique, not just ones with a pedigree.



• Food: They had refreshments for both people and pets alike!



• Take aways for everyone: Offered goody bags to all



• Special Give aways: Doggie ice cream for the first 50 furry guests



• Logical charity tie-in: Puppy pedicures for donations to the Cleveland Animal Protective League (APL). All of the profits from the pedicures went to charity



• Cross Promotion: Teaming up with nearby shoppes & stores to increase traffic



• Celebrity: Having a local radio talk show hosts on hand to generate buzz



• On-going appeal: Style Mutt has an on-going charitable effort that matches the owners & the customer's passions.



• Pre-Opening Press: Mention of the Grand Opening by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and community forums with headlines like: Rocky River is Going to the Dogs -- New Boutique Pampers Pooches and People

The pet store has an array of doggie related gifts with something for for many breeds from pedigrees to mutts, and offers dog spa events, doggie birthday celebrations, pooch parties, and even pet social mixers. Style Mutt invites dog owners and dog lovers to bring their pets into the boutique to relax and offers the "pup-ular" Ohio State and Cavaliers merchandise for dogs, as well as dog-themed clothing for people.

The “Mutt Munchies” snack bar will be open daily, featuring doggie ice cream and an in-store dining area where dogs can enjoy their treats and owners can relax for a few minutes.

This photo shows Pam with her daughter Stephanie and Brutus The Buckeye, the dog Pam loving refers to as her "grandson".

The store also includes a section in memory of Pam Alerine’s son Kyle, a tireless advocate for the “bully breeds”. Kyle owned two American Bulldogs until he passed away last year. The section features t-shirts, stuffed “ballerina bulldog” toys, and dog treats, and offers 100 percent of the profits from sales of these products going to Cleveland animal rescue organizations the Cleveland APL, Love a Stray, and a Cleveland bulldog rescue group.

Style Mutt founder Pam Alerine spent five years as president of Cleveland pet products manufacturer Pet Zone Products, where she developed love of providing products that meet the needs of pets and their people. While she was president of Pet Zone, my company helped her with marketing needs before Pet Zone was sold to Our Pets in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Now she's able to interact much closer with the pets and the pet owners as a retail shop owner who sells the dog toys, accessories, bowls, munchies and fun doggie gifts.

Her next step is even more adventurous! She received approval by Rocky River’s Planning Commission on Sept 20, 2007 to add doggie day care services to Style Mutt’s offerings and plans to open the doggie day care in the near future. What a hoot! I can't wait to see how that turns out!
Style Mutt is located west of Lakewood and east of Avon, Bay Village and Westlake and North of Fairview Park at 19136 Old Detroit Road in Rocky River at The Shops of Old River, located at the Northwest corner of Detroit and Wooster Roads.

It's about 3 miles from that controversial dog park that has caused so much commotion between Lakewood and Rocky River communities.

For more information, call Pam Alerine at 440-409-0454.

The grand opening was part of a street event to benefit the Cleveland APL, which featured animals to adopt, fashion shows, giveaways, and a live broadcast by Cleveland’s Q104. Local gallery owner Mitchell Sotka organized the shops of Old River for the event.

UPDATE 10/6/07: Crain's Cleveland visited Style Mutt with their Multi-Media crew for this Online interview with Pam Alerine. You can view the Style Mutt interview here.