As part of a public awareness campaign to assist fire-torn communities, Los Angeles County on Wednesday announced 23 new billboards are going up to encourage residents to support small and micro businesses impacted by January’s wildfires.
The billboards — a mix of digital premier panels, digital bulletins, transit shelters and printed postal panels — will be up through November, reminding residents and visitors that every purchase at a local shop or restaurant directly helps businesses recover from losses to property, revenue and customers, particularly those hardest hit by the Eaton and Palisades fires.
Clear Channel Outdoor, an outdoor advertising company, sponsored the billboards in a bid to expand the county campaign’s reach.
In April, County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger introduced a motion directing the Department of Economic Opportunity to create the campaign. Department officials launched the program in July. The “Shop Local. Dine Local. Recover Local” campaign encourages residents and visitors to spend money at businesses in areas that were devastated by the wildfires.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, and their recovery is essential to our communities’ recovery,” Barger said in a statement. “I spearheaded this campaign to remind residents that shopping and dining locally is one of the most impactful ways they can help wildfire survivors who are small business owners.”
The cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Malibu and Pasadena, along with organizations such as Together for LA, the California Restaurant Association, Regarding Her, the Latino Restaurant Association, the Independent Hospitality Coalition and the Economic Development Corporation, partnered with the county on the campaign.
Businesses in or near fire-impacted areas can sign up at shoplocal.la to be included in the Recovery Local Business Directory, an online list of highly impacted businesses that will be featured during the campaign. Participating businesses will receive promotional support, marketing tools and other services.
County residents are encouraged to take the “Shop Local Pledge,” explore participating businesses and stay up to-date with events and special promotions at shoplocal.la.
“Recovering from the Eaton and Palisades fires will take all of us,” DEO Director Kelly LoBianco said in a statement. “These billboards are a powerful reminder that everyday choices, where we shop and where we eat, have a direct impact on helping our neighbors rebuild and thrive.”