BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – How does a small designer and manufacturer of wool-felt pennants, flags, and banners on Main Street get national attention?
By creating a unique promotion inviting people to Buffalo.
66,000 people from across the globe entered into the Oxford Pennant sweepstakes to win a trip to Buffalo and take in why Buffalo is the "warmest cold city in America."
The only catch is…the winner must visit during peak winter.
The little things added up and turned into a nearly $4,000 sweepstakes that also includes round-trip air fare, two nights in Hotel Henry, a bottle of champagne, gift cards and passes to area hotspots, plus spending cash for anything else the lucky winner wants to experience.
"I think people who live in other cities think we live in igloos and watch the Bills lose," Horesh joked. "We wanted to put together this promo to show that Buffalo is a real cool city. It's a small city but it has a lot of charm and personality. No matter the time of year you visit it's a really nice place."
He admitted he thought people would be skeptical about it at first, but then interest grew. People were entering from as far away as Texas, California, and even Hawaii.
The promotion even resulted in a story that was posted by CNN.
"It is more than triple than what we thought it would have done," Horesh said. "In terms of the attention we got and everything we did here was donated to us. All these businesses said we're in and gave us (a gift card) and a bottle of champagne. This thing cost us very little."
All Oxford Pennant paid for was a website and the hiring of a friend to do the video work.
The winner of the promotion will be drawn at random on February 1. Each entrant will be given a number, with Horesh and Oxford Pennant planning to video the grand announcement.
Why the winter?
"It's too easy to give away a trip during the summer time," Horesh said, laughing. "Buffalo's most famous season is winter and we're always so defensive. The snow's not that bad and it's not what you think. Come see Buffalo during the winter!"
If you've ever been on social media you may have seen people criticize Buffalo for exactly what you'd expect. Things like overrated chicken wings, woeful Buffalo Bills, and, of course, snow. Horesh, who is originally from Rochester, said he's taken some time to defend the city from the keyboard critics.
"The first guy that said something nasty said he'd rather pay to spend time in his own household than win a free trip to Buffalo," Horesh explained while noting they're having fun with the situation. "We reposted that…and the mob descended on this guy. All the Buffalonians destroyed him."
