SHERMAN OAKS : Business Promotion to Focus on Films

Based on the idea that there’s no business like show business, the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce is planning to team up with movie studios to boost area businesses hard-hit by the earthquake.

The chamber is planning a promotional program, “Sherman Oaks Salutes the Cinemas,” where a different movie will be touted by a different section of town for several months. Customers who come into stores in the spotlighted area will have the opportunity to win free tickets or movie souvenirs.

“We want to get out the message that businesses are open and that Sherman Oaks is back,” said Julie Russell, office manager for the chamber.

Ninety-five percent of Sherman Oaks businesses have reopened since the earthquake, according to Jeff Brain, past president of the chamber and chairman of the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan Review Board.

Under the program, stores might give small souvenirs to customers and hold drawings for more valuable items--all tied to the movie being promoted. There may also be an incentive program to encourage store employees, who would win prizes for most sales in a given period, Russell said.

Russell said the studios she has talked to have expressed interest in the idea, although no agreements have been finalized.

“They want to help this area because if people aren’t shopping in this area and going to their movies, they are being hurt too,” she said. The studios, which would provide the tickets and the souvenirs, would benefit from the publicity, the office manager said.

Russell said she expected the program to begin in August and would probably start with businesses on Ventura Boulevard.