Wayland’s downtown area was chosen, along with five other Michigan communities, to
receive a grant from the Michigan Economic Development Center (MEDC) to enhance
tourism and storytelling. The grant, which is managed by Pure Michigan, will be utilized in
collaboration with Wayland’s government officials to establish a strong online presence and
effective marketing strategies.

The program aims to provide direct marketing and promotional technical assistance to
downtown Wayland, with the objective of increasing local tourism-focused collaboration and
growing promotional efforts.

The benefits and deliverables of community participation in the Community Storytelling
program include:

● Conducting a comprehensive digital audit of the community’s current presence,
including community websites, Pure Michigan website, and social media channels.
● Assessing the community from a visitor’s perspective.
● Gathering data on visitors, including their origin, frequently visited destinations, and
preferred days/times of visitation.
● Developing two community-identified deliverables, one of which to be published on
the Pure Michigan website.
● Providing 1:1 training on marketing and promotion best practices.
● Creating a locally tailored implementation plan for marketing and promoting the
selected community.

For more information contact, Holli McPherson, Executive Director, at 269-525-2323 or
director@downtownwayland.com.