Will someone please take notes at Prescott's LHTC 'Women Only' Focus Groups?

After having been informed that the four Focus Group sessions sponsored by Prescott next week at the Rec Center to obtain feedback from women about retail were all full up and I couldn't attend, I tried once more to get a 'slot', citing that the rec center was pretty big and that Prescott would do well to welcome as many women as interested from the LH Community. Here's the response I received from Brenna Ellis:

Thank you for your feedback. We contacted three groups, the LH Junior Women’s League, the LH Women’s League and the LH Area Early Childhood PTA. The word spread very quickly and unfortunately the announcement hit the blog and at least one neighborhood association so you can imagine we have received many inquiries. We are so appreciative of the response. The intent was to solicit approximately 60 women and rather than blanket all of LH’s we decided to target the three groups with which we were most familiar. Thanks again for your interest in LHTC. Our goal is to create a first class project that will be a true town center for Lake Highlands.

I'm wondering why only these three groups were contacted - great groups, but why only them? Are the women in these groups the only women in LH who will shop and/or live in LHTC? What specific feedback is Prescott looking for that only these women can provide? Why was not a larger PR net cast? (I only received a forwarded email from a friend the evening of 7/17. I'd never have known otherwise). I remember when Prescott was campaigning for the PID, there was very little notification for that as well. And why is Prescott not more familiar with all the rest of the female population in Lake Highlands? Seems to me that would be important research.

I really hate to whine but I want to attend and they're saying I can't. Not only am I a pretty big shopper in Lake Highlands, I also happen to pop off a blog now and again which sometimes gets attention (...unfortunately the announcement hit the blog and at least one neighborhood association so you can imagine we have received many inquiries). That could be a good thing for Prescott. Or not.

So since Prescott won't let me come play, will someone please take notes for me?

Comments

[No Focus For You]

It’s a focus group and they are focusing on these three groups for probably two reasons they consider important to a successful retail center. Both of the LH jr. and sr. women's league groups are generally pretty financially well off so they want to find out what's it going to take to get other women like them to shop at LHTC and the other groups is women with young children (there will be some overlap between the groups) and they want to find out what is going to take to get those shoppers.

I bet Prescott never wanted their email sent to all of LH in mass and probably didn't want it showing up on this blog. Backtalk should have called Prescott to see if they wanted it posted on the blog since it’s not the focus group or they were already full. If Prescott wanted blog readers to be the focus group they would have sent the invitation for posting to Rick, or Jeff, or Christina, or JJ directly. You guys can’t post every email you get without checking on it first.

[Liz Luthans]

JJ, I'm with you you. I was planning on showing up to a session thnking it was more like a town hall meeting. I'm feeling a little excluded...

[rarepair]

Thanks for your input, No Focus For You.

I would have appreciated hearing your clarified response from the organizers upon my initial email request to attend instead of just thanks, no room left at the inn.

I do understand Focus Groups but if Prescott's parameters are 'women generally pretty financially well off' and 'women with young children', Prescott did both themselves and our community a disservice by only zeroing in on those three groups, thereby missing a whole lot more feedback. There are many more of us who fall into those two categories and we are equally interested and vested in what will go into Town Center.

As to Back Talk contacting Prescott to check with them if it would be o.k. to post the information about their Focus Groups, I disagree that doing so is the responsibility of Back Talk. It's public information which a private citizen posted. I'm terribly interested in Town Center as it will directly affect me and quite a few other folks I've met. I want as much information as I can get and believe that passing it along to others is part of my community responsibility. Prescott needs to have faith in the intellect, interest and input from THEIR new community and communicate better. Go ahead, have specific Focus Groups. But allow for a larger audience to be heard.

[No Focus For You]

I have to disagree with you on Backtalk's responsibility to check with Prescott...

Let’s say I send an email about a meeting to someone and they in turn forward it to a group of people that I didn't invite or want to include and you get that email and post it on the web for all the world to see about my private meeting, how is that okay. It’s not public information, it’s not the government, and you don't have a right to know. You would like to know but that's different and I’m sorry your feelings got hurt.

Statistically targeting those two groups with "money and kids" will give them a lot of information because that’s who spends the money. By asking random blog readers you risk getting too much of a cross section and not a focus.

[Chris]

Not sure if the email/info was meant to go to the public or not - but for whatever reason it has. If I were Prescott I would look to expand the focus groups or add another session to avoid a PR mess. Take it from me, a bad first impression with the ladies = not good.

[rarepair]

Thanks again for your input, No Focus For You.

I'm in the process of getting an opinion/opinions from one or more Ad guys, experts at Focus Groups and marketing. I'll certainly share what I learn with you as I absolutely believe it's public info. FYI, here's the original email that was forwarded to ME:

'Any woman who lives/works/shops in the Lake Highlands area is invited to attend a session below'.

Not sure where it came from, don't care, am thankful as I otherwise wouldn't have known about something going on specific to me, my family, my home, my condo, my neighborhood, my community. And I promise you, my feelings aren't hurt! I appreciate your concern but I'm a pretty tough Lake Highlands woman who is generally pretty financially well off and has a young child. JUST the young child alone keeps my feelings from getting hurt by being excluded from a Focus Group!

[michele]

FUNNY TO BE SEEING THIS NOW (NOTE TO SELF-CHECK BACKTALK MORE)-I JUST FIRED OFF AN EMAIL TO PRESCOTT AND RETAIL CONNECTION. MY SENT EMAIL FOLLOWS. I TOO HOPE TO GENERATE ENOUGH OF A BUZZ TO ENSURE MY THOUGHTS AND THE THOUGHTS OF MY COHORTS ARE HEARD. FINGERS CROSSED.

Hi Stephanie,

I was disappointed to receive the e-mail from Lindsey notifying me that I would be unable to participate in the upcoming focus group about the LHTC, but pleased that the demand has been so overwhelming. So overwhelming, in fact, that all of my friends and acquaintances have been rejected as well.

We, as a group, feel very strongly about Lake Highlands and the future success of the Lake Highlands community. I have been a Lake Highlands resident my entire life, have attended LH schools and have returned there to raise my family with my husband (a LH grad as well). It is our group of 25-40 year old families that will determine the future success of Lake Highlands and the support of the LHTC.

It is this collective passion of me and my friends that motivated me to send you a follow up e-mail asking if there was any way for us to have our voices heard by providing you our opinions through e-mail or by filling out a survey / questionnaire about our hopes and goals for the LHTC.

We are very concerned about what retail stores and restaurants will make a home in the LHTC and would like to make as many suggestions as possible to what we feel the neighborhood needs and could thrive from community support. As someone who has spent my entire adult life accustomed to commuting to Northpark, Highland Park Village, Inwood Village the Galleria and now Mockingbird Station and West Village for shopping, I know that my community of friends will easily maintain this behavior and be unsupportive if LHTC does not possess an appropriate client base, a base for us to use to rebuild Lake Highlands and as a recruitment tool to encourage other young families to call Lake Highlands home.

I appreciate your time and do hope that we might find a way to provide you with some input as you continue the development of the LHTC.

[Living in LH]

Prescott's mistake = was a Prescott employee stating the above:"We contacted three groups, the LH Junior Women’s League, the LH Women’s League and the LH Area Early Childhood PTA"
I have the emailed invitation in my hand -I am not associated with any of the above groups - and - It clearly states: "The Prescott Realty Group (developers of Town Center) is inviting any
woman who lives in Lake Highlands to join a Focus Group next week to guide
them in designing Town Center. "
So.....if the focus groups are full - Then they are full. But - If I were Prescott and I am not - I would be very interested in what people -with money to spend -that are NOT associated with above mentioned groups have to say. That would represent a "cross' section. Hide and watch - there will be another focus group based on the "success" of this first response. Just as Chris states above = not good.

[No Focus For You]

Fair enough and Prescott has a PR issue now because…"The word spread very quickly and unfortunately the announcement hit the blog" and "Any woman who lives/works/shops in the Lake Highlands area is invited to attend a session below" don't match and probably didn't come from the same person, i.e. Brenda Ellis. I’d be curious to see if what you got is what she sent out to her focus group.

[What!]

Tell me I did not just read this......"It is our group of 25-40 year old families that will determine the future success of Lake Highlands and the support of the LHTC."
I guess I am expired and have no contribution to the community - better move and take my bank account with me. wow......