Arriving in Toronto, myLOCAL is creating 芒鈧搗irtual neighbourhoods芒鈧� to support local businesses.

 TORONTO, DECEMBER 10, 2020 芒鈧�� As Toronto enters another week of lockdown, the holidays are challenging many local businesses to get creative or close.

 While big box stores have been given the okay to remain open, the city芒鈧劉s restaurants and bars are struggling with takeout only, and the 芒鈧搉on-essential retailers芒鈧� that make up the majority of our local business community have been restricted to curbside pickup and online shopping.

 For a single small business competing against a trillion-dollar ecommerce giant, attracting web traffic has been more difficult than attracting foot traffic.

 Enter myLOCAL, a pilot project to leverage the combined strength of Toronto芒鈧劉s most popular local business neighbourhoods and turn them into virtual shopping destinations.

 Debuting in Queen West and Ossington, myLOCAL is the pet project of Dead Famous, a Vancouver advertising agency with strong roots in Ontario. 芒鈧揌alf of us came from Toronto, while the other half paddleboards,芒鈧� jokes Mike Fiorentino, co-owner of Dead Famous and myLOCAL. 芒鈧揥e do a lot of work here, so it just made sense to move myLOCAL here.芒鈧�

 Begun in the mid-March lockdown that swept the country, myLOCAL was started to help shuttered local businesses stay in touch with their customers. With the entire agency working remotely, they were able to photograph the storefronts of their own neighbourhoods as a starting point.

 芒鈧揂 few months later, we had a network of over 10,000 stores on the myLOCAL platform,芒鈧� says Chris Kostyal, co-owner of Dead Famous and myLOCAL. 芒鈧揥e were pulling favours and working our connections across North America, our little idea spread, and now there芒鈧劉s a myLOCAL hub in Vancouver, Toronto, Los Angeles, Boulder, Colorado and Richmond, Virginia.芒鈧� 

 On the site, visitors can swipe through and enter virtual storefronts, just as they芒鈧劉d walk down the street. They can view opening hours, access online shopping, and even tip their favourite businesses directly. 芒鈧揟he platform is designed to feel like the actual neighbourhood,芒鈧� says Kostyal. 芒鈧揥e芒鈧劉ve brought that feeling of window shopping on a Saturday morning online.芒鈧� 

 Partnering with YNCU and Community First, the Dead Famous team recently adapted myLOCAL to create a credit union-sponsored platform, adding over 1000 local businesses across Northern and Southern Ontario.

 芒鈧揙ntario is a part of our DNA,芒鈧� says Fiorentino. 芒鈧揥e don芒鈧劉t want to see it reduced to a bunch of chain restaurants and big box stores. I don芒鈧劉t think anyone does.芒鈧�

 To see which neighbourhoods are open for business or coming soon, visit the myLOCAL homepage.