Buy Michigan Now is a campaign dedicated to highlighting Michigan-based businesses and positively promoting the state on a local, national, and global level. Financed through paid memberships and corporate sponsorships, this effort is fueled by the passion of dedicated volunteers.
Our Milestones
and this Pledge: I hereby pledge to play an active role in building a strong, vibrant, and diverse Michigan
economy. I will be a part of the solution by speaking positively about the state, learning about our products
and services, and making a concerted effort to buy from Michigan businesses. I will Think Michigan First!
products in just the first year of the campaign. BMN adds a searchable business directory to the website
and showcases Michigan businesses on television for the first time.
to celebrate. The event began with an opening ceremony and themes for each day. Eventually this would
become the 3-day Buy Michigan Now Festival that takes place annually.
throughout Michigan. It features Detroit area TV personality, Lila Lazarus and BMN Founder, Lisa Diggs
explaining the virtues of the effort.
surpasses 25,000 followers through its social media channels.
The Grand Prize winner receives a marketing package worth over $1000. The contest continued for years,
with each winning business crediting it for significant sales increases and media exposure.
and event information more readily. For the first time a digital Grocery Guide is available at shoppers’
fingertips while in a store.
will allow for it, the Michigan Positivity Project is started. Keegan-Michael Key, Chad Smith, Judy Greer and
other celebrities from Michigan, join together to encourage positive messaging of Detroit and the state as
a whole, especially geared toward our youth.
Michigan. The event features family-friendly activities with an autumn theme, as well as vendors
selling Michigan-made products.
it includes book signings from legendary local, Dorothy Zehnder of Bavarian Inn fame, and even some
authentic maypole dancing.
sponsors, and key supporters. The yearlong celebration would continue with press coverage of local products
and the tenth Buy Michigan Now Festival in Northville.
on behalf of the United States Congress honoring a decade of promoting MI-based businesses and MI-made
products.
and both peninsulas are included representing a wide range of genres from children's books to murder
mysteries and self-help to Michigan-centric nonfiction.
An idea born in South Africa
Who would think the inspiration for a “buy local” campaign would come from a whole different hemisphere? Improbable as that may seem, it is exactly how Buy Michigan Now
BMN Founder Lisa Diggs
Speaker, writer, and entrepreneur, Lisa Diggs, is founder of The Catalyst Company LLC, a performance consulting business that specializes in helping organizations become more productive and profitable. The company
