The document discusses innovative marketing strategies used by micro-enterprises in Tel Aviv's retail sector. It observes that stores use creative signage, unique business models pairing retail with cafes or manufacturing, and eye-catching window displays to force pedestrians to take a second look. Examples include stores displaying unusual objects like elephants made of wood or mannequin legs in washing machines. The strategies aim to distinguish these small businesses and draw attention to their offerings.

1. Retail streetscapes in Tel Aviv

2. Introduction
• I am interested in studying micro-enterprises
in Tel Aviv involved in the retail and service
sector
• I have lived in Amsterdam, Toronto, and
visited numerous cities, but I was struck by
the ingenuity of “Tel Avivis.”

3. Research question?
• What are examples of innovative marketing
from retail micro-enterprises in Tel Aviv?
• Methods:
• Photography
• Observations (similar to the approach of Jane Jacobs)

4. Concept: streets are the quilt a city
• “streets play an important role in the
livability, vitality, and character of our
neighborhoods and commercial areas. They
form the grid that weaves the quilt of the City
into a whole cloth” (Attarian: 2003)

5. Summary of my observations
• Very creative signage
• Unique business models
• Local Israeli suppliers (e.g. Israeli fashion
designers selling in a trendy clothing store)
• Cool!

6. Mograbi: cafe & second-hand clothing

7. Mograbi: cafe & second-hand clothing
Second hand clothing
… and a café!

8. Dproject: cafe & courture clothing

9. Dproject: cafe & courture clothing
Street couture
… and a café!

10. Rann Bar fashion boutique

11. Model: Rann Bar fashion boutique (with the
sewing/ manufacturing above the store)

12. Green it –100% recycled products

13. Role of lighting
My friend and I
walked past this
store, which is
tucked away in the
Arab neighbourhood
of Tel Aviv, near the
beach. If it wasn’t
for the lighting, we
wouldn’t have even
noticed the store.
This is especially
important because
in Winter, the sun
sets at 5pm.

14. Visual displays
An elephant placed
in this store front
window is made out
of hundreds of
pieces of wood.
The store sells
designer furniture.

15. Visual displays
Look carefully, this
store has a
mannequin leg
coming out of a
washing machine!

16. Visual displays
This store built a
patio! Fake
grass, but with real
bushes, chairs, and a
table – the store
really stands out on
the concrete streets!

17. Visual displays
A monster in the
window looks great
at night for this
skater/ sneaker
shop.

18. Visual displays
These are
handcrafted guitars
made out of olive
wood. Each guitar
retails for around
$750 US / or 3,000
NIS.
The store sells
lamps, some books
and accessories for a
home/ or apartment.
But the guitars force
people to stop
walking and peak
inside.

19. Visual displays
maspera... is actually
a hair salon, but from
the outside it looks
more like café.
The records on the
wall confuse the
pedestrian and force
a second glance, and
then it becomes clear
that it is in fact a hair
salon.

20. Visual displays
This lighting store
created windows on
both floors, with
lamps in the main
window and
chandeliers on the
second floor.

21. Visual displays
RENBY sells home
décor. Instead of
having a small
window, the store
made a street to
ceiling window and
then built an IKEA
type shelving unit to
house several
products.
For the
pedestrian, it is very
dynamic and
colourful, and
almost impossible to
ignore.

22. Visual displays
This men’s clothing
shop uses a
chandelier
inside, but also
these fantastic
miniature art pieces
on the left hand side
of the window to
“texturize” the
window.

23. Visual displays
The side-panel of the window
featuring the different art pieces.

24. Visual displays
This is not a clothing
shop. It is a fabric
and textile store.
The owner made a
window display but
one of the
mannequins is
wearing a dress
using leaves!

25. Signage
Why not put the signage on the
floor?
Been There Done There is an art
gallery and clothing
store, specializing in comic
books, photography books, and
screen-print t-shirts; there are
revolving art shows every few
weeks.

26. Signage
Lightforms has a stylish logo, but
also a unique window display with
an artistic lighting fixture.
The owner also painted the front
red with the little space that was
available.

27. Signage
This clothing and art store is
located in the old district of Jaffa.
There are unique artist-designed
bags, t-shirts, as well as prints and
coffee mugs.
The prices are reasonable with t-
shirts selling for $20 US / or ~80
NIS.

28. Signage
Fabrica is a designer
clothing store with
an artsy look
because of the huge
wooden ladder in
the window.

29. Signage
Tel Avivs are great
marketers.
I walked past this
furniture store, and
quite liked the
unique tagline:
people, inspiration,
and furniture.

30. Signage
Stereotype is a store
for
audiophiles, meanin
g people who are
really into music and
headphones, etc. –
basically music is
their lifestyle.
Owl = wisdom.

31. Signage
I really liked the sign
of MoMa, and you
can see me taking a
photo!
The steel also
doubles as a
mirror, but then the
cutout letters form
the name of the
store.

32. Signage
The TOMER sign was
very
elegant, especially
with the wooden
panels that also
match the three
strips in the logo.

33. Signage
Dolla is a boutique
furniture store. The
edifice is meant to
look like what I think
is wallpaper. The
door frame is
refinished to look
like a door inside of
a house, instead of
store.
Lastly, the logo and
sign are embedded
onto the wall – easy
to remember and
spot!

34. Let the products do the marketing
This store owner
PACKED the store
with threads. There
is no space left for
anything else!
However, if you look
at the middle of the
window, note that at
least the store has a
Facebook page.

35. Let the products do the marketing
If you need metal
plates, lamps, or
random parts, it
must be here.

36. Let the products do the marketing
This shop is near the
beach, and
depending on how
the sun reflects off
of all that steel it is
certainly difficult to
miss if you are in the
market for sinks and
counters.

37. Winning strategy
FORCE THE PEDESTRIAN (FOOT TRAFFIC)
TO TAKE A SECOND (OR THIRD) GLANCE
THROUGH CREATIVE SIGNAGE AND
WINDOW DISPLAYS OR OUTSIDE DISPLAYS.

38. Last words…
• Be creative! Be bold!
• A very BIG thank you to the
wonderful business ideas from Tel
Aviv and the business owners, who
let me photograph their stores!

39. CREDITS
Photographed and researched by:
Andrew Bacchus
www.streetecology.com
www.facebook.com/streetecology
Research made possible by a grant from The Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Foundation at The University of Waterloo
in Waterloo, Canada.