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As summarised in our most recent State of Jewish Advertising Report, Lakewood advertising and business opportunities are practically unparalleled for a wide swath of enterprises in direct-to-consumer and business-to-business categories. In the context of Jewish marketing, which we undertake for clients in our dedicated Lakewood Jewish Marketing Practice, the drivers of opportunities in this once sleepy Jersey Shore town are not only due to its exponential population growth over the last few decades. Instead, Lakewood, NJ (and the surrounding townships of Jackson and Toms River) has become a startup and commerce center bringing new business concepts to the fore and, in some cases revolutionizing some sectors. Such robust activity offers unique opportunities from an advertising, business development, and overall market share expansion perspective. Here we overview some areas where we see the most substantial potential, field and project-based insights, and predictions for the coming years. 

Sectors Of Robust Activity

As economic activity among the Jewish demographic of Lakewood has progressed, there have been specific sectors where growth has been especially concentrated. That is not to say that there are no opportunities present across the spectrum; rather, there are specific kinds of business categories with outsized representation.

Healthcare & Skilled Nursing Management

One of the fastest-growing sectors in Lakewood centers on healthcare services and skilled nursing facilities. From ownership headquarters of multi-property holding companies to back-office operations providers, the segment is very active. The concentration presents diverse opportunities for various service providers and specifically those in the B2B context. For example, an identity and visitor management technology provider leveraged the added need for such a solution during COVID combined with the ease of reaching nursing home facility ownership in a centralized fashion. The result was incredibly swift adoption with minimal marketing expenditure. The strategy focused on the business development of relevant decision-makers and associated network utilization as it was not a consume offering. In this scenario, “the firecracker effect,” which we discuss in greater detail below, was apparent. Once there was the adoption by a few facilities, word traveled, which is common in tight-knit Jewish communities, especially in the professional arena, and organic and speedy growth followed.

Ecommerce, Logistics, & Related Services

What began as mostly a concentration of third-party sellers on the Amazon marketplace, entrepreneurs in Lakewood have branched out to found what have become substantial “e-commerce first” stand-alone brands. There is also significant business activity catering to the still robust Amazon seller ecosystem in Lakewood and ancillary e-commerce by way of shipping, warehousing, and logistics services. Even further out from the core and more obvious e-commerce adjacent services, there is a whole sector focused on the optimization of the e-commerce brand, such as photography, listing optimization, and sourcing services, to name a few. Catering to this market segment is very product and service-specific, and navigating business development in that regard should be tailored appropriately.

Food, Travel, & Hospitality

Food, travel, and hospitality are standout sectors for Jewish marketing, and we have written extensively about how to properly approach campaigns for offerings in these categories. The potentials are practically infinite, from kosher holiday listing sites focused on Jewish travel to new foods on the market. Lakewood is a segment of the Jewish audience that is, in our view, showing a rapidly increasing appetite for offerings in the food, travel, and hospitality buckets with a growing leaning toward higher ticket options. Therefore, when it comes to positioning in the market, it is essential to use optimal messaging and target the right audience within Lakewood that corresponds most favorably to what is on offer.

In particular, with travel and hospitality, we find “the firecracker effect” makes a strong showing where a good experience by a family that goes to a vacation destination can spread the word quite quickly and lead to a multiplication of new business from said families friends and family.

On the food front, the Lakewood Jewish community and the surrounding environs of Jackson and Toms River show a voracious appetite for new offerings. From specialty meat platters to craft breweries, this category is an exciting one, and well-executed launches are met with hearty enthusiasm. Unsurprisingly, we find that branding and presentation are especially critical when launching a food-related offering. In addition, targeting the right segment, often a younger one, is also essential.

Fashion

There are several different streams of the fashion economy as it pertains to Lakewood, New Jersey. The opportunities are numerous, from women’s fashion to men’s fashion, especially on the formal side relating to suits, shirts, and dress shoes in line with wear for the Jewish holidays and an overall more conservative dress. Global brands such as Charles Tyrwhitt gain initial popularity, and “the firecracker effect” kicks in, and there is an explosion of adoption. Often the company becomes familiar with this singular area on the Jersey Shore, driving enormous demand and caters accordingly, spurring further growth. This same story has repeated itself time and again, especially when it comes to fashion, where trends propel the cycle. The challenge is how to seed for the trend as these growth stories generally occur organically. Utilizing Jewish influencer marketing and other targeted digital advertising strategies can help to drive a viral fashion trend.

Electronics

More niche than other sectors yet still offering plenty of opportunities, electronics and related technology offerings are in high demand in Lakewood and its surrounding communities. From internet filtering services catering to the sensitivities of the orthodox concentration in Lakewood to business-specific tech, there are unique opportunities in this growing category.

Construction, Home Goods & Furnishings

With practically unparalleled population growth, Lakewood and its neighboring environs of Jackson and Toms River have and continue to see immense building activity. With so many new homes, there is unique demand for various construction, home goods, furnishings, and related products or services. Aside from the most obvious, such as furniture, we have seen an introduction of specialty items being introduced to the market, such as proprietary basement windows that allow for better lighting. In addition, the concentration of so much new development, including commercial real estate, presents a unique opportunity for vendors to meet this demand.

The Firecracker Effect In Full Swing

We have already noted “the firecracker effect” previously in this discussion, in a dedicated post, and quite often in client conversations. The reason is that it often plays quite a pivotal role in Jewish marketing. The crux of the theme encompassed in “the firecracker effect” revolves around the potential for continued, organic, and compounding growth from advertising resources expended for Jewish advertising. Specifically, for every dollar of spend, in the right scenario, especially when marketing is optimally executed, advertisers see compounded organic growth that multiplies that original dollar of spend. In large part, “the firecracker effect” is due to the tight-knit communal aspect of the broader Jewish community as a whole but especially so in the context of the Lakewood Jewish community.

Strategies For Sucess

Embarking on a Lakewood-centric marketing campaign holds much potential for a diverse lineup of offerings. With that said, understanding your offering and how it corresponds to the varying segments of the Lakewood Jewish community is important. Such understanding will assist in formulating a beneficial position of the brand and an overall marketing strategy. In addition, understanding the “the firecracker effect” and the network-heavy society and ecosystem of Lakewood and surrounding communities will help carry an advertising campaign beyond just the immediate spend. Lastly, looking at the expanding ad platforms and strategies for a comprehensive marketing campaign will also pay off in spades. For example, targeting users in the Lakewood zip code, 08701, in combination with other data-backed affinity markers, is often a wise strategy to consider. In addition, there are Lakewood-specific news websites such as the Lakewood Scoop that also might hold potential. It is not only about digital though, in the Lakewood context, print publications such as the Lakewood Voice, BP Weekly, or Lakewood Shopper can also bring handsome returns for the right offering.

What We See In The Future

Lakewood is one of the most dynamic and exciting areas from a business opportunity, growth, and overall marketing perspective. We see continued rapid expansion with the maturation of existing sectors and the introduction of new ones. Together with its sister townships, Jackson and Toms River, Lakewood is becoming a large market in the Jewish advertising context and will play an ever-increasing role in campaigns. Finding opportunities and formulating new offerings and services based on market needs is essential to not only stay ahead of the competition but also for reaping the rewards of being first to market to a segment enthusiastic about new offerings of all types.