Chambers as Storytellers

Comms Excellence Best in Show winners shine in storytelling

This year’s Awards for Communications Excellence, generously supported by Meta, showcased top communications and marketing work of chambers of commerce and similar organizations. A panel of 14 communications and marketing professionals from U.S.-based chambers of commerce evaluated the entries submitted for this year’s competition. Judges presented 12 Awards of Excellence and three Best in Show awards.

Here’s a closer look at the entries that won Best in Show.

Category One: Greeley Area Chamber Website
Greeley Area Chamber of Commerce (Colo.)

Following a successful re-branding project, the Greeley Area Chamber launched a revamp of its website. One of its main goals was to provide a place that tells the chamber’s story, an important focus of the chamber’s work. “Every project the chamber embarks on must have a place that it connects back to and reinforces the story of who we are,” said Jaime Henning, CCE, the Greeley Area Chamber's president & CEO. “We have been working on telling the chamber's story in a new way with an increased focus on advocacy and programs.”

The chamber was intentional in using the site to highlight its position as a growing metro with a national focus. “Our credibility matters, so our website is a great opportunity to communicate quality information to our audiences,” said Henning. “We were transparent and honest in our portrayal of the work and how it has pivoted in recent times to focus more on advocacy, while still showcasing our programs and events.” To establish trust and social proof of its work, the site includes an advocacy highlights page and third-party testimonials and videos.

The chamber also strives to lead as an early adopter and innovator and wanted this to shine through its website. The site was designed to be clean, easy to navigate, visually compelling and inspirational. Some of the tactics used include a live video header on the homepage, intuitive navigation, simple forms and contact capture and clear calls-to-action. As a community leader, the Greeley Area Chamber is continuously following trends and working toward making the site ADA accessible to ensure all have access to the chamber’s resources.

With thoughtful planning and exceptional teamwork, the new website successfully delivers information and content sharing, engagement, marketing and promotion opportunities for its investors. "Our new website really hits the mark," said Henning.

Category Two: Harrisburg Regional Chamber Members' Stories Video
Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC (Pa.)

When the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC set out to tell the stories of its members through videos, it began with one of its core values: To be unapologetically positive storytellers.

The video tells the story of a military veteran and minority business owner. In just 80 seconds, the video showcases the member’s journey in starting his business and how the chamber has helped his business continue to grow and succeed. “This video is one piece of a campaign that showcases our relationships with our members and what we can do for businesses on an individual level that lifts the entire community,” said Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC President & CEO Ryan Unger.

This video, created by a member business, is part of two larger anchors in the chamber’s organizational strategic plan: one focused on DEI and the other on membership growth and retention. While the chamber strives to have its membership reflect its entire community, the 139-year-old organization wanted to add to an important set of its community’s business owners. “We set out with a goal to increase the number of minority-owned businesses in our community who were not members of the chamber,” said Unger.

For this video, the chamber worked with one of its very engaged minority-owned business members who had positive experiences with the organization. “This video shows that minority-owned businesses can find success with the chamber, are valued by the chamber and can be given a specialized platform to share their stories,” said Unger.

The video generated impressive results for the chamber, including the formation of several partnerships with local organizations focused on supporting minority entrepreneurs. The join rate of minority-owned businesses increased by 100%, outpacing the chamber's goal. And with the help of a member public relations firm, the chamber created a paid social media campaign that reached nearly eight times its Facebook followers.

Category Three: 2021-2022 Digital Annual Report
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce (Tenn.)

With an innovative spin on the traditional annual report, the Nashville Area Chamber’s 2021-2022 Annual Report provided readers with an interactive digital experience, showcasing the chamber’s accomplishments through the stories of its members and investors.

The report debuted at the chamber’s 2022 Annual Celebration via a QR code printed in the event program. In addition to highlighting the Nashville region’s progress, the report shares the important work and successes of the chamber over the past year. The member stories shared reflect the chamber’s focus on innovation, inclusion and community—themes that are foundational to its programming, initiatives and policies.

“Our team members are encouraged to innovate at every level of leadership,” said Ralph Schulz, president & CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber. “This modern approach to our annual report allowed our marketing team to design and execute a unique digital experience that not only captured the attention of hundreds of readers but also told the important stories of our chamber and members."

The chamber created a great user experience by utilizing a web-based platform and streamlining the navigation. Quick-read highlights and a mix of photography, video and infographics were presented on each page to share each department’s successes from the past year. The digital format also improved accessibility so all readers could interact with the report, read at their own pace and pick and choose the information that most interested them.

“With this digital format, readers were invited to explore a rich multimedia experience,” said Sara Zakhary, vice president of marketing and communications at the Nashville Area Chamber. “This format also allowed us to showcase the experiences of our members to highlight the importance of the chamber in supporting their business growth and prosperity.”

As a result of the overwhelmingly positive feedback, the chamber has begun to shift other signature reports to a digital platform, allowing for increased cost-efficiency and lessening their environmental impact.