ACCE Communications Award Entry

150th Anniversary Campaign

We implemented a multi-media campaign for our 150th, using creative outlets and partnerships. For full details see our 150th planning calendar.

We officially kicked off our anniversary year at a January signature event Celebrate: A Toast to 150. See invitation.
A 150th chamber logo used all year long.
150th Chamber web site.
An impact graphic shared all year.
A history video to share our story premiered in January then put online, social, and played at events and presentations.
A large circular 150th sign, hung as a backdrop at major events.
A 150th anniversary magazine, produced in partnership with a local publisher, Fox Cities Magazine, was inserted in their March issue plus they gave us extras.
A historical sign marker that was permanently placed outside of our office building. View the installed photo here.

We also:

Partnered with a local brewery to create a specially labeled 150th anniversary beer sold in local grocery stores, given to stakeholders, and served at our large Octoberfest event in fall. View here.

Invited members to submit their own milestones and celebrated with them by promoting online, in social media, and on a local radio show.

Partnered with a local actor who portrayed our founding board member in costume. He made appearances at events throughout the year and gave us rights to use his image for promotions.

Collaborated with a local radio station on a podcast to share our history as well as our members’.

Number of member milestones celebrated – 38 member businesses let us know they were also celebrating milestones in 2024, so we could celebrate with them.
Non-dues revenue: We sold 13 Chamber 150th Anniversary corporate sponsorships for a total of $105,000. Approximately 15% was used to offset specific costs, and the rest was a true Chamber sponsorship, raising non-dues revenue for the Chamber.

Events: We tried to incorporate our anniversary into all major events and had a couple attendance goals, which we met: 150 high school girls participating in Smart Girls Rock and at least 150 teacher nominations for our Excellence in Education awards.

Social media stats – Facebook followers increased by 9.03% in 2024, we feel due in part to our historical focus. Individual history post views varied depending on the topic, with the highest getting 24,939 views.

Our 150th Anniversary Magazine was inserted in the March issue of Fox Cities Magazine, which reaches an audience of 60,000, plus we distributed an additional 2,500.

Our history video had 214 You Tube views. Unfortunately we didn’t have tracking set up to monitor how many times it was viewed on our web page. It was also shown at various events to at least 1,500 throughout the year.

Chamber growth in 2024, which we attribute in part to our yearlong celebration and excitement:

NPS score – we launched an event-focused NPS program in 2024. Our goal was to be in the 20s, and at year end our average NPS score was 62.2.

We had great media coverage all year round: