With new leadership in place the Fort Worth Chamber sought to revitalize the market’s perception within the Fort Worth business community and beyond. Schaefer was selected as their agency partner to lead them in developing and communicating the Chamber’s renewed energy and focus. The primary strategic imperatives were to both sustain the support of local businesses, while also expanding the Chamber’s economic development efforts beyond Fort Worth.
A Refreshed Position focused on New Energy, New Business
Each of our brand initiatives begins with a critical analysis of an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, and differentiators. For the Fort Worth Chamber, we identified the opportunity to capitalize on the legacy of the organization while creating a more defined and contemporary position that was current with today’s business climate. For the refresh, we saw an opportunity to stay true to who we are as a city and people, and root the Chamber’s new identity in the trailblazing spirit that has always defined Fort Worth.
We needed to reposition the Fort Worth Chamber from the outdated organization many perceived it to be to the vibrant connector, advocate and driver of economic development they are today. Tapping into the exuberant energy of the Chamber’s new leadership, we focused on positioning the brand as an energetic organization that provides new business opportunities to trailblazers and entrepreneurs alike.
A Trailblazing Identity
Through our archetyping process, the agency established the organization as a Hero persona, defined by strength, courage, commitment, and a drive to move things forward. Using the Hero archetype as a foundation, our creative team explored a multitude of solutions for the new Chamber brand. In keeping with our process of immersion, the team explored other related and competitive organizational brands, the history of Fort Worth and the Chamber to inspire the recommended design solutions.
A key objective in creating the new brand identity was to build a flexible system that could be used across platforms and multiple team members. The new identity has been seamlessly incorporated into the marketing efforts of the Chamber’s internal team and provides a malleable brand kit that they can use for years to come.
Check out our case study to learn more about the refreshed Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce identity.
Introducing The New Frontier of Business in Fort Worth
To introduce the refreshed and refocused Fort Worth Chamber, we leveraged the creativity of the new brand identity and launched the “This is the New Frontier” campaign. The campaign was a fresh way to communicate the future of the Chamber and its role in Fort Worth’s economic development to existing members and new business prospects. We wanted to create a campaign that was uniquely Fort Worth and nodded to the legacy and history of the Chamber, while highlighting the exciting new opportunities that our city offers moving into the future.
To focus on the energy of the new Chamber, we captured authentic video footage and photography using real Chamber members. The tone of the assets are impactful, positive and motivational and highlights the frontier of the future on which the Chamber sits and actively cultivates. The final campaign is aspirational and confident and communicates that Fort Worth is a place where people roll up their sleeves and get to work. To launch the campaign, we used a targeted media strategy consisting of automated direct email, paid social, paid search and community influencers leveraging the rich assets we captured in the video production and photo shoot.
Results:
This campaign aimed at promoting the Fort Worth Chamber’s launch into the regional market and their renewed emphasis on driving and supporting business growth in the city. It led to an increase in lead generation, memberships and interest in partnerships with the Chamber.
- 1.9 Million Media Impressions
- 5.3K Paid Search
- 246.6K Paid Social
- 1.2M Display
- 396.5K External Email
- Web Traffic Growth
- 46% Increase in Direct Traffic
- 64% Increase in User Engagement
- 19.5% CTR from Paid Search – 5x the industry average
- 230 Form Fills in 74 Days
- 66% Increase in Contact Us Submission
- 34% Increase in Membership Inquiries
Schaefer Advertising is a valued strategic partner of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. When we embarked on a complete overhaul of our brand, they provided subject matter expertise, thought leadership, and made the process an enjoyable one – no small feat! I would highly recommend Ken, Sara and the entire Schaefer team for any organization whose stakeholders demand excellence and a legacy brand in the Fort Worth community.
– Katie Douglass, EVP, Marketing
