A Study of The Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry: "Investigating the intersection of new & old media channels, content strategies and brand identification." - Cody I. Smith

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A Study of The Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry:
Investigating the intersection of new & old media channels, content strategies
and brand identification
Cody I. Smith
Western Washington University
March 14, 2015

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A Study of The Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry:
Investigating the intersection of new & old media channels, content strategies and
brand identification.
Throughout this paper I will discuss the effectiveness of progressive vs.
traditional marketing strategies in relation to the interests of the
Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and what it means to have a
successful chamber brand. What was once termed public communication
campaigns has experienced a metamorphosis, as the social component of behavior
and communication has influenced what communicators and marketers do. No
longer do they rely simply on traditional media to communicate messages.
Marketers now engage their target audiences directly at an unprecedented level,
stimulated by and resulting in increased audience expectations of engagement.
What is a Chamber of Commerce?
First we must define what a chamber of
commerce is and who they represent. A
chamber of commerce is a service-oriented
business assistance organization comprised
of a business membership whose
expectation of a chamber is to provide
satisfactory service and assistance in the
form of benefits. The benefits offered are
there to assist and support the needs of the
members and consist of the relational
aspects of the exchange. According to Noel
Mark and Michael Luckett (2014), one in
seven businesses is a member of a chamber
of commerce in the United States and more
than 96% of some 3000 plus local chamber
members are small businesses with 250 or
fewer employees.
“The most conspicuous intrinsic benefit
to join a chamber is the immediate
recognition and credence given to a small
business member.” (Mark & Luckett, 2014)
For many small businesses the desire to
become a chamber member is to “establish
your firm’s credibility” and access to the
“chamber seal of approval” (Cronin et al.,
2000). The chamber seal is not only a
promotional tool but can also provide
customers with a sense of reassurance of a
qualifying agency they can go to if any
disputes arise. However, this means that
for a chamber of commerce it is absolutely
critical to maintain a brand identity, which
characterizes credibility in the business
community. Through engaging in
progressive marketing techniques
chambers of commerce are able to attain
status in the community as a leading
business institution.

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The Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of
Commerce & Industry (BCC) represents some
600 members and follows a traditional
hierarchical corporate model. Their interests
are focused on two things: profitability for
their members today and prosperity for their
communities in the future. Every major
chamber is business-led, with a board of
directors ultimately responsible. Employees
gather people, connect leaders and promote
aspects of their community, county, city or
state.
There are two primary functions of the
BCC: first, it acts as a leader and a “seal of
approval” for the business and professional
community; secondly, it renders a specific
product or services type that can be most
effectively be beneficial by a community
organization and to its members as a whole.
Revenue generation is important for the
survival of the chamber; after all it is a business
– which means revenue is the number one
priority. In cases where membership dues are
the main source of income such as at the BCC,
the number of members it represents defines
success.
By and large the BCC implements
traditional, linear marketing strategies and
mediums such as event-based marketing,
sponsorship, radio, newspapers, magazines and
journals. While they use email for e-blast
marketing and post occasionally on Facebook
and Twitter, these platforms are not utilized to
their full advantage. Ask just about anyone
older than age 40 to define ‘marketing’ and the
answer would be pretty clear: “It involves
someone – usually an organization of some
sort – paying for the right to display a message
of his or her own choosing at a particular space
or during particular time, usually in some form
of mass media with the aim of persuasion of
some kind” (American Marketing Association
[AMA], 2013). However, ask the same question
to a millennial and the definition likely won’t be
the same. They will probably tell you that
marketing permeates media channels such as
social media platforms (SMPs), weblogs, online
video sharing, microblogs, mobile applications
and more to create a network of idea sharing
and taste making.
Furthermore, while social media “was
once the domain of younger, tech-savvy
consumers who were faster to adopt new
technologies, it is now generally considered to
have entered the mainstream and covers a
broad demographic spectrum with 75% of
Internet-using adults in the United States using
such social media.” (Andrew T. Stephen and
Jeff Galak, 2010)

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Clearly, the BCC must re-create its
brand identity as a “seal of approval” for the
local business community through the
utilization of new media channels &
progressive marketing strategies. In order for
the BCC to rehash its brand identity as a “seal
of approval” for the business community it
must build itself as a brand around values and
beliefs rather than service-specific qualities, as
it is right now built around its 5 “Core
Competencies.” These values and beliefs must
align with its corporate identity as a
progressive leader in business.
In the following paragraphs I will
explain the effectiveness of a re-branding
strategy for the Bellingham/Whatcom
Chamber of Commerce & Industry with
support from previous research in the field.
New and Old Media:
Although the BCC mainly uses
traditional media and marketing strategies, I
will not suggest that they abandon these
channels completely. “Media outlets,
traditional and social, are unlikely to exert any
publicity influence on marketing outcomes in
isolation. Rather, all media types are likely
related in the sense that they have an influence
on each other.” (Stephen, 2010) What this
means is that each media channel has a very
specific role in communicating an
organization’s message.
For example, organizations should use
SMPs such as Facebook to utilize the channel’s
multi-functionality, including the ability to post
multimedia files. However, “if organizations
choose to create a social networking page,
they must also devote time and effort to
update it and engage in the social environment,
rather than lose potential supporters who see
inactivity.” (Waters et al., 2009) For the BCC,
the use of SMPs like Facebook and Twitter to
promote an event such as the Jr. Ski to Sea
Race in combination with traditional media
channels such as the Bellingham Business
Journal and The Whatcom Report will create a
much wider promotional range.
“Whereas traditional media publicity
events for a particular product, brand or
company occur relatively infrequently, the
buzz of online social media tends to be an
almost-continuous stream of new posts and
comments.” (Stephen 2010, 18) Not only do
SMPs have intersectional benefits, they are
also much cheaper than traditional advertising
and can provide ‘qualitative feedback’ that can
be used by the organization to update a certain
campaign in real time. For example, by
searching hashtags for an event, an

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organization can review comments or
concerns from event attendees and address
the issues accordingly.
From a sociological point of view, this
kind of strategy demonstrates how “new media
technologies potentially enhance the capacity
of brands to learn both about themselves and
their consumers in an ongoing fashion, and to
integrate such consume feedback into a
process of ‘brand becoming’. “ (Moor, 2003)
Content Development & The BCC Brand:
“Today, more than ever before, content
has become a particularly powerful marketing
tool, providing new opportunities for
engagement, interaction and amplification. As
the lines between editorial and marketing are
blurring, it is enabling the use of content in new
ways; essentially enabling brands to act as
publishers.” (Basney, 2014) The BCC has a
multitude of opportunities and partnerships
that allow it to engage in cross-promotional
branding campaigns.
One such existing opportunity is the
partnership with the Bellingham Business
Journal and The Whatcom Report Magazine.
To take advantage of these partnerships the
BCC must have a ‘north star’. A term coined by
Barbara Basney, a ‘north star’ refers to the idea
that all content creators for a brand must align
to the same message. The ‘north star’ is the
backbone of an organization’s brand identity
and social strategy. As for the BCC – their
‘north star’ is characterized as a “seal of
approval” for the business community, which is
exemplified around their core values and
beliefs as a progressive business leader in
Whatcom County.
Branded Events:
Because Bellingham is a city with 46.1 %
of its population falling between ages 10-34
(US Census 2010), a large student population
and a growing arts and entertainment industry
with over 12% of firms in this category (US
Census 2000), these facts must be taken into
account when creating content and branded
events. The BCC does not represent any
members from the entertainment sector in
Bellingham and has not partnered with any
music venues, given the facts discussed above
– a rebranding strategy that includes this
sector is critical.
Not only does the BCC brand have to
resonate with business owners, but it must also
resonate with the large proportion of young
consumers. John Grant (1999) says:
“communication is not through words and

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famous people, but through the exuberance of
music, movement and dance.” (p. 28) In order
to capture the attention of the large college
population in Bellingham, the BCC must focus
on music and other cultural capital because
music is an arena of cultural life which most
young consumers are interested.
This move towards capturing cultural
capital would, “provide a means of connecting
with a much broader range of sentiments or
experiences that were assumed to matter to
the target audience, without having to refer to
these [emotions] explicitly.” (Moor, 2003)
Intersection of Strategies:
From a sociological point of view,
creating and maintaining a brand identity is an
act which can be understood through the lens
of Symbolic Interactionism. Symbolic
Interactionists treat the self, or in this case a
corporate identity, as character in the social
world which provides individuals with symbols
that create meaning. “In this process, the
consumer attributes ‘meaning’ to the product
[or service] symbolically which is to be
communicated to the others encountered in
the consumption situation in order to enhance
his self-esteem. Goffman (1963) indicated
products could serve as props to aid in
communication of the situational self.”
(Lee, 1990)
The combination of strategies discussed
above should in turn create a stronger brand
identity for the Bellingham/Whatcom
Chamber of Commerce & Industry. With a
stronger brand identity comes increased
membership, revenue for the organization, and
long-term success. Overall, “new and social
media channels should compliment, not
replace, traditional channels.” (Abroms &
Lefebvre, 2009)
New media provides organizations with
additional tactics to build relationships with
target audiences through content that follows
their ‘north star’. “Just as face-to-face
relationships, progressive marketing
techniques will require time and commitment
to be effective. Strategically selecting and
enacting these media choices is key to building
a successful brand and overall organization.
“ (Ledford, 2012) With the implementation of
new and old media, directed content
development and branded events, the BCC’s
brand as a progressive leader in the local
business community can be achieved.

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