Chamber re-brands, launches a new advertising campaign

The Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce has launched a new campaign promoting its benefits to the local business community with a new logo, a print and video campaign and new presence on the social networking Web sites Facebook and LinkedIn.

"We wanted to simplify how we identified ourselves to the public," said Betty "B" Gorman, chamber president and CEO. "The name is kind of long and challenging for people."

The chamber will retain its name, but promote the name of its Web site, TahoeChamber.org.

The campaign also aims to help educate people about the benefits of the chamber's presence, as seen through its members' eyes.

"They looked at a lot of different campaigns," said Jenna Palacio, account manager for Weidinger Public Relations, which helped coordinate the rebranding effort. "Something they landed on was that the proof was in the pudding. People have success stories they want to share."

The new logo reads "TahoeChamber.org," and is capped with a straightforward illustration of water, three trees and three mountain peaks. This replaces a cursive logo that included the full chamber name shadowed by three trees.

The LTSSCC formed as the result of a 2005 merger between the Tahoe Douglas Chamber and South Lake Tahoe Chamber. Gorman said the group has more than 700 members: 68 percent from California, 30 percent from Nevada and 2 percent from out of the area.

There is one additional chamber in the area, the South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce.

Palacio said the new campaign focuses on the chamber's four core goals: Providing relationship building opportunities, creating a strong economy, representing businesses to government and promoting the community.

Gorman did not disclose the cost of the current campaign, but said it was not funded through membership dues.

"We've been blessed and had some very talented individuals provide the services to us at a reduced rate," she said.

Bruce Rettig, president of Charter Advertising/ Design, Inc., helped put together the branding committee that consisted of graphic designer Betty Barsamian, creative director Jim Barr and photographer Julie Zeid.

Rettig has been a 20-year chamber member, before and after the merger.

"It helps support the business community," he said. "That's my main thing."