June 29 was a big day – for the Chamber and for Brattleboro. At a press briefing that brought out the media, local business folk from retailers to bankers to business and arts organizations – even a performer from the New England Center for Circus Arts! – the Chamber unveiled a first-ever collaborative marketing campaign that might be thought of as “I Love New York!” on a Vermont scale.

Themed “The One and Only Brattleboro,” the campaign builds on the fact that there is only one Brattleboro in the world. Anywhere!

But it’s not only our name that’s unique. It’s a whole bunch of “ways we are” that make ours a town that brings a smile to folks’ faces – whether they live here or are around for the day. People have a neat relationship with Brattleboro. It’s like a member of their family – and that’s what we’re going to make work for us. The One and Only Brattleboro (TOaOB) reminds our friends – current and yet to be – that there’s something going on, and it’s going on here.

Under its umbrella the first focus of TOaOB will be a month-long festival called “Brattleboro’s September Swing into Fall,” kicked off on Labor Day weekend with a concert by the Beantown Swing Orchestra at the Latchis.

The beauty of TOaOB is how it can be adapted to specific applications. For example, seasonal – as in TOaOB “Cool & Hot” for the spring/summer season, “Swing into Fall” for September (a “swing month” between summer’s August and fall’s October) and in a holiday season tag in the works. And geographically, as in The One and Only Brattleboro Downtown, TOaOWestB, TOaOB North End, and so forth.

And this is where the “collaborative” part comes in. While the Chamber is spearheading its campaign, the organization is working with other business groups including Building a Better Brattleboro (Brattleboro’s downtown organization), Brattleboro’s North End Business Association (NEBA is a Chamber committee), the West Brattleboro Business Association and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation.

Elements of the campaign include paid media (ads are already featured in the Boston Globe’s Summer Travel magazine, Southern Vermont Arts & Living, and in the fall issue of Vermont Life), as the cover of the Chamber’s summer/fall area guidebook, on local signage (look for Welcome to The One and Only Brattleboro – Parking ?), on the Chamber’s newly-freshened Web site, on posters, maps, banners, visitor center displays, on a brand-new Facebook page and even a Twitter account. In addition, there will be a sharply focused public relations campaign.

Get complete   The Chamber Window Newsletter  here (PDF 2 MB)

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