Using Events To Grow Brand Awareness: Telling The Chamber's Story through their 84th Annual Meeting
Events are more than just gatherings—they’re opportunities to tell your brand’s story in a way that resonates with your audience. For the Chamber’s 84th Annual Meeting, we transformed a traditional event into a powerful brand-building experience. Through strategic planning, stunning visuals, and engaging storytelling, we showcased the Chamber’s impact and strengthened its connection with the community.
The Problem We Faced
The Chamber needed to:
Highlight its role in driving economic growth and community development.
Engage a diverse audience of members, stakeholders, and local leaders.
Create an event that felt both professional and welcoming, leaving a lasting impression.
Chamber CEO Jason Mock and Believe Executive Director Allyson Coker positioned the problem of the Chamber revolving around one key factor: people know the Chamber, Believe, and the Joint Development Authority are important.
But the community does not understand how that all fits together to make a difference for each resident’s life.
We needed to create a clear theme and story of how the Chamber is igniting growth with partners throughout Greater Dalton.
Jason Mock’s goal was clear: to make the The Greater Dalton Chamber’s 84th Annual Banquet & Meeting not just an event, but a celebration of the Chamber’s mission and a reflection of its commitment to the Dalton community.
Our Game Plan
To meet these challenges, we focused on three key pillars:
visual storytelling, audience engagement, and brand consistency.
Visual Storytelling: Bringing the Chamber’s Mission to Life
Stage Design: The stage was transformed into a visual representation of the Chamber’s mission. Bold graphics, a modern aesthetic, and dynamic lighting created a professional yet inviting atmosphere.
The Greater Dalton Chamber’s 84th Annual Banquet & Meeting: Photo by ARC Studios Photography
Visual and Verbal Branding:
Theme: We created the theme of “Light It Up: Build It, Grow It, Connect It, and Love It.
Banners and Graphics: Custom-designed banners and signage highlighted the key themes of the 84th Annual Banquet & Meeting: Light it up—BUILD it, GROW it, CONNECT it, LOVE it.
Theme, Storytelling, and Graphics: Erika B. Marketing Agency
Commercial: A dynamic commercial celebrated the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce’s impact and vision. Through a combination of testimonials, data-driven insights, and compelling visuals, the video highlighted the Chamber’s achievements and future goals.
We partnered with Karstan Davis of Karstan Media to storyboard, interview people across the Greater Dalton community, and create this commercial to capture local momentum for community and economic development.
Audience Engagement: Building Excitement and Community Connection
Social Media Strategy:
To create buzz and foster engagement around the 84th Annual Meeting, we leveraged social media as a powerful tool to connect with the community. Our strategy focused on promoting the event, encouraging participation, and celebrating Dalton’s inspiring stories (Stories of Impact).
During the event, we took a LinkedIn selfie moment to capture a photo of connection and engage the audience in sharing something they learning about Greater Dalton at the event. We gained awesome User-Generated Content and high organic reach to celebrate this meeting!
Executive Director Panel Strategy:
We wrote the panel discussion questions, run of show, and Emcee script to ensure that the entire event stayed on theme. We hosted discussion panel practices, and we ensured that each Executive Director was able to amplify their mission and explain the ROI of their work for our audience: the people of Dalton.
Brand Consistency: A Unified Experience
Every detail of the 84th Annual Meeting, from the program booklet to the event signage, reflected the Chamber’s branding and theme of Light It Up.
This attention to consistency ensured a cohesive and professional experience that reinforced the Chamber’s identity at every touchpoint.
What We Achieved
Increased social media engagement, with attendees sharing photos and videos from the event.
Positive feedback from members and stakeholders, who felt more connected to the Chamber’s mission.
A stronger brand presence in the community, reinforcing the Chamber’s role as a leader in economic development.
Dual-purpose assets, like pull up banners, stories of impact, and testimonial video assets to use throughout 2025 to continue growing brand consistency and showcase missional impact for community and economic development.
“This event was awesome. The flow was compelling, and I did not even think to reach for my phone because I was engaged the entire time. ”
Dayana Jacalan has a passion for beauty in the world through words, images, fashion, and art. She is an Associate Marketer at Erika B. Marketing, managing client assets, assisting with copywriting and social media design, and making sure we consistently over-deliver for our clients.
You can email her at socials@erikabmarketing.com.
