The Greater Reading Chamber Alliance is excited to announce that its marketing team has been named one of 12 Communications Award of Excellence winners by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). ACCE’s Awards for Communications Excellence (ACE) program is designed to showcase top communications and marketing work of chambers of commerce and similar organizations.
“Innovative, engaging communications are essential for chambers of commerce to demonstrate their impact and amplify their communities’ stories,” said ACCE President & CEO Sheree Anne Kelly. “This year’s winners have creatively celebrated their communities, strengthened local identity and showcased their commitment to inspiring progress and building vibrant, thriving regions.”
To create the award-winning, “Member Storytelling Campaign,” Leah Fassnacht, Senior Director of Communications & Marketing, and Audrey Krupiak, Assistant Director of Communications & Marketing, collaborated with two GRCA members—marketing agency Bell Media Group and photographer Lauren Adele Little. The team visited several GRCA member businesses such as Helping Harvest, Go Fish! Seafood Market & Sushi Bar, Shuman Development Group, Bobcat of Reading, Fromm, Santander Arena and The Standard Group to interview staff and take video and photos. These became interactive, digital stories told through the lens of the universal theme of perseverance and overcoming obstacles.
The stories were shared via email to about 8,000 contacts, promoted with three-weeklong paid
Facebook campaign and video and photo organic posts to GRCA’s social media channels. The
campaign achieved over 344,000 impressions and more than 10,000 link clicks. The videos in
the campaign have been viewed more than 200,000 times. Tangible results include new
sponsorship dollars, member retention and new opportunities for non-dues revenue.
“This campaign would not have been possible without our GRCA members welcoming us into
their businesses, giving us the unscripted, behind-the-scenes look, while being vulnerable and
honest about their obstacles and overcoming them,” said Fassnacht.
The ongoing campaign has served as a reminder of the strength and vitality of the Greater
Reading business community.
“Working with the GRCA team on their storytelling series was nothing short of a blessing. Not
only did we deepen relationships with fellow business owners and operators, but also we had
the opportunity to witness and amplify some of the incredible things our business community
has accomplished,” said Kyra Denlinger, Co-Founder & CEO of Bell Media Group. “We commend
GRCA’s efforts to dig deep into their members’ stories and create campaigns that are truly
memorable and meaningful. We were honored to play a part in bringing this initiative to life!”
This is the third ACCE ACE award for Fassnacht and Krupiak, who previously won for their
“Rebuild Berks” marketing campaign in 2021 and their GRCA website redesign in 2022.
As one of the 12 winning entries, the GRCA team will now go on to compete for the Best in
Show title within their total annual revenue range category. The three winning entries will be
revealed at ACCE’s annual convention in Philadelphia during the July 23 awards show presented
by Comcast Business.