Culver City Chamber of Commerce Secures Sustainable In-House Publishing Model With Chamber Marketing Partners

The Culver City Chamber had been publishing its Community Guide & Business Directory in-house for 20 years. But this once highly profitable publication was losing ground. Sales had dropped to $27,000, profit sunk to a low of $5,000 and the Chamber was beginning to question whether the publication had a future.

“The project had sunk so low that we considered pulling the plug on the printed directory,” said Culver City Chamber CEO Steve Rose.

Rose knew it was time to try a different approach, but going through an outside publisher with a royalty structure was not an option. Instead, he contacted Chamber Marketing Partners to help.

“I needed a fresh perspective and Chamber Marketing Partners seemed like they had the publishing expertise to help revitalize the directory… and help it start making a healthy profit again,” said Rose.

The results exceeded Rose’s expectations. Chamber Marketing Partners focused on upgrading the community guide and directory to a full-color, magazine style publication with articles that featured the community’s vibrant downtown, its economic vitality and exceptional quality of life. The publication also included a special Dining Guide to highlight the city’s restaurant options and increase participation among the chamber’s more than 50 restaurant members.

Chamber Marketing Partners provided project management and graphic design services while the Chamber hired members for photography and to write editorial content. With guidance and coaching from CMP, the chamber’s membership sales person handled ad sales. The results were remarkable: sales increased 48% and the Chamber’s profit increased 114%.