Adding Another Perspective:

April 2018

Writer // Janelle Morrison               Photography // JJ Kaplan

In this month’s issue, Zionsville Monthly is proud to announce its recent partnership with the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce as the Magazine Sponsor. In collaboration with the Chamber’s board of directors and staff members, we at Zionsville Monthly feel that our staff will bring value-added information to not only the Chamber’s membership but to the Zionsville community as a whole. While the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce’s mission is to further the interests of local businesses and to advocate on behalf of the business community, we share a common goal to provide the people who live, work and play in the Zionsville community with comprehensive coverage of the Chamber’s events that are an integral part of the town’s culture.

As the publishers and staff celebrate five years of publishing stories about the people that make Zionsville the philanthropic and prosperous town that it is, the opportunity to further expand the services that we provide as a local magazine and now as a corporate sponsor of the Chamber couldn’t have been better timed.

“Needless to say, we are excited to forge this formal partnership with the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce and to be recognized as the Chamber’s exclusive Magazine Sponsor,” said Neil Lucas, publisher at Zionsville Monthly. “During our five years of producing a magazine in Zionsville, we have worked diligently to earn the trust of the Chamber and the community. We feel that the Chamber’s decision to partner with Zionsville Monthly is validation of our efforts through the years. In addition to thanking the Chamber, we would also like to thank our writers who live in Zionsville for their contributions over the years. We look forward to our new role of offering our readers expanded coverage of the Chamber’s efforts to serve the residents and businesses of Zionsville.”

As part of the sponsorship, Zionsville Monthly has committed to covering the Chamber’s main events and fundraisers throughout the year, including the upcoming Brick Street Market. Due to existing agreements the Chamber had with other local media and our desire to be respectful of those agreements, Zionsville Monthly has been prevented from offering the level of coverage we will be providing now. The Chamber will work with the magazine on social media campaigns as part of the expanded coverage of events and special announcements. All of the published stories, live webcasts and social media coverage are aimed at ensuring that the information is well-saturated throughout both the business community as well as the residential community.

The Zionsville Chamber of Commerce’s Board President Andrew Manna spoke about the value of the new sponsorship agreement from his perspective.

“We began 2018 looking for partners for the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce that would fit with the style and character of our organization,” Manna said. “The overall charm and positive outlook of the Zionsville Monthly magazine fits that description perfectly. Our Board feels that it is important to reach out to both our Zionsville Chamber membership through the digital reach and footprint that Zionsville Monthly provides. And for those business and community non-members that may be seeking more information about Chamber events, Zionsville Monthly will be an additional tool in the toolbox for providing exposure. During our January 2018 annual gala, I spoke about Zionsville in the 1860s when President Abraham Lincoln made a visit. President Lincoln would have seen the honesty, determination and vision of our community back then, and still today, he would see those same qualities from our community and Zionsville Monthly. We are excited that the timing of the publishers’ five-year anniversary coincides with our ability to begin working with them. I anticipate many years of growth in our partnership.”

The Executive Director of the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce Tracy Phillips weighed in on the recent sponsorship agreement’s ability to achieve goals set by the Chamber’s board.

“From the time that I worked at the Zionsville Education Foundation, I knew that Zionsville Monthly is a resource that not only was an advocate for Zionsville as a community but one that could increase a message beyond Boone County into Hamilton County and other places. This publication is something that has sustainability, so that value is very different from any other messaging that we’ve done, and that’s what excites me the most. A goal of our board is to focus on the Chamber’s efforts to identify with our peer and aspirant communities and Chambers. This partnership with the publishers of Zionsville Monthly just furthers that goal.”

Just like any business or other organization, the Chamber has integrated social and digital media into its marketing plan. To assist in its efforts, Zionsville Monthly is able to provide the Chamber with an additional resource and execute prudent social and digital media campaigns to boost awareness and anticipation for the Chamber’s scheduled events and activities.

“The partnership with Zionsville Monthly and its sponsorship of the Chamber’s events shows the level of commitment by both the Chamber and Zionsville Monthly to not only the business community but to the entire community as a whole,” said Lesley Hunt, marketing chair at Zionsville Chamber. “Zionsville Monthly’s visible presence and use of digital/social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, allows us to reach a much broader audience. It’s a commitment on Zionsville Monthly’s part not just to work with the Chamber but to promote Zionsville as a community.”

Hunt further explained that with the ever-evolving ways to market and disperse information, social/digital media should be part of any business or organization’s marketing plans.

“Things have evolved so much in just the last three to four years, and social media has become critical to even my own business,” Hunt emphasized. “Social media takes you places you never would’ve been and increases your geographic reach substantially. The reach outside of your own community is mind-boggling. By partnering with Zionsville Monthly, it gives the Chamber an additional resource that assists us in our concentrated efforts to expand our social/digital media footprint.”

A member of not only the Chamber board but a member of the community for 45 years, Tom Casalini is excited about the partnership. He spoke about how it will assist in idea sharing and conversations among member and residents alike with the expanded use of social media and coverage in the monthly magazine.

“We [the Chamber] have worked hard to build a foundation, and the Chamber is a now a chamber that is viable to our community. While we aren’t at a place where we touch everyone in the community, we are at a place within our membership that we bring value to the community,” Casalini emphasized. “The people and businesses that are sponsors and who support our Chamber of Commerce should be supported by the community. As a Chamber, we are always looking at how we promote this to the businesses community, but I haven’t seen yet how we promote this to the community and to show the community the value that the Chamber brings to our community.”

Casalini concluded, “That’s where I think the partnership with Zionsville Monthly is really invaluable. It will allow people to see how the Chamber has built and continues to build upon a strong foundation. At the end of the day, the Chamber is nonpolitical, inclusive and is looking after, the best we can, the growth of the community that our citizens and businesses have invested in.”

For a list of upcoming Chamber events, visit zionsvillechamber.org.