A 29% increase with a budget of $0.00

When The Vancouver Board of Trade restructured their annual dues, they began to lose members to competing business organizations at an alarming rate. The fact was, they were seen as an old, stodgy club that did not offer benefits that were relevant to younger business professionals. Many simply saw them as a distant, out-of-touch and, frankly, snobby club. They knew they needed to do something to conserve and boost their membership, but they literally had a budget of zero.

Our strategy was to create an ad campaign that was sponsored by the members themselves in order to boost both their own and The Vancouver Board of Trade’s profile. We created an a la carte menu for each participant. The base price included photography, ad design, copy and placement in the Sounding Board (The Board of Trade’s publication). Participants could also select from a list of other prominent publications to run their ad in.

Each participating company would get recognition and increased exposure in the business community, while The Vancouver Board of Trade would have a credible, successful, third-party spokesperson touting the benefits of membership.

The campaign used larger-than-life props representing each company, such as a giant quarter for HKBC to create interest and make the companies seem more approachable. We then created the tag line, “Membership Means Business” to reinforce that this was a serious business organization that was designed to help members become successful.

In less than a year, not only was The Board retaining more of its existing members, it also experienced a 29% increase in membership revenues and attained the largest roster in its 104-year history.

For us, the cherry on top was winning a prestigious Lotus Award for "Best Magazine Campaign” in BC.

Yes, that really is a 5 foot tall quarter!