Explaining Our New Brand

With our 100th anniversary approaching in 2017, the Chamber unveiled updated branding at last week's Annual Meeting. Our new look visibly demonstrates our focus on the future. While our Mission and Vision remain unchanged, you'll see our new name, tagline and logo incorporated in our signage, website and other materials during 2017 as we celebrate ten decades of being a catalyst for connections in the region. New Name Our Board of Directors voted in August to formally change the organization’s name to be more inclusive of the surrounding areas that are vital to continued success:

WICHITA REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

New Tagline A new tagline was developed that recognizes the important connection between business growth and community advancement:

CHAMPIONING BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY

New Logo Our new logo is composed of three primary components: The Wichita skyline forms a "W" that is reminiscent of past Chamber logos and represents the organization’s mission to drive economic growth and community advancement. The green circle demonstrates intentional inclusiveness and recognizes the Chamber as the vital connection between business and the community. The stylized Wichita flag inside the circle represents civic pride and the vision to make this region the premier place to grow companies, careers and communities. The Chamber’s previous logo utilized a three-color scheme: golden orange for Kansas sunsets; green for growth; and blue for strength. The rebranding team elected to continue using those colors with a more updated palette selection. More Changes in the New Year Our organization will be transitioning to the updated brand identity throughout 2017. New signage has already been installed on our building at 350 W. Douglas, and a new pedestal sign along Douglas and an updated website should be in place before the end of the first quarter of the New Year. Chamber President and CEO Gary Plummer commended his staff and the creative agency Squid Ink Creative for working with volunteers on the rebranding. Plummer said, “Squid Ink has been a valuable partner throughout this process. They conducted extensive research about branding trends and held focus groups with our members to better understand their expectations. Brad Painchaud from the Squid Ink team has led the Chamber’s tradeshow committee for the last several years. He and his team had some great insights from their past interactions with our members during events. Our board likes the contemporary new look. It conveys that we’re well positioned for a new era in the Chamber’s history.” Painchaud said his team enjoyed being part of the process. “We’re really excited to be part of the rebranding effort for the Chamber. We’ve been big supporters of the Chamber for a long time. It’s a great honor that we were chosen as the agency to assist in moving them into the next 100 years.”