Category:Publications
Class:Two
LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce
LaGrange, Georgia
Synopsis:
The mission of the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce is to advance the economic, civic, education and cultural growth of Troup County; to enhance the quality of life in the community; to address social issues, and to foster continuous improvements of Troup County as a place in which to live, learn and conduct business.
As circulation and readership of newspapers diminishes, and with little or no broadcast media that focus on local news and events, the Chamber board sought ideas on how to fill this critical void. With a need identified - and to further support the mission of advancing the economic, civic, education and cultural growth of Troup County - the board charged the Chamber staff with creating a new communications channel to help share the message of business and industry across the region.
From its inception in February 2014, Troup Trends magazine has been the voice of the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce and its members. Focusing on important developments and emerging trends, the publication features in-depth stories on topics of interest to business and serves an important role as the source of information for community leaders in Hogansville, LaGrange, West Point and across West Central Georgia.
In addition to the feature stories submitted, each issue includes feature stories on Hogansville and West Point, spotlight stories on a business and nonprofit member organization, highlights from recent Chamber events and more.
While its primary purpose is to inform the community, Troup Trends is also charged with generating income through advertising. Since February 2014, average revenue has been $11,300 per issue with net income of $7,200 per issue. This has provided much needed non-dues revenue to offset declines in membership due to continuing difficult economic climate in the area. Since the magazine is written and designed in-house, and the printing is awarded through competitive bids among chamber members, total production costs remain low.
The magazine (2,000 copies per issue) is distributed to chamber members, prospective members, advertisers, community partners and is available online at Each issue averages more than 10,000 exposures. To further expand the reach, select stories are also distributed by Laurie Rowe Communications, a firm that focuses entirely on destination public relations, media relations and select aspects of tourism marketing.
Telling our story, that of the Chamber, our members and our community, is just one way our organization adds value for all stakeholders. Troup Trends is a critical component in the communications plan with each issue consistently creating benefits for the 865 members that invest in the Chamber.