12/11/17 – The president of the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce credits local high school students for bringing a social media twist to what had traditionally been a paper-based holiday campaign. The Ring In The Holidays Passport Contest is underway right now and spans the entire holiday shopping season through December 24. The effort kicked-off the day after Black Friday on what is called Small Business Saturday. Shoppers can obtain a booklet, or passport as it is called, from the Chamber of Commerce. Those who fill the booklet with a stamp from 15 of the more that 30 participating local businesses qualify for prizes. New this year, the Passport can be completed via Twitter using a smart phone. As part of the promotion, each business has its own picture frame and contestants simply have to take a picture of themselves in the picture frame and tweet with the hashtag #ShopSmallBD. Chamber President Phil Fritsche says it’s a good way to get the younger generation involved. In fact, the social media aspect of the campaign came from students in the DECA Club at the Beaver Dam High School. Several schools across the country which offers a DECA Club, which “prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.” Fritsche says the students told him there is no way they would be walking around with a small booklet when they have a smart phone in their pocket. That led to the tie-in with Twitter. Photo frames for the Twitter selfies are at each business and have the “#ShopSmallBD” hashtag written on it. Paper Passport booklets can be obtained at the Chamber and participating businesses. The last day to get a stamp is on Christmas Eve but the booklets are not due until December 26. A list of the businesses is on the Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce website:
Chamber President Credits BDHS Students For Social Media Angle To Holiday Campaign
