Libby chamber gets county support in digital rebranding campaign

Lincoln County Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved a cash contribution for the Libby Area Chamber of Commerce to help fund their new website and social media presence.

Lincoln County will contribute $23,000 to the effort to overhaul the chamber’s website, video content management and a new mobile application, as the chamber works with the county on a recent rebranding campaign.

The campaign has been coordinated between the county, commissioners, the Kootenai River Development Council, the University of Montana and PartnersCreative in order to develop new methods of engaging the community and attracting more out-of-area travelers.

Along the way, a new group, called Kootenai River Valley, has formed under the chamber organization. The group’s objective is to develop a new website for the chamber to serve as a portal for visitors and a marketing space for chamber-affiliated businesses. The Kootenai River Valley group is currently working with the Kootenai River Development Council, a local economic development group, to develop the website and social media platforms.

“That will set the tone for this rebranding,” Tina Oliphant, executive director of the Kootenai River Development Council said Wednesday. “The hope is that the quality of it will be a role model for the rest of the efforts around here.”

The county’s $23,000 is about one-third of the expected $69,200 cost of the campaign to build the new website and social media presence. The chamber is hoping to acquire the remaining $46,000 in a grant from the Montana Department of Tourism. With the county’s contribution, the chamber now has some financial leverage to show commitment to the project in their application for the tourism grant funding from the state.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.