By Eileen Persike
Editor

The Rhinelander area’s small businesses are being impacted hard by the COVID-19 health emergency. As they begin to navigate reopening strategies, the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce (RACC) is pitching in with a new campaign aimed at urging consumers to support and help revive local businesses.

An eight-week Buy Local campaign is underway to highlight the importance of local businesses as key to the Rhinelander area’s economic recovery.

“I think that now more than ever our local and small businesses need the chamber and are looking to us for leadership,” said RACC Executive Director Lauren Sackett. “We feel that now is a great time to try to support them by starting this buy local initiative.”

Businesses and small business supporters have been directed to a social media tool kit on the chamber’s website, which includes graphics, logos and messaging suggestions. The campaign taglines include “Support. Revive. Prosper” and “Our Community, Our Future.”

“Our local businesses have had a lot to worry about over the last several months, so we tried to pull together a campaign to assist them and ease their minds a little,” Sackett said. “So far the feedback we have received has been great. We have seen several businesses and community members start to utilize our toolkit in just the first few days.”

Various themes will be announced on Mondays and featured through social media posts, the chamber’s website, press releases and the chamber’s e-newsletter. Sackett expects community engagement to increase.

Themes will include Eat Local, Shop Local, Explore Local and Relax Local, as well as a week focusing on statistics and promoting Chamber Bucks.

“We are planning to start a ‘Best of Rhinelander – Foodie Edition,’ with Forward Rhinelander,” Sackett said, adding, “We will hold a ‘Social Distanced Scavenger Hunt’ during the Explore Local week, and more.”

Some of the statistics the chamber is highlighting are that for every dollar spent at a small business, 67 cents stays in the community, and 44 cents of that goes to the small business owner and wages and benefits of its employees.  Small businesses reinvest 23 cents of every dollar into other local businesses. For more information, visit rhinelanderchamber.com.