Regional Chamber of Commerce Map Goes Digital

The Regional Chamber of Commerce of San Gabriel Valley is taking the next step into the digital age and hopes area businesses will follow along.

The Chamber announced Monday that it has contracted with CrossPoint media to create an online interactive map of member businesses throughout the San Gabriel Valley.

The Chamber's executive director, Heidi Gallegos, said the effort is a way to get area businesses to "understand the power of technology," with digital advertising space that incorporates social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter into a businesses' online profile.

Mike Baskerville, a developer with CrossPoint, said the company currently has about 10 clients using interactive maps and the list is growing quickly.

"In another 60 days we'll probably have another 10 [clients]," Baskerville said, "and the bulk will be Chambers of Commerce because they see a need for this."

Baskerville said that the interactive maps will give business owners and advertisers detailed information on who is clicking and how they're clicking — showing how many users requested turn-by-turn directions, or how many simply clicked an ad.

"You have map stats and can view exactly what's taking place with your ad," Baskerville said.

Members of the Chamber will be included for no additional charge with a "basic listing," Baskerville said, which includes a small blue logo and basic details about the business.

Gallegos said Chamber members will receive additional ad space on the map, which she likened to digital "billboards," starting at $349.

"We'll never get away from paper," Gallegos said (the Chamber will still print it's paper map of businesses), "but as we digitize our communities, you begin to see the world very differently, so there will be a transition of information."

Gallegos said the difference is in the delivery method.

"Just how writing went from hieroglyphics on a wall to a quill and paper, it will just be a change the delivery method," Gallegos said.

Gallegos said Monday that the Chamber's announcement on Facebook had already garnered some responses

"You've got people that live by their iPhone or Blackberry," Gallegos said.

Baskerville said that the map will take two to three weeks to implement and anywhere from four to six weeks to populate with area businesses and advertisers.

The final product — which uses Google's online map service, Google Maps — will be similar to a completed project at mapcharleston.com, Baskerville said.

For more information, visit the Chamber's website.