NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Williamstown Chamber of Commerce reflected on this past year's success and the launch of a new coupon sales promotion at its annual meeting last week at Greylock Works. 

 

Executive Director Susan Briggs told members they would be getting a sample coupon in the mail before Thanksgiving to be prepared for the holiday weekend. 

 

"It was a Tetris grouping of trying to get all of the information on it. We are so excited that the community is so interested in this and ready to go," she said. "As businesses, you can participate in any exhaustive of amounts of ways. 

 

"As you look at the Holiday Walk this year, think about how you can or what you want, what you want it to be for your business."

 

Users can purchase a coupon for $50 and participating venues will determine what discounts they would give to coupon holders, such as a percentage off a purchase, a free item or other specials. 

 

"The one thing that is a little tricky for the offers is that this card is good from today until June 30, and the card holder can use it as many times as they want," Briggs said. "So you have to make sure that the discount is sustainable."

 

The coupon card is geared to local shoppers and students rather than tourists. 

 

"I'm really excited to see how the students and the students' families and our community really embraces this," she said. "We're hoping that it will really spur repeat business and keeping people shopping local."

 

The hope is to build this coupon initiative into something bigger in the next year. They are available at The Print Shop on Spring Street but is also on the Square site so the chamber is exploring the ability to buy it online using a QR code at various hotels and shops. 

 

This winter will also see the return of the snowflakes on some of the light poles. The lighted decorations died last year but a new version has been ordered. 

 

"We are really thrilled that Williams College, Amy's Cottage, Unlimited Nutrition and Chapter Two, and the Williamstown Community Chest all supported the effort to replace the snowflakes," said Briggs. There are 23 being installed this week with plans to order more and expand their placement next year. 

 

Looking back on the past year, Laura Christensen, editor of DestinationWilliamstown.org, said the site has been grown about 9 percent in active users with the top pages "Eat," "Events" and "Stay" which is up by 145 percent. Briggs attributed the jump in hits to the Williamstown Theatre Festival, which has a link on its page to DestinationWilliamstown. 

 

The two social media accounts have been steady, said Christensen, who has also taken on the communications director task for the town since Oct. 1. 

 

DestinationWilliamstown and the chamber each puts out an email newsletter, with DestinationWilliamstown geared more toward tourists and covering the area 50 miles beyond.

 

"Whereas I tend to think of mine as 50 miles in, thinking of more hyperlocal," said Briggs, [Christensen's] trying to drive the tourists, giving the arts and culture spotlight for the week."

 

The chamber is also doing some print products, and advertising in publications in northern Connecticut, New York's Hudson Valley, Capital District and Saratoga area, and working with the Mohawk Trail Association.

 

Briggs said they'd also found that the Connecticut shore corridor is a customer, so have been doing some summer supplements and advertising in the Connecticut Pots. 

 

"We're really looking at where our visitors are coming from, and getting it to them," she said. 

 

She also reviewed some of the events over the past year like the Fourth of July celebration, community cookout and film festival, and thanked the volunteers from the Clark Art Institute, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Sweetwood, Williamstown Theatre Festival and the community for staffing the information booth on Spring Street.