The Role of 757 Champions

Between now and the first in-person “report out” on the 757 Recovery & Resilience Action Framework at the October 2021 State of the Region event, 757 Champions will help advance the Action Framework in five primary ways:

1.   Spring 2021 – Advance the Launch of Action Framework: 

The initial responsibility of 757 Champions is to share and promote the launch of the Action Framework within their organizations and among their colleagues. This includes:

• Sending people to the website
• Asking others to become a 757 Champion
• Reading the Action Framework’s monthly e-updates to learn about our progress and celebrate wins

2.   Summer 2021 – Support the new Regional Pride-Building Campaign:

One of the aspirations of Action Framework under the Build Regional Unity Strategic Focus Area (there are five focus areas) is that the young professionals across the region would join forces and help unite our region. The great news is that this is happening. Next Gen professionals are now organized under a new 501(c)(3) called “757 Proud.”

One of their first initiatives is to create and run a “Did You Know” regional pride-building campaign. This campaign will address the major findings of the Envision 2020 Branding Study. Specifically, among business leaders:

• Only half (51%) gave a “4” or “5” rating on identifying with the Hampton Roads region.
• The “7 Cities” were most mentioned as being a part of the Hampton Roads region – 98% to 89% selected. Half or less (50% to 21%) included the 10 other jurisdictions. Only 50% knew Williamsburg was part of HR region.
• Knowledge of basic facts about our region were low.

When the “Did You Know” campaign comes out this summer, 757 Champions will actively support and promote it through their own organization’s social media channels.

3.   Fall 2021 – Start to Utilize Free Business Resiliency-Building Support Services:

Another Strategic Focus Area of the 757 Recovery & Resiliency Action Framework is Build Resiliency. This includes building a more diversified regional economy, as well as helping local businesses become stronger and more resilient. To this end, the Framework includes a number of free business resiliency-building tools and services. 757 Champions will utilize these resources, when appropriate, and recommend them to others.

All these services are now under development through committees of volunteers supported by the Alliance, CIVIC, Chambers, Norfolk State, ODU and others. These services will be introduced at the State of the Region Event in October 2021. Here’s a brief overview of what’s coming:

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Best Practices and Training: We learned through the Action Framework surveys that over one-third of business leaders asked for support in improving their DE&I practices. A new DE&I service inspired by the Action Framework will include a DE&I audit tool – self-assessment checklist, self-help DE&I videos, lists of best practices, and consulting services to increase every organization’s success with their DE&I efforts. 
• Business Model Tune Up: We also learned through the Action Framework surveys that many businesses shifted their business models (B-model) to successfully operate through the worst of the pandemic. Many of the lessons learned and new best practices have been inventoried. A new service inspired by the Action Framework will include a business model resiliency audit using a self-assessment checklist, self-help videos, and consulting services to improve every organization’s B-model resilience.
• Employee Wellness and Well-being Support: Through the pandemic, employee health and well-being emerged as the number one issue facing business leaders today and tomorrow.  Another new service inspired by the Action Framework will include an employee health and wellness self-assessment checklist, self-help videos, employee well-being learning game app, and consulting services to enhance your employees’ physical and emotional health.
• New Minority Supplies Database: Supporting and strengthening our minority suppliers is critical to growing the resilience of our regional economy and individual businesses. Through the Action Framework, a new online 757 Minority Supplier Database will be created and promoted to help businesses hire qualified minority suppliers, vendors and consultants. 757 Champions will make this free service a success from the start.
• Future Trends: Understanding with greater certainty what tomorrow will bring was the second biggest issue facing business leaders. The Action Framework will meet this need by sharing the latest trends research. 757 Champions will be the first to see these insights.

4.   October 2021 – Participate in the Chamber Hampton Roads’ Visit to Denver

This October, the Hampton Roads Chamber will travel to Denver for its annual Inter City Visit Leadership Exchange. The trip’s featured content will center around the Action Framework’s model – the 5 Focus Areas and related programs. As we meet and hear from Denver officials, we will look for ways to better understand and improve our own Action Framework and the role of 757 Champions.

Please note that attending the Chamber Hampton Roads’ 2021 Denver trip is not a requirement to be a 757 Champion.

5.   2022 and Beyond – Support Our National Branding Effort:

The outcome of the October 2021 State of the Region event will include new ideas and ways 757 Champions can support and advance the Action Framework. One of these will include advancing a national branding campaign.

Everyone involved in formulating the Action Framework identified “marketing our region to audiences outside of our area” as one of the most critical components needed to drive our region’s ultimate recovery and long-term success. 

We envision a 2-year pilot effort to demonstrate the power and ROI of sharing our story with a national audience. Most likely, the campaign will include advertising (perhaps leveraging our local national celebrities) and promotional tie-ins to regional events like Something in the Water and other festivals that attract people to our region. When launched, we will track and report the campaign’s success in building Hampton Roads’ national brand. 

A branding campaign, however, will require funding from multiple sources, including our local governments, grants, and regional business supporters. We plan to go after all of these potential sources of funds and more.

757 Champions will support the campaign in three ways:

• Review and Help Inform the Development of the National Branding Effort: The marketing campaign will be shared at its conceptual stage with 757 Champions for their review and input.
• Tie Directly into the National Branding Effort: 757 Champions will help advance the national campaign’s imagery and messaging. This could include using campaign videos, photography and messaging on their websites, social media, and employee recruitment materials.
• Help Fund the National Branding Effort: Join other 757 Champions in making corporate donations to fund the 2-year pilot effort. A survey among the 200+ architects of the Action Framework showed that significant support exists to help fund this marketing effort. Obviously, other funding sources will be needed, too. Please note that contributing to this campaign is not a requirement to be a 757 Champion.

That’s a quick overview. We don’t expect every 757 Champion to able to actively participate in all five areas.  What we do expect, however, is everyone’s enthusiasm, leadership and support in advancing the 757 Recovery & Resiliency Action Framework. Please join us on our critically important mission.