for more information, contact Juli Schatz, 800-600-0134, ext. 219 or
by email: julis@villageprofilemail.com

From the Coffee Table to the Computer Desktop: Village Profile's New Traditional To Digital(TM) Program Advances Chamber Publishing to New Communication Technologies. New non-dues revenue at No Cost!

(Elgin, IL) - "People should think things out fresh and not just accept conventional terms and the conventional way of doing things." (Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), American inventor, poet, and philosopher)

Even after almost two decades in business, the publisher and staff of Village Profile aren't content to accept the conventional way of doing things and so continue to reinvent the Chamber publishing industry.

Village Profile's latest innovation brings the traditional Chamber membership directory from the office desk to the computer desktop, by converting the full-color print publication into a digital version on CD, through its Traditional-to-Digital Convergence Publishing Program(TM).

With an ever-increasing number of advertisers - from local to national brand marketers - jumping on board the online train, Village Profile 's digital publishing programs seem to be almost ahead of their time - and so are getting close scrutiny by Chambers and their membership.

According to a survey by the American Advertising Federation, 63 percent of those surveyed said that Fortune 500 companies are "generally behind the curve when it comes to online ad strategy."

"The study also found that an overwhelming majority of those surveyed recognize the effectiveness of digital marketing, with 91 percent citing the online media environment as 'empowering to advertisers, allowing the ad industry to shape its own development.' And 42 percent cited online media as offering the highest return on investment of any form of media."(Just an Online Minute, MediaPost, June 19, 2006).

As one of the early adopters of communication technology, Village Profile was the first Chamber publisher, in 1995, to put its publications on the Internet at www.villageprofile.com. Soon after, it began providing advertisers free websites - when website developers were charging upwards of $5,000 - and began putting maps online in 1998 and offered bonus CDs of its publications in 2001.

"It was a leap of faith, not to mention a fairly substantial capital investment, to take our publications online," said Dan Nugara, Village Profile's founder, president and publisher. "The Internet was still in its relative infancy, in terms of an advertising medium or B-to-B communications tool. We knew it had potential but I don't think anyone really knew how it would explode in such rapid time."

While its roster of Chamber clients - which now numbers over 1,100 - continued to grow, Nugara and his staff continued to expand on traditional Chamber publishing to innovate new ways to help Chambers promote members' businesses to a wider audience of prospective customers, enhance networking among members, and promote their communities.

So in 1995, it was Village Profile that converted its traditional print Chamber publications into websites, and thus became the catalyst for moving the entire Chamber publishing industry onto the Internet. In 2002, Village Profile raised the bar again for the industry when it introduced eBooks; and again in 2003 with the introduction of its exclusive Convergence Publishing Program(TM) that introduced Chambers and publishers to the myriad exciting possibilities available through wireless communication technology.

"Chambers were founded on the premise of bringing smaller business together in a kind of co-op for greater purchasing power and a unified business voice. Today, Chamber executives and their Boards of Directors are compelled to bring more value to their membership with accelerated networking, communication and marketing benefits," said Nugara. "I think Village Profile - as a company, through our Convergence Publishing Program(TM) and the conferences we sponsor, through our corporate sponsorships with national and regional Chamber associations - brings Chambers together in much the same way."

Village Profile introduced its Convergence Publishing Program(TM) in 2003, which at the time simply allowed Chambers of Commerce to convert the editorial/pictorial content of their printed publications onto the Internet with an online version of their Chamber publication, made available to the membership in the form of eBooks for easy download to computer desktops and PDA's, hosted on it's community portal at www.villageprofile.com.

The most dynamic component of the Convergence Publishing Program(TM) provides wireless access to Chamber membership directories via web-enabled cellphones, smart phones PDAs and other wireless devices. These Community Business Directories can be accessed wirelessly from Web enabled cell phones at www.vpmobile.us

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, with 2,600 members, was the first Chamber in the U.S. to employ convergence publishing for its annual Business Resource Guide and Membership Directory, followed by the 2,000-member Naperville (Illinois) Area Chamber of Commerce. To date, 125 Chambers have signed up and/or published their community profiles and membership directories via Village Profile's Convergence Publishing Program(TM).

Since those early convergence programs debuted, more benefits have been added to the Chamber's "communication tool box." Introducing its Mobile Map Publishing Program(TM) in 2006 that provides wireless access to a mobile business directory of participating advertisers made accessible via wireless devices. Its also given advertisers added value for their investment with wireless links to their websites; business locator maps, also accessible via wireless devices; and real-time direct dial-up via cell and smart phones. This Mobile Map program can be accessed wirelessly at http://naperville.vpmobile.us

"Every day the results of a new survey indicate our rapid 'deployment' to an online economy," Nugara pointed out. "One that just came out a few days ago showed that non-travel online revenue is expected to reach $100 billion this year. . . . think about that. And, ad spending is expectedto be more than three times that - $333 billion.

"Chambers and their member businesses HAVE to be a part of the online economy - or risk becoming obsolete."

Nugara also noted that when Village Profile went online with its Chamber publications in 1995, just nine percent of adults in the U.S. reported they used the Internet. Today, that number has leaped to 77 percent.

Village Profile's Traditional-to-Digital(TM) Convergence Publishing Program(TM) brings Chamber publishing full circle. Introduced in July 2006, it provides all components of convergence publishing, along with a CD that includes the entire Chamber publication, including the membership directory in Microsoft Reader, Palm Reader and PDF formats.

The unique flexibility in the Traditional-to-Digital(TM) Publishing Program(TM) provides Chambers of Commerce with a multitude of options to customize their Chamber publication and its form of delivery and distribution locally to their membership and community and worldwide via the components of Village Profile's patent-pending communications technology.

Chambers of Commerce across the country have embraced Village Profile's Traditional-to-Digital(TM) Convergence Publishing Program because it lets them offer members the traditional, "familiar" printed publication alongside sophisticated communication and marketing media.

On its partnership with Village Profile, Joe Balasa, CFO of the 2,600-member Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, commented: "Jack Welch once said, 'When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside a company - the end is near.' We at the Chamber use this quote as our mantra and only team with people and organizations that can keep us moving forward. Village Profile is one of those companies that works with the Chamber on positive, progressive changes where we are constantly improving our offerings to our members."

For more information visit www.villageprofile.com to see a streaming video presentation, as well as more than 1,100 communities that are now online on Village Profile's Community Profile Network. Or, call Joe Nugara, Executive Vice President at 847-760-9720 to arrange a personal presentation.